8541RB Reading for Me Level 4 Part A

Factual
Radiant Rainbows
Rainbows are one of the most exquisite displays of nature. Have you ever
wondered how they are formed?
White light is made up of seven different colours: red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo and violet.
Raindrops act as small prisms. A prism breaks a single beam of white light
into a band of seven colours.
When sunlight shines on a water droplet, the light bends slightly in
different angles. This creates different coloured light rays. These bent
light rays are the rainbow we see.
A rainbow can only appear when there is rain and sun at the same time.
A rainbow will look different from every angle, meaning that no two people
will see the rainbow in exactly the same way.
A rainbow is actually a full circle. Since we are on the ground, we only
see a semicircle. If you are in an aeroplane, you might be lucky enough to
see a rainbow in a full circle.
Rainbows can also be seen in mist, spray, waterfalls, fog and dew.
You can do this little experiment at home to make your own rainbow.
Fill a glass with water and put a mirror inside it at an angle. Make sure
that the room is completely dark. Take a torch and flash it towards the
mirror inside the glass. A rainbow will appear from the angle of the mirror.
Hold a piece of white paper to the reflection and see the different colours
of the rainbow appear.
114 Reading for Me Level 4 (Part A) 978-1-922843-63-0 R.I.C. Publications ® Prim-Ed Publishing