Study diffraction patterns using CDs and DVDs! Scholars measure the diffraction patterns of a light wave as it hits a CD or DVD. Using the information, they can measure the distance between the tracks. 

Fascinating aspects of electromagnetic radiation and its use in obtaining and transferring information are described here. Learners will find the connections to current technology interesting. Although the slides are text-heavy, they do...

Don't have an electron microscope? Have your classes build the next best thing! A hands-on lesson plan asks scholars to build a model of Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). They then use their models to identify the function of each...

Students investigate the wavelengths of spectra lines for common atoms. For this atomic emission spectra lesson plan, students use a transformer and diffraction grating to observe the emission spectra of various atoms. They find the...

Take a look at an organized physics course. The 34-section electronic textbook covers material in AP® Physics 1 and 2. Teachers use the text to supplement lectures and have the class work through the labs. Each section contains...

High schoolers compare and contrast electromagnetic and physical waves. In this wave lesson, students discover that all waves reflect, refract, and diffract energy. High schoolers work in small groups to experiment with waves and...

What is a physicist's favorite part of sports? Doing the wave. The presentation covers longitudinal, transverse, surface, and standing waves. It includes in-depth information on frequency, wavelength, period, amplitude, reflection,...

In this mass spectrometer worksheet, students read about how a mass spectrometer determines the elements in gases around Earth. Students answer 3 questions and identify the elements in a graph found by a mass spectrometer.

Student groups rotate through four stations to examine light energy behavior: refraction, magnification, prisms and polarization. They see how a beam of light is refracted (bent) through various transparent mediums. Young scholars...

Pupils use experiments such as electron diffraction that show that particle have a wavelike nature. When they are fired through a thin slit, rather than scattering like hard spheres they interfere like waves. Students see that the...

Learners engage in a lesson plan which includes flame tests and the construction of a simple diffraction spectrograph with which to measure sodium ion emissions. They use the Bragg equation to compute the wavelength of the line spectra...

Young scholars conduct a close examination of the atom's electrons, and discover how to theorize the energy levels, observe the brightness of light, classify colors, and measure temperature.

What an exciting lab experiment to conduct with your high school chemistry class! Crystals are formed naturally in the environment. However, allow your blossoming chemists to create their own unique crystals using alum and...

View LED lights through the eyes of a scientist. Young scholars learn to view light as a wave frequency and connect various frequencies to different colors on the light spectrum. A lab activity asks groups to measure the frequency of...

Students explain how an element can be identified using emission spectra. They relate the emission spectrum of hydrogen to its absorption spectrum and identify hydrogen absorption lines in the spectrum of stars.

Learners calculate the Balmer series. For this physics lesson, students observe hydrogen lamp spectra using spectrometers. They calculate wavelength and compare them with their theoretical calculations.

Young scholars observe an activity with Jell-O to learn about optics.  In this investigative lesson plan students fill out a handout on the activity that helps them to investigate the index of refraction and the speed of light. 

Learn about the technique used to determine the surface structure of crystalline materials called low-energy electron diffraction in this animation.

Simulate the original experiment that proved that electrons can behave as waves. Watch electrons diffract off a crystal of atoms, interfering with themselves to create peaks and troughs of probability. Java required.

Acting as a subtopic of the General Chemistry Virtual Textbook's section on Atoms and the Periodic Table, this site discusses wavelength and the uncertainty principle. Information is also provided on de Broglie wavelength and electron...

A collection of simulations to show the important topics of quantum physics.

Acting as a subtopic of the General Chemistry Virtual Textbook's section on Atoms and the Periodic Table, this site discusses wavelength and the uncertainty principle. Information is also provided on de Broglie wavelength and electron...