Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shrinky Dinks® Palettes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Here is a fun and clever lesson for teaching physics classes how to calculate wavelength if given the energy and frequency data. On a worksheet, they compute wavelengths using a table of information that you provide. On a paper palette,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Measuring the Wavelengths of Visible Light

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners demonstrate use of an Emission tube power supply, a diffraction grating, and a scientific calculator to determine the different wavelengths of light.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Color Spectrum: How Does it Work?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Create models of the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Working in small groups, your class can investigate metric conversions calculations. They will find the length of the waves in nanometers,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Visible Spectroscopy Expert Witness Problem

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
In a simulated crime science investigation, chemistry or physics sleuths use spectroscopy to analyze solutions. The instructional activity gives learners practice making salicylate solutions, using spectrophotometers, calculating...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Atomic Emission Spectra and the Bohr Model of the Atom

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the wavelengths of spectra lines for common atoms. In this atomic emission spectra lesson plan, students use a transformer and diffraction grating to observe the emission spectra of various atoms. They find the...
Lesson Plan
The Science Spot

The Wave Exercise

For Teachers 6th - 9th
During a lesson on wave motion, physical science participants basically act out the waves as a group. Through their movements, the amplitude, speed, frequency, and wavelength are all identified. Ideas for modeling the reflection and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How to verify the relationship between the wavelength and frequency of light

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers collaborate in heterogeneous groups with each student having a different role. They comprehend the relationship between the frequency and wavelength of light. They record their observations in a table that is included on...
Assessment
New York State Education Department

Regents High School Examination: Physics 2010

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Give every type of learner in your physics class an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned throughout the year. From analyzing tables and graphs to evaluating diagrams and solving problems, there is an outstanding variety of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Can You Carry a Tune in a Bucket?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students use water filled pipes to play a tune and consider the mathematics behind the sound waves. In this sound wave activity, students play a tune with water filled pipes. They create a mathematical model to evaluate the wavelengths...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Wonderful World of Waves (Wave Basics)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students define amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and period, calculate period given frequency, and calculate frequency given period, define crest and trough and locate both on diagram of wave, differentiate between latitudinal and...
Lesson Plan
Santa Monica College

Flame Tests of Metal Cations

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Scientists used flame tests to identify elements long before the invention of emission spectroscopy. Young chemists observe a flame test of five metal cations in the fourth lesson of an 11-part series. Individuals then work...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Resolution—Not Just for the New Year

For Students 11th - 12th
Experiment with optical resolution using an inquiry-based lesson. Young researchers calculate fellow classmates' optical resolutions. They apply the information to understand the inner workings of optical instruments.
Lesson Plan
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California Department of Education

What Is a "Wave"?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Take a stretch, but don't wave goodbye. An interesting resource provides everything needed to present an introductory lesson plan on waves. Teachers present a PowerPoint defining the types of waves and their characteristics. Pupils use a...
Lesson Plan
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California Department of Education

Waves and Music

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Strike the right chord with a musical activity! Instructors provide a lecture on the mechanics of a pan flute. Pupils build their own pan flutes by using straws and calculating the lengths to create a scale. After cutting the straws to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students measure angles of refraction as the light travels through gelatin.  In this experimental instructional activity students complete a refraction lab and plot their data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light and Elements

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Here is a full-fledged investigation of light waves, the electromagnetic spectrum, and element spectra. Physicists research a scientist that contributed to our understanding of the behavior of light. They take notes on your lecture, and...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Thinking with the Eyes

For Students 9th
Objects are larger (or smaller) than they appear! Scholars use a laboratory investigation to explore the difference between resolution and magnification. The activity allows them to calculate the size of the field of view of their light...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Light

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study the basic structure of the atom. In this chemistry lesson, students explain how colors relate to energy that electrons emit. They calculate energy of the emitted photons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Photosynthetically Available Radiation (PAR) Measurements Part 1: Calculating the Solar Constant using a TI-8

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders are introduced to the term Photosynthetically Available Radiation. In groups, they participate in an experiment to determine how ecosystems survive the conditions in the Arctic. They calculate the amount of solar energy...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the refraction properties of gelatin to calculate its index of refraction. They discover that as the light travels through the gelatin, its speed and wavelength also change. Students find th indes of refraction of an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Grating Spectrometer

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students calculate the Balmer series. In this physics lesson, students observe hydrogen lamp spectra using spectrometers. They calculate wavelength and compare them with their theoretical calculations.
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Light Waves: Grades 9-12

For Students 9th - 12th
Explore the behavior of light waves with a lab activity. Scholars build new vocabulary through experimentation and observation. Using different mediums, they model reflection, refraction, transmission, diffusion, and scattering of light.
Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Electromagnetic Radiation

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
How can nanoparticles be used in the battle against skin cancer. Class members take on the question as they gather information about electromagnetic radiation, specifically ultraviolet radiation. Pupils learn about the mathematical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Overview of Solar Radiation

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Students compute basic radiative "constants" of the sun-Earth-atomosphere system. They examine the wavelength of maximum radiation emission.