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Activity
Optical Society

Optical Society of America: Exploring Science of Light: Intermediate Activities

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of intermediate experiments, for students aged ten and up, for exploring the magnification, reflection, and refraction of light.
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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.
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Interactive
University of Colorado

University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Bending Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore bending of light between two media with different indices of refraction. See how changing from air to water to glass changes the bending angle. Play with prisms of different shapes and make rainbows.
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Unknown Type
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Light Rays

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a quiz covering reflected, refracted, shadow, and camera rays.
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Graphic
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Sound Propagation

For Students 9th - 10th
This page and the many pages which are indexed to focus on the behaviors of sound which characterize it as a wave. Reflection, refraction, interference, diffraction and more are clearly illustrated and explained.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Physics for Kids: Wave Behavior

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about the behavior of waves in the science of physics including reflection, refraction, diffraction, polarization, absorption, and interference.
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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.
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Website
Other

Propagation of Light Using Geometry

For Students 9th - 10th
A discussion of Christian Huygens' contribution to wave optics, and particularly to our understanding of the reflection and refraction of light. Excellent diagrams and a geometric proof on why the law of reflection is mathematically...
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Website
My Science Site

B J Mst: Behaviour of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explores light reflection and refraction by providing colorful illustrations and examples.
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Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Critical Angle

For Students 3rd - 8th
Students can see light reflected and refracted in this demonstration. They will also discover the total internal reflection of light.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Needing Illumination: Investigating Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This is the first lesson of this unit to introduce light. In this lesson, students learn the five words that describe how light interacts with objects: "transparent," "translucent," "opaque," "reflection" and "refraction."
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Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign: Light and Optics

For Students 9th - 10th
Rainbows and sunsets are called "atmospheric optics". They can be caused by light being absorbed, reflected, scattered, refracted, or diffracted by particles in the atmosphere. Learn all about different atmospheric optics along with...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Light Scavengers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students examine various materials and investigate how they interact with light. Students use five new vocabulary words (translucent, transparent, opaque, reflection and refraction) to describe how light interacts with...
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Interactive
Math Science Nucleus

Math/science Nucleus: Light Magic

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This animation discusses light and the properties of light in a storybook format. The animations cover the colors of the rainbow (ROYGBIV) along with prisms, light waves, reflection, and refraction.
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Energy of Light

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this introduction to light energy, students learn about reflection and refraction as they learn that light travels in wave form. Through hands-on activities, they see how prisms, magnifying glasses and polarized lenses work. They also...
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Handout
Georgia State University

Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Behavior of Incident Light

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from Georgia State University is an indexing page for several other pages on the topic of reflection. Topics are treated in an understandable manner and utilize meaningful graphics.
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Handout
Other

Byju's: Physics: Reflection of Waves

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains what happens to a wave when it hits a fixed end or a free end.
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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...
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Handout
Oklahoma Mesonet

Oklahoma Climatological Survey: Overview of Radiation

For Students 9th - 10th
This site details what radiation is, the physics of radiation, and radiative transfer as it occurs in nature. Content explores the electromagnetic spectrum, electromagnetic waves, properties of radiation, and solar radiation.
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Activity
Center of Science and Industry

Cosi Columbus: Two Lenses in One

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Investigate the behavior of a water filled vial, and discover why it acts like a magnifier. Includes full list of materials, procedures, and scientific explanation of what causes light rays to change direction.
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Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Energy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Through nine lessons, students are introduced to a range of energy types--electrical, light, sound and thermal-as well as the renewable energy sources of wind, hydro (water) and solar power. Subjects range from understanding that the...
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Interactive
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Ejs Reflection and Refraction Between Taut Strings Model

For Students 9th - 10th
In this simulation, two strings with different densities are held tautly as a wave pulses along them. Variables can be changed to alter the relative densities of the strings, as well as the type of wave pulse.
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Handout
Physics Classroom

The Physics Classroom: Lesson 3: Concave Mirrors

For Students 9th - 10th
Lesson 3 of this tutorial on refraction is on concave mirrors. Content that is covered includes the anatomy of curved mirrors, reflection of light and image formation, ray diagrams, image characteristics for concave mirrors, plus more.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: Physics for Kids: Telescopes

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about telescopes in the science of physics including lenses, mirrors, refracting, reflecting, the history, and the Hubble Space Telescope.

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