Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Learning Lab: Turn About's Fair Play! Mirrors and How They Reflect
Teachers can download this teaching package that looks at light and symmetry through the use of mirrors. Students will enjoy the nine mirror challenges, along with the hands-on activities described in the lessons. Teachers will...
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Bending Light
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.
Teachers TryScience
Teachers Try Science: Where There's Light, There's Hot Food!!!
This unit helps students learn to apply the concept of solar energy conservation. They are introduced to angles and their effect on the amount of light reflected, and they will also design, construct, manipulate, critique, evaluate and...
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Physical Science: Refraction
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Refraction of light in matter and how light changes its speed and angle of refraction according to the type of medium it is travelling through.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Reflection and Refraction
Reflection and refraction are explained with an experiment that uses a sheet of paper, cardboard, and other common materials.
BBC
Bbc: Gcse Bitesize: Why Do Scientists Think That Light and Sound Are Waves?
Light travels as transverse waves and can travel through a vacuum. Sound travels as longitudinal waves and needs to travel through a solid, liquid or gas. Read about the properties of light and of sound, and learn the differences between...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Light
In this activity, students actually find the angles of reflection and incidence.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Total Internal Reflection
This physics department site provides a definition and explanation of the phenomenon of total internal reflection. Includes a diagram and an equation for calculating the critical angle for light approaching a surface.
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.
Walter Fendt
Walter Fendt: Reflection and Refraction of Light
Defines the refraction of light and provides an applet for investigating it.
University of Colorado
University of Colorado: Ph Et Interactive Simulations: Bending Light
Manipulate variables and measure angles as light is refracted in this interactive simulation.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Crossed Polarizers
At this univeristy physics department site, the polarization of light is explained and illustrated. Methods for analyzing light to determine the degree of polarization are stated and explained with equations.
Optical Society
Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Mirrors and Images
An experiment to investigate how many images appear as the angle between two hinged mirrors is increased. Accompanied by an explanation of what is happening, questions for students to consider, and a link to an article about reflection.
CK-12 Foundation
Ck 12: Total Internal Reflection
[Free Registration/Login may be required to access all resource tools.] Students learn about total internal reflection. More specifically, they will learn what the critical angle is, how it is derived and how to solve for it in real life...
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Reflection and Ray Model of Light: Right Angle Mirrors
Discover how light reacts when it strikes mirrors which are placed at right angles to each other.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Bubbularium
What colors do you see in a bubble? Why do you see colors in a bubble? Use this site to find out the answer to these questions with this easy experiment.
Georgia State University
Georgia State University: Hyper Physics: Polarization by Absorption
The operation of Polaroid filters on a pair of sunglasses is shown.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: When Silicon Talks
In this activity, students tackle this aspect of engineering as they solve problems for precise angles and speeds, and predict data output when samples are altered.
Optical Society
Optical Society of America: Optics for Kids: Total Internal Reflection
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.
Boston University
Bu: Optics: Geometric Optics
Several short descriptions of demonstrations which illustrate principles of geometric optics (many of which focus upon refraction).
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments: Finding the Shortest Path
Students discover the shortest distance light travels from an object to the human eye, as the light from the object reflects off a single mirror. In the process they learn about reflection in a line, congruent angles, angle bisectors,...
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Up Periscope!
Children can look around corners with this homemade periscope. Great instructions at this Exploratorium site on how to build a periscope.