Lessons on the Nature of Light

Light is simultaneously concrete and abstract to middle school students. It is concrete because students have direct experience with it daily. It is abstract because it is intangible. The lessons and activities in this section are designed to facilitate bridging the familiar to the abstract so that students are able to construct accurate conceptions of the nature of light.

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Light, Prisms and the Rainbow Connection http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/activities/teachers/prisms.html

Students working in pairs or in small groups will predict how to make a rainbow using the materials they are given, then produce a rainbow and record the colors they see. They will also draw diagrams that show how a prism separates the colors of light. Alternative methods to demonstrate the separation of white light into the color spectrum are suggested. A link is provided to an interactive tutorial where students can explore how light refracts. A second tutorial illustrates Newton's prism experiments, showing the separation of sunlight, its component spectrum, and the recombination of the spectrum by a second inverted prism. MSP full record

The Reflection of Light http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/rdg/reflection/reflection.shtml

This short article uses text and illustrations to explain the reflection of light on smooth and rough surfaces. MSP full record

Angles of Reflection http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/reflection/index.html

An interactive simulation shows what happens to light when it hits a mirror. The simulation allows the user to change the angle of the incoming, or incident, light wave and to see the corresponding reflected angle. Click on Mirror, Mirror on the Wall for an activity. MSP full record

The Refraction of Light http://acept.la.asu.edu/PiN/rdg/refraction/refraction.shtml

This article uses text and illustrations to explain the refraction of light when light goes from one medium to another. MSP full record

Seeing Our World Through a Different Light http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/light_lessons/our_world_different_light/

The aim of the Cool Cosmos portal, part of NASA’s outreach program, is to explain infrared astronomy to students and the public at large. At this web site, you’ll find activities where students perform a version of the experiment in which astronomer Sir Frederick William Herschel discovered infrared light or a version of the experiment in which Johann Wilhelm Ritter first discovered ultraviolet light. Tutorials about multiwavelength astronomy include an image gallery that shows celestial objects observed in different wavelengths and also explains the benefits of each wavelength. Be sure to peruse the Paper Products page, where you can download images. MSP full record

The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Waves of Energy http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/activities/electromagneticspectrum/

According to the objectives given for this lesson, students will understand (1) that the sun’s energy is transferred to Earth by electromagnetic waves, which are transverse waves, (2) that there are eight main types of electromagnetic waves, classified on the electromagnetic spectrum according to their wavelengths, and (3) how each of the types of electromagnetic radiation is used or found in our everyday lives. This lesson would be a suitable activity for small groups. MSP full record

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Copyright October 2007 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.