Label the Parts of the Electromagnetic Spectrum

All 16 boxes on the diagram

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The seven bands 7

Radio waves The longest waves, with the lowest energy. A radio picks them up from a radio station.
Microwaves A little more energy than radio waves. A microwave oven heats food with them.
Infrared Light given off by warm things, such as skin. Its waves are just longer than visible light.
Visible light The only band human eyes can detect. It is a small part of the whole spectrum.
Ultraviolet Light the Sun gives off. Its waves are just shorter than visible light.
X-rays High-energy waves a dentist uses to picture teeth. Only gamma rays carry more energy.
Gamma rays The shortest waves, with the highest frequency and the most energy.

Visible light 6

Red The longest waves the eye can see, about 700 nanometers. Infrared lies just beyond it.
Orange Between red and yellow. Its waves are a little shorter than red.
Yellow Between orange and green in the strip.
Green Between yellow and blue, past the middle of the strip.
Blue Between green and violet. Its waves are shorter than green.
Violet The shortest waves the eye can see, about 380 nanometers. Ultraviolet lies just beyond it.

The three arrows 3

Wavelength The distance from one crest to the next. It grows toward the radio end.
Frequency How many crests pass a point each second. It rises toward the gamma end.
Energy What each photon of the light carries. It rises with frequency, toward the gamma end.

How this list was compiled: Every name, the order of the bands and the three trends checked on 2026-10-01 in two independent sources, with a third for the wave terms and the two wavelength figures. (1) NASA, Imagine the Universe, The Electromagnetic Spectrum, https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html (public domain): radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray in order of rising photon energy, drawn from lowest energy and longest wavelength to highest energy and shortest wavelength; frequency in hertz, wavelength in meters, energy in electron volts; violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red light between 400 and 700 nanometers; one everyday example for each band. (2) Wikipedia, Electromagnetic spectrum, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum, and Visible spectrum, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_spectrum (text only): the same seven bands from low to high frequency; radio waves have the longest wavelengths and the lowest photon energy, gamma rays the highest energy and the shortest; wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency; six named colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet), with indigo added later as a seventh. (3) NASA Science, Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, Anatomy of an Electromagnetic Wave, https://science.nasa.gov/ems/02_anatomy/, and Visible Light, https://science.nasa.gov/ems/09_visiblelight/ (public domain): the distance between crests is the wavelength; frequency is the number of crests that pass a point in one second; violet has the shortest wavelength, at around 380 nanometers, and red the longest, at around 700 nanometers. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry. Own original chart; the order of the bands follows NASA and Wikipedia, and nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

The electromagnetic spectrum is every kind of light, sorted by wavelength. This electromagnetic spectrum labeling worksheet is also a quiz: each band, each color and each trend has a box to name.

Read the full guide

Start with the seven bands

The band runs from long waves on the left to short waves on the right, and the wave drawn along it tightens as it goes. The boxes above it name its segments in order. The narrow segment in the middle is the only one eyes detect; it opens into six cells, one for each color, with the longest wave on the left.

Then the three arrows

One arrow points left and two point right, and the words on each say what it measures. To draw and label the EM spectrum on paper, copy the band first, then these arrows.

To label the electromagnetic spectrum worksheet by hand, open More options and press Print blank: every box prints empty. The other print has the names.

Questions and answers

What are the 7 parts of the electromagnetic spectrum in order?

From the longest wavelength to the shortest: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. Frequency and energy rise in that same order.

How do you draw the electromagnetic spectrum and label its parts?

Draw a long bar and split it into seven bands. Starting at the long-wave end, write radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays. Add one arrow for wavelength and, pointing the other way, arrows for frequency and energy.

Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum has the most energy?

Gamma rays. They have the highest frequency and the shortest wavelength. Radio waves are at the other end, with the lowest energy and the longest wavelength.

What are the colors of visible light in order?

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet, from the longest wavelength to the shortest. Red is about 700 nanometers and violet about 380. Some lists add indigo between blue and violet.