Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring the Speed of 'Light' With a Microwave Oven

For Students 9th - 10th
In this experiment, you will measure the speed of light using a microwave oven, some egg white, and a ruler. This short project proves to be an extremely interesting choice for a science lab, with pictures for illustration, and thorough...
Handout
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Ole Roemer and the Speed of Light

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides a concise overview of the speed of light and the Ole Roemer, the first man to measure it.
Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: How Does Light Travel Through Space and Other Media?

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed discussion of the nature of light, how it can travel through a vacuum, and how the speed of light is affected when light travels through a medium.
Article
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Diamonds: The Science Behind the Sparkle

For Students 9th - 10th
This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site explains why the atomic structure of a diamond slows down light and produces a sparkle more brilliant than from any other colorless substance.
Handout
Symmetry Magazine

Symmetry Magazine: Explain It in 60 Seconds: Cherenkov Light

For Students 9th - 10th
Cherenkov light is explained here as the light emitted when a charged particle travels through matter faster than light would be able to. This would be slower, however, than the maximum speed of light, which occurs in a vacuum. "Explain...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Measuring Speed of Moving Objects With Stroboscopic Photography

For Students 9th - 10th
A strobe light can illuminate an entire room in just tens of microseconds. Inexpensive strobe lights can flash up to 10 or 20 times per second. This project shows you how to use stroboscopic photography to analyze motion.
Article
Society for Science and the Public

Science News for Students: Breaking the Universal Speed Limit

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes research into whether neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light.
Website
NASA

Rxte Learning Center: Frequency, Wave Length, and Energy Activity

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource focuses on the relationship between the frequency, wavelength and speed of light. Has a link to an interactive activity relating frequency, wavelength, and energy.
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: The Em Spectrum: Waves of Energy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to the electromagnetic spectrum through this group research activity. Each group investigates a different wavelength range within the em spectrum and reports back to class. Discussion ideas also included.
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Navigating at the Speed of Satellites

For Teachers 6th - 9th
For thousands of years, navigators have looked to the sky for direction. Today, celestial navigation has simply switched from using natural objects to human-created satellites. A constellation of satellites, called the Global Positioning...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Focusing Your Flash for 'Freezing' Motion

For Students 9th - 10th
Here's an interesting flash photography project. With an inexpensive Fresnel lens, you can concentrate the light from your flash. You'll be able to shoot with a smaller aperture and a shorter flash duration. This will give you a greater...
Handout
Science Struck

Science Struck: Kinetic Energy Formula

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains what is meant by kinetic energy and demonstrates how to use the formulas for a point mass moving at less than the speed of light, for rotational motion, and for a mass moving at a relativistic speed. Includes interactive...
Website
NASA

Nasa: Imagine the Universe: Neutron Stars and Pulsars

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover what neutron stars and pulsars are and view pictures of them. Includes links to additional resources and lesson plans.
Article
Physics4kids

Physics 4 Kids: Where Traditional Physics Stops

For Students 9th - 10th
We're about to move into the modern age of physics. In the early 1800's, scientists began examining the basis of matter, space, and time. Sometimes it gets very confusing, but the big idea is that Newton's physics describe about 90% of...

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