UV Bead Lab

Names: Sydney Hilbush, Keith Parker, Ella Ratliff, and

Miranda Overson
Period: Science 3
2. Problem/Background: Many individuals can receive
sunburns, skin cancer, and even deadly diseases
when they are unaccustomed to the powerful UV rays
the sun burns-off everyday. Since only 48% of
sunlight is visible to the human eye, many individuals
believe that the UV rays cannot be too harmful, yet if
a person fails to provide protection to their skin, the
strong UV rays from the sun can cause sunburns,
premature aging, and even skin cancer. Although UV
rays can promote harmful results, the suns exposure
to skin raises necessary vitamin D in an individuals
body because when the skin absorbs ultraviolet rays,
humans skin elevates shielding of deadly diseases
like heart disease and breast cancer. The government
recommends each human to provide their body with
at least fifteen minutes of activity in the sunlight each
day so the amount of vitamin D is raised in their
bodily fluids; furthermore, the government also
recommends use of dark clothing that can absorb UV
rays rapidly when out in the hot sun. When the UV
rays are absorbed, the risk of getting a sunburn
decreases since the rays cannot pass through the
clothing as easily; wearing dark clothing only makes
your body feel warmer since many UV rays get
absorbed by dark colors like blacks and browns.
Different ways humans protect themselves from the
powerful ultraviolet rays are through sun hats,
umbrellas, heavy/dark window glass, use of
sunscreen, sunglasses, and dark clothing.

Question: How does the change in color of paper, from

black to white, increase or decrease the amount of UV rays
absorbed?
Hypothesis: We predict that the black paper will increase
the amount of UV rays absorbed better than white paper
because the darker color forms a more difficult passage for
the light to pass through since the heavy color absorbs
and attracts light easily.

Materials:
- 1 black, square piece of paper
- 1 white, square piece of paper (same size at black cloth)
- 12 color changing beads
- 3 circular petri dishes
- Stopwatch (timer)
- Recording device (computer or pencil and paper)
Procedures:
1. First, pick out a black and white piece of paper the
same weight and make them the same size (23cm x
15cm).
2. Then, gather all of your color changing beads and
place them in each dish (each dish with the same
amount of beads-12)
3. Next, hide your beads in shade to prevent them from
being exposed to the sunlight.
4. Find an area with great exposure of light to test your
beads.

5. Before you start the experiment, set the timer to 1

minute.
6. Spread all three petri dishes out, two under black or
white paper, and one in direct sunlight.
7. Start your timer and make sure that the timing is
accurate so all of the petri dishes get the same
amount of exposure time.
8. When the timer is up to 1 minute, bring your beads
back into a shady area and remove the black and
white paper.
9. Record your observations by the pigmentation of
color on the beads.
10.
Repeat the steps without changing any of
controlled variables.
Data:

Color of
Covering Paper

Time
(min)

Color of
Beads

Average of 3 Black
Tests

1
Minute

White

1
Minute

None

5.5

Minute

TEST 2

TEST 3

Graph:

Black

1
Minute

White

1
Minute

None

1
Minute

Black

1
Minute

White

1
Minute

None

1
Minute

Analyze and Conclude

Ultraviolet rays, also known as UV rays, are forms of
energy traveling through earth that reflect off the sun to
provide sunlight, but nearly all UV rays are not visible to
the eye. In this lab, our group tested to see if white or
black paper will absorb the most ultraviolet rays. Although
UV rays provide our bodies with a supplementary amount
of Vitamin D, a necessity to our body's healthy functions,
UV rays can also cause harmful sunburns, premature
aging, and even skin cancer. When out in the powerful
sunlight for a long period of time, the government
recommends wearing sunscreen and dark clothing can
help prevent sunburns since the UV rays are absorbed
easily. Different ways humans protect themselves from the
powerful ultraviolet rays are through sun hats, umbrellas,
heavy/dark window glass, use of sunscreen, sunglasses,
and dark clothing.Our group hypothesized that the black

