1S1P Topic - Rainbows, mirages, and the green flash

You can earn up to 9 points for report content and up to 6 pts for writing quality.


Content

Here are some of the topics you might try to include in your report.  All three phenomena involve refraction, so you definitely explain what that is.  What is dispersion? 

If you discuss rainbows here are some things you might consider discussing.  How are rainbows produced?  Do you need to look toward or away from the sun?  Does the sun need to be high or low in the sky?   How is white sunlight split into colors?  Why is there sometimes a secondary rainbow?  How is it different from the primary rainbow?  What are and where are the supernumerary arcs?

What produces mirages?  What type of mirage do we most commonly see here in the desert southwest?  Why does the ground look wet?  What is a superior mirage?  When (under what kinds of conditions) might you look for a superior mirage?  How might you distinquish an inferior from a superior mirage?

The green flash is a little more complicated to explain.  What did you learn about the green flash?  Have you ever seen the green flash yourself?

Writing Quality       

Explain the material in your own words - your report should be your understanding and explanation of the material.  Avoid generalites, try to include specific details and examples from the reading section.  The separate sections or paragraphs of your paper should blend together into one seamless coherent report.  There is a lot of material in this topic, probably more than you can cover in a one side of one page report.  Organizing this report might be a little more difficult than other topics.  You should try to cover the main aspects of the topic but you don't need to include every detail.  You definitely should break your report into several paragraphs.  It is always good to read your report outloud to yourself or have a friend read your report.  The ultimate test is to read your report to your grandmother and see if she understands it.

Your report should be nearly free of misspelled words and grammatical errors. Remember 1S1P reports must be double spaced and must fit onto one side of one page.