Cornell University
Diffraction Demystified
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.
Curated OER
Fun Physics You Can See
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...
Cornell University
Optical Simulation of a Transmission Electron Microscope
Don't have an electron microscope? Have your classes build the next best thing! A hands-on instructional activity asks scholars to build a model of Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). They then use their models to identify the...
Curated OER
Atomic Emission Spectra and the Bohr Model of the Atom
High schoolers 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...
Rice University
College Physics for AP® Courses
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 multiple...
Curated OER
Electromagnetic and Physical Waves
Learners compare and contrast electromagnetic and physical waves. For this wave lesson, students discover that all waves reflect, refract, and diffract energy. Learners work in small groups to experiment with waves and evaluate the type...
Urbana School District
Waves
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,...
Curated OER
Mass Spectrometer
In this mass spectrometer worksheet, high schoolers 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.
Curated OER
Stations of Light
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. Students investigate...
Curated OER
Indinite Potential Well
Students 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...
Curated OER
Chemical Sleuthing
Students engage in a lesson 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 produced.
Curated OER
Sleuth Rays
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.
Curated OER
Grow an Alum Crystal
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 water. You may...
Cornell University
LEDs Rainbow Connection
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...
It's About Time
The Chemical Behavior of Atoms
Assist your class with this colorful activity as students view and interpret changes in the hydrogen atom. They discuss concepts of the electromagnetic spectrum and use Bohr's model to predict wavelengths and light patterns,...
Curated OER
Stellar Fingerprints: the Spectra of Stars
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.
Curated OER
Grating Spectrometer
Students calculate the Balmer series. In this physics lesson, students observe hydrogen lamp spectra using spectrometers. They calculate wavelength and compare them with their theoretical calculations.
Curated OER
Jell-O Optics
Learners observe an activity with Jell-O to learn about optics. In this investigative lesson students fill out a handout on the activity that helps them to investigate the index of refraction and the speed of light.