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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Bubbles to Learn about Light Interference

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore constructive interference and destructive interference. In this light travel lesson, students follow procedures to discover how light waves travel and experience interference.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Bubbles to Learn about Light Interference

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explain the wave properties of light.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diffraction of Laser Light, Polarization and Color Filters

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate light behavior by conducting a series of experiments. In this physics lesson plan, students calculate the wavelength of the light source using an equation. They determine what color is produced when light of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Grating Spectrometer; Light and Wavelengths

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students create a paper model that demonstrates wave interference for 3 wavelength from 2 sources. For this light and wave lesson, students use a real spectrometer and observe and measure the wavelength of spectral lines. Students then,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning Light's Properties

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the properties of light and the behavior of light during interference.  In this electromagnetics lesson students explain behaviors of light.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Role Does Light Play Within the Vision Process?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the relationship between light and vision. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover how different wavelengths are divided in the visible spectrum. They record their answers and discuss their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frozen Film

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars discover how light reflects off surfaces. In this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Light and Laser

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders investigate the refractive index of water. In this physics lesson, 12th graders explain the operation of laser. They write a lab report about the activity.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seeing Interference Fringes with a Telescope

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

E3 Project Instructional Plan: Light

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders investigate the nature of light. For this physics lesson, 11th graders determine how light intensity varies with the distance of the light source.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Frozen Film

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students are introduced to the topic of light interference through this hands-on activity. They observe how light reflects off two surfaces and then meets to form an interesting variation of color on a film surface.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do The Colors of Light Mix?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers investigate the mixing of light. They form a hypotheses to reason why color changes occur and they write conclusions and ask new questions arising from the investigation. Students identify the primary and complementary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Waves

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students perform 3 hands-on activities to help them explain the terms "crest" and "trough" as related to sound, water, and light waves. All three waves types have troughs and crests. The activities use toys to demonstrate the properties...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Waves Interference

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students identify different wave types and their characteristics.  In this wave lesson students complete activities by activating tuning forks and interpreting data. 
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Physical Optics: The Wave Nature of Light

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students are introduced to the wave nature of light. In groups, they discuss Young's experiment and how diffraction and interference demonstrate the wave nature of light. Using examples, they show constructive and destructive...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Super Gelatin

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Infrared Remote Controllers

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students differentiate the two types of remote controllers namely RF and IR. In this technology lesson plan, students test their properties using CEENBoT and Isobot. They present their findings in class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Polarization

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders study the basic facts of polarization.  In this light waves lesson students demonstrate some activities illustrating interference patterns. 
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Activity
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network

Powers of Ten with the Blue Morpho Butterfly

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Explore the powers of ten while examining a Blue Morpho butterfly wing. Learners discover there is a lot more than meets the eye when one looks close enough.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Electromagnetic and Physical Waves

For Teachers 9th - 12th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Day and Night

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students using experiments try to demonstrate how observations can be affected by the cycles of night and day.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Liquid Crystal IR Detector

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers experiment with one method of detecting infrared radiation. They simulate the detection of infrared radiation using a liquid crystal sheet.