Curated OER
Making Clouds: Aerosol-Cloud Interactions in a Beaker
Students observe a teacher demo on how clouds form. In this earth science lesson, students discover how cloudiness affects relative humidity. They explain the scattering of light by clouds.
Curated OER
Why is the Sky Blue?
Students explore diffusion or scattering of light. For this physics lesson, students explain why the sky is blue and sunsets/sunrises are red.
American Association of Physics Teachers
Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Compton Effect
Simulation demonstrating the Compton Effect; how light is scattered off an electron. Adjust the angle of the scattering to see how Compton's equation can be used to predict the angle of the photon that is scattered.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Determining Concentration
Students quantify the percent of light reflected from solutions containing varying concentrations of red dye using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT bricks and light sensors. They begin by analyzing a set of standard solutions with known...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Glue Stick Sunset
A demonstration exploring light scattering to show why the sky is blue and sunsets are red.
Famous Scientists
Famous Scientists: C. V. Raman
Learn about the Indian physicist who carried out ground-breaking work in the field of light scattering which earned him the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Make a Rainbow
Make a rainbow by changing angles and placement of the observer, the sun, and the rain.
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Blue Skies and Red Sunsets
This high school resource shows how the blue of the skies and the red of the sunsets can be explained by the interaction of sunlight with atmospheric particles which causes scattering of light.
Nobel Media AB
The Nobel Prize: Lord Rayleigh Biographical
At this site from the Nobel e-Museum, you can read about the scientific work of Lord Rayleigh (1842-1919 CE). This article includes information on his education and experiments with light and sound waves.
Other
The Disgustoscope
This is a resource to teach optics, while building a modified kaleidoscope that will provide 3-dimensional images.
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Refraction and Ray Model of Light: Boundary Behavior
In this illustrated physics tutorial, students investigate the connection between light reflection and light refraction.
Optical Society
Optical Society of America: Exploring the Science of Light: Classroom Activities
Experiments and activities for investigating the science of light, as well as in-depth explanations of some of the light principles.