It is difficult for students to understand that radio waves and visible waves and X-rays are all the same "stuff". Some of the performance tasks address various aspects of the electromagnetic spectrum. This demonstration is especially suitable for the "Electromagnetic Pasta" performance task. Students construct a spectrum using different shapes of pasta and develop analogies for the shapes they have selected to represent the different bands of radiation within the spectrum. The pasta machine is a simple way to demonstrate to students that all bands of the spectrum really are made of the same "stuff"!
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Revised: September 22, 2008