Urbana School District
Optics
Don't worry, optics is a light topic! The presentation covers reflection, refraction, fiber optics, mirages, prisms, rainbows, dispersion, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, diffraction, the human eye, and much, much more. Presentation is the...
College Board
2017 AP® Physics 2: Algebra-Based Free-Response Questions
In 2017, more than 15,000 scholars earned college credit based on their AP Physics 2 exam covering lenses, energy, and more. The College Board released the free-response questions, sample answers, and scoring guidelines from that exact...
Curated OER
Spherical Mirrors
Some formatting issues will need repair (a few overlapping text boxes and pictures), but overall this is a comprehensive presentation on how light reflects off of spherical mirrors. Both convex and concave mirrors are explained,...
It's About Time
Effect of Lenses on Light
Optometry jokes just get cornea and cornea. Young scientists use a lens and light to create and measure focal points on both a note card and the wall. They then complete a reading passage and questions as homework.
Exploratorium
Parabolas
A parabolic mirror toy demonstrates how concave mirrors objects reflect light and produce a realistic image at their focal point. This resource probably doesn't explain any more than the printed insert that accompanies such an apparatus...
Curated OER
Was Kepler Correct?
Students are introduced to Kepler's 2nd law of Planetary Motion. The lesson reinforces the understanding of focal points. They calculate the sector area of an ellipse.Students expand understanding by modeling Kepler's 2nd Law of...
Curated OER
What's the Depth?
Students practice digital camera skills by identifying effects of depth of field at different apertures, comparing effects of depth of field with different focal lengths, and creating images showing effect of depth of field at different...
Curated OER
Light and Optics
Middle schoolers discover the relationship between lens shape and the formation of images in an experiment. They use three different size converging lenses and a diverging lens to calculate and compare the focal length of each. They...
Physics LAB
Spherical Mirrors
In this mirrors worksheet, students identify the equation that describes the relationship between the mirror's focal length and its radius. Students compare images reflected through concave mirrors and different distances. This worksheet...
Curated OER
What do Lenses Do?
Students learn to differentiate between different types of lenses. In this lens instructional activity, students discover how lenses are different and why a specific lens should be used. Students understand how to find the focal point of...
Physics LAB
Spherical Mirror Equation #2
For this spherical mirror worksheet, learners are given diagrams of concave spherical mirrors, their focal points and an object. Students answer 10 questions about the location of the images, the size of the images and the height of the...
Curated OER
Microscope-Convex Mirrors
Eighth graders are able to understand how convex mirrors are used in a microscope. They are able to identify the focus and focal length of a curved mirror and observe virtual images in a convex mirror.
Curated OER
Focusing on Lenses
Students explore scientific observations by examining the parts of a microscope. In this optics lesson, students discuss the importance of a focal point and focal distance when utilizing an optical device such as a microscope. Students...
Curated OER
Chors, Secants, Tangents
Students identify the relationship between chords, secants and circles. In this geometry lesson plan, students calculate the length of the chords. They sketch the secant lines on a circle.
Teach Engineering
Acoustic Mirrors
Investigate sound waves with acoustic mirrors. Using audio software, groups make recordings of musical instruments, both with and without acoustic mirrors. They compare the recordings to see the effect of acoustic mirrors on sound waves.
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
Building a Telescope
Students construct a simple refracting telescope. They calculate the magnification.
Physics LAB
Thin Lens Equation #3-Both Types
In this thin lens instructional activity, students answer 21 questions about diverging and converging lenses and the images they produce.
Physics LAB
Thin Lens Equations #4-Both Types
In this thin lens worksheet, students answer 20 questions about the images produced by converging lenses and diverging lenses. They determine how far the image is from the lens, they determine if the image is upright or inverted and they...
Curated OER
Labs from YSI 95: Telescopes
Students build a telescope and give quantification of its magnification and field of view while making observations regarding images. In this telescope lesson, students use a simple lens to project a scene and examine various telescope...
Curated OER
Worksheet Chapter 7 & 8 College Prep Algebra
In this algebra worksheet, students find the value of given expressions, simplify division equations containing two variables, find the square root, and solve radicals. This worksheet contains 100 problems and contains an answer key.
Curated OER
A Distant View
Students investigate the essential concepts of how lenses work to magnify vision, and then build simple telescopes to demonstrate their understanding. They write a description of how their telescope could be improved and how it works.
Curated OER
Comparison of Images Formed by Plane, Cylindrical and Spherical Mirrors
Students experiment with differently shaped mirrors. In this reflection and optics lesson, students investigate the visual effects of reflected images in mirrors. They use plane, cylindrical, and concave mirrors for the activity.
Curated OER
Lady Liberty
If you're looking for a fantastic cross-curricular lesson on the Statue of Liberty, then this lesson is for you! Learners watch a Reading Rainbow episode which focuses on the Statue, then gather facts about the creation, construction,...