+
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Enlightening Explorations, Part Ii

For Teachers 6th
This lesson engages students in learning about light. Studets will describe how light is produced, reflected, refracted, and separated.
+
Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: I'm So Bright! I Wear My Shades Indoors!

For Teachers 6th
This lesson engages students in learning about light through multiple sources. Students will learn how light is produced, reflected, refracted, and separated. Students will communicate their findings through an independent project that...
+
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Security System Design

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers apply everything they have learned about light properties and laser technologies to designing, constructing and presenting laser-based security systems that protect the school's mummified troll. In the associated...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Beating the Motion Sensor

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Lighting is responsible for nearly one-third of the electricity use in buildings. One of the best ways to conserve energy is to make sure the lights are turned off when no one is in a room. This process can be automated using motion...
+
Activity
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: 3 M Young Scientist Lab: Gelatin Optic Fibers

For Students 3rd - 8th
Strips of gelatin dessert and a laser pointer demonstrate total internal reflection.
+
eBook
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Refraction and Ray Model of Light: The Critical Angle

For Students 9th - 10th
Illustrated examples and interactive practice problems that introduce students to the concept of the critical angle, the angle of incidence that provides an angle of refraction of 90-degrees.
+
Activity
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Make a Light Fountain

For Students 3rd - 5th
A simple experiment that demonstrates the concept of total internal reflection, and shows how light can travel around curves and corners, as it does in fiber-optic cables. Accompanied by an explanation of what's happening.
+
Activity
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Total Internal Reflection

For Students 9th - 10th
An investigation into the total internal reflection of light, using a laser pointer. Accompanied by an explanation of what's happening, a discussion of Snell's Law, and links to additional information.
+
Handout
My Science Site

Mirrors, Lenses and Your Eyes

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explores the science behind light and how mirrors reflect it. Also contains information on lenses both convex and concave.
+
Activity
Science is Fun

Science Is Fun: Floating Soap Bubbles

For Students 6th - 8th
In this experiment you learn how to generate carbon dioxide inside a container, and float soap bubbles above the gas. Once the bubbles are suspended, it is possible to observe them closely, which is normally very difficult to do....
+
Article
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Image Formation for Concave Mirrors Case A

For Students 9th - 10th
This animation depicts the path of light to each person's eye. Different people are sighting in different directions; yet each person is sighting at the same image location. In this animation the image location is the intersection point...
+
Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Soap Film Interference Model

For Students 9th - 10th
In this experiment, students construct models of larger red and smaller blue waves on index cards, and use them to investigate how light behaves when it is reflected off the front and the back of soap film.
+
Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Soap Film Painting

For Students 9th - 10th
Investigate the constructive and destructive interference of waves as they reflect off the front and back surfaces of soap film. See what colorful effects can be created on a large, vertical soap film surface where gravity comes into play.
+
Activity
Science Museum, London

Science Museum: 360 Periscope

For Students 3rd - 8th
Make a 360 degrees periscope which uses mirrors to reflect light to see around corners.
+
Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Laser Jello

For Students 9th - 10th
View a total internal reflection by using gelatin and a laser with this activity.
+
Lesson Plan
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)

Smile: Light

For Teachers 4th - 6th
For this activity, students actually find the angles of reflection and incidence.
+
Interactive
Walter Fendt

Walter Fendt: Reflection and Refraction of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Defines the refraction of light and provides an applet for investigating it.
+
Handout
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Guiding Light Optical Fiber

For Students 3rd - 8th
This experiment demonstrates the concept of total internal reflection, using basic materials. Accompanied by a detailed explanation of what's happening, and links to articles on reflection and refraction.
+
Article
Other

Lighthouses: Lighting the Lights

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of the early lights used in lighthouses and how these lights evolved into what they are today. Explains the contributions of Fresnel to the development of these lights; discusses the Fresnel orders.
+
Handout
Other

Architectural Acoustics and Lighting: Room Acoustics

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Architectural Acoustics and Lighting provides a discussion of various factors affecting the acoustics of a given room. Room dimensions, the wavelength of the sound wave, the physical characteristics of the walls, the...
+
Handout
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Polarization

For Students 9th - 10th
"How Do We Know Light Behaves as a Wave?" An answer is provided in this discussion of the polarization of light and the use of Polaroid filters in sunglasses. The four methods discussed on this page are: polarization by transmission,...
+
Unit Plan
University of New South Wales (Australia)

University of New South Wales: School of Physics: Physclips: Geometrical Optics

For Students 9th - 10th
Physiclips thoroughly presents geometrical optics concepts like rays, refraction, Snell's law, total internal reflection, dispersion, mirrors, and lenses with animations and film clips.
+
Handout
University of Maryland

Optics Highlights: The Telescope

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of an anecdotal history of optics and the study of light. Extremely thorough treatment of the invention of the telescope. Includes a short biographical sketch and discusses the work of Isaac Newton which focuses on his contribution...
+
Article
Open Curriculum

Open Curriculum: Bounded Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
To understand how bounded waves behave and how reflection of waves affects the wave components.

Other popular searches