paper will increase the amount of UV rays absorbed better

than white paper because the darker color forms a more
difficult passage for the light to pass through since the
heavy color absorbs and attracts light easily.
To comprehend how black and white paper can
absorb UV rays, we conducted an experiment by placing
one piece of black and white paper over separate petridishes that contained 12 color changing beads to see what
level of pigmentation the beads would receive after one
minute. After one minute of covering, we uncovered the
beads to see that the beads with a black paper covering
received a level 1 pigmentation, the beads with a white
paper covering received a level 4 pigmentation, and the
beads with no covering received a six. Our data showed
that the beads with a black covering absorbed the smallest
amount of UV rays compared to the white and no paper,
proving our hypothesis correct. We discovered that dark
clothing is better to wear rather than light colored clothing,
such as white. White clothing reflects sunlight
wavelengths, whereas black clothing absorbs the sunlight.
As mentioned by Esther Askell, a biologist, not only does
white clothing reflect sunlight, but the natural released
heat from your body. As a result, you become hotter just
from a persons body heat. Black clothing is better because
it absorbs all heat. Once black clothing absorbs heat, it has
to radiate the heat. Therefore, wearing black clothing
keeps you cooler and decreases the amount of UV rays
being absorbed.
A limitation to our experiment was the accuracy of
our timing and results because when we brought the petri
dishes with the UV Beads to our experiment area outside,
they may have absorbed a few UV Rays before the
experiment began. Another issue was the fact that we
used paper and not cloth. One of these materials may be
able to absorb UV rays better than the other, so our results
may not apply to clothing or other materials. These factors

may have influenced our data and caused our experiment

to not been as accurate as it could have been.

Bibliography:
1. "How Do I Protect Myself from UV Rays?" American
Cancer Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
2. "Sala Institute for Child and Family Centered Care."
NYU Langone Medical Center. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
3. Bailey, Cynthia. "Are Your Summer Clothes Good
Enough To Be Sun Protective Clothing?" Dr. Bailey's
Skin Care Blog. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
4. "Ultraviolet Radiation." Student's Guide -. Web. 28
Oct. 2014.

Links:

1. http://www.drbaileyskincare.com/blog/summer-clothes-sunprotective-clothing/\\
2. http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=14670
3. http://phys.org/news174748544.html
4. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/sunanduvexposure/skin
cancerpreventionandearlydetection/skin-cancer-prevention-andearly-detection-u-v-protection
5. http://io9.com/5903956/the-physics-that-explain-why-you-shouldwear-black-this-summer

Sydneys Information:
1. Best sun protection comes from fabric youre not likely to wear in the summer
like tightly woven fabric, dark colors, polyester, nylon and wool.
2. Wet fabric provides poor sun protection. A dark tee shirt will probably
provide more protection than a light-colored one because the color alone also
helps absorb UV rays
3. Unbleached cotton sometimes provides good sun protection when its dry, but
UV rays can pass through cotton fibers

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Mirandas Information:

Polyester is better than cotton.

Dark colors are better than light colors.

Choose outfits with long sleeves and long pant legs and collars to get as
much protection as possible. Loose clothing can help you stay more cool,
even when you are covered up.

With carefully chosen clothing, you can reduce the chance of UV damage to
your skin

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ellas Information:

Black clothing absorbs UV Rays better than white clothing

Heavy amounts of UV Rays result with burning, premature

aging, and skin cancer

Wear sunscreen to prevent sunburns (higher the SPF, the

better)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keiths Information:

Polyester is better than cotton.

Dark colors are better than light colors.

Choose outfits with long sleeves and long pant legs and collars to get as much
protection as possible. Loose clothing can help you stay more cool, even when
you are covered up.

With carefully chosen clothing, you can reduce the chance of UV damage to
your skin

Our data shows that dark colors like blue and red are
better than yellow and white to protect you from the
sun.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------