Your class might be surprised to learn that mirrors have been around since the first century AD! Young scientists explore reflection and refraction of light through a series of challenges. They use this knowledge to design their own...

Physics is phun in this activity. Young physicists use a lightbox to test how and where light is refracted and reflected as it travels through transparent materials. Angles of incidence and refraction, sine of both angles, and the...

Gummy bears are tasty, but did you know they are also used to determine color and light properties? Use the activity as a way to demonstrate light absorption, light reflection, and refraction with high schooler....

Third graders utilize the scientific method to explain light and optics in this five lessons unit. Through experimentation and discussion, 3rd graders canvass the concepts of light traveling, reflection and refraction.

Students explore light. In this properties of light lesson, students define the terms refract, reflect, and diffract after listening to the teacher's description. Students listen to the book Light Magic and observe a spoon in a glass of...

Students define reflection and refraction. In this Physics lesson plan, students compare a variety of items to find properties of reflection or refraction. Students record their findings.

Students study concepts associated with light. In this light lesson, students observe an demonstration by the teacher. They examine reflection and refraction of light and name things that reflect light and those that refract it. They...

Young scientists study light reflection and refraction as they determine the critical angle, the rainbow angle, and color separation in rainbows. Teams record the data they collect in a shared spreadsheet and discuss results with the class.

Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...

Fifth graders analyze optical images. in this optical lesson plan, 5th graders look at how light reflects and refracts. They discuss different types of lenses and how they change the picture that is taken. 

Young geometers become pool sharks in this analysis of the angles and lengths of a trick shot. By using angles of incidence and reflection to develop similar triangles, learners plan the exact placement of balls to make the shot....

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...

Students investigate refraction and reflection of light. In this light lesson, students perform 3 activities to observe light interacting with matter by using a flashlight. They explore refraction using a glass of water and reflection...

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

Physics lab groups finagle with laser lights to determine the critical angle of refraction for both water and Lucite. Because there are no detailed steps or an answer key for this enlightening exercise, an inexperienced physics...

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...

Twelve pages of mostly multiple-choice questions comprise this comprehensive New York Regents physics exam. It covers an entire year's worth of physics curriculum and takes about 3 hours to complete. Review the questions to ensure they...

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.

A two-part lesson asks young scientists to research the contributions of African American scientists at Bell Laboratories. After presenting their findings, class members watch two demonstrations that introduce them to total internal...

Students are able to describe what happens to light when it strikes different materials. They describe the law of reflection. Students are able to explain why a mirror froms a virtual image. They are able to describe diffuse reflection.

Young scholars experiment with mirrors. In this Mirrors and How They reflect instructional activity, students read how mirrors reflect light. Then young scholars perform over ten experiments and record their conclusions about mirrors and...

Students explore color, light, refraction and reflection.  In this light lesson students measure solar position and compare it to time.

Light is such a fascinating subject. This lesson does a great job of illuminating the mysteries of light for your young scientists. A series of demonstrations which are explained in the plan should help your charges to understand how...

Students examine how light waves travel. In this properties of light lesson, students observe how light travels in water, how light is reflected and refracted, and how light is pure energy.