Your Own Rainbow: teacher key

Rainbows, grade 5 edition, written for 5th grade. Follow a ray of sunlight through a raindrop, see why violet bends the most and why every person sees a different rainbow.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Why does each person see a different rainbow?
   • Each has a different shadow point and raindrops (answer)
   • Rainbows are drawn on glass
   • Each person has a different sun
2. Which color bends the most in a raindrop?
   • Red
   • Violet (answer)
   • Green
3. What is the center of a rainbow's circle?
   • The sun
   • A cloud
   • The antisolar point (answer)
4. In a double rainbow, how are the colors in the second bow?
   • In reverse order (answer)
   • Missing
   • The same order
5. Which color sits on the outside of the main bow?
   • Violet
   • Red (answer)
   • Green
6. Which color has the longest wavelength of visible light?
   • Red (answer)
   • Violet
   • Blue

Words

• wavelength: wave size
• antisolar: sun's opposite
• refraction: light bending
• horizon: sky's bottom edge