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...

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...

In this mind-bending activity, young engineers explore this question of whether or not light actually bends. Using holographic diffraction gratings, groups design and build a spectrograph. The groups then move on research a problem...

In this optics review worksheet, students complete 50 multiple choice questions on light reflection, diffraction and interference.

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...

An incredibly colorful PowerPoint presents all the facts and definitions about waves that you could need for beginning physical scientists. There are several useful links to online animations of wave action. This may have been produced...

Assist your emerging scientists with construction of their very own spectroscopes. Individuals construct a spectroscope to identify elements used in varying lights within a particular environment. They conclude the activity with a...

Let there be light! When your physics learners take this midterm exam, light will be their focus. They will show what they know about electromagnetic waves, interference, refraction, reflection, lenses, prisms, and more! The test is...

Students explore the light spectrum. The teacher uses holographic diffraction grafting film on an overhead to demonstrate the true nature of color. After observing a vivid rainbow, students recognize that white light is composed of all...

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...

Don't have an electron microscope? Have your classes build the next best thing! A hands-on lesson plan asks scholars to build a model of Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). They then use their models to identify the function of each...

Young scholars listen as the teacher introduces Newton's early discovery of the diffraction of light. They use multiple sources of light (fluorescent, incandescent, sunlight, etc) to bend the light. They first use a prism then a...

Students explore Ultraviolet detecting beads and conduct several investigations with them.  In this investigative instructional activity students participate in an experiment to see the harmful effects of UV light and discuss their...

Learners 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...

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,...

Given specific materials, scholars follow a set of instructions to build and calibrate their very own spectroscopes. After construction, they test the scope for accuracy and make modifications where necessary.

Take the class over the rainbow. Pairs or small groups follow directions to create a spectrograph. The pupils measure the angles formed by the different colors of the spectrum along with calculating the lengths formed by the spectrum and...

Here's a colorful resource about spectra. An intriguing lesson teaches pupils about diffraction grating and about absorption and emission spectra. They see how to represent spectra using line plots and try out this skill in a matching...

Human fingerprint patterns are the result of layers of skin growing at different paces, thus causing the layers to pull on each other forming ridges. Here, groups of learners see how patterns and fingerprints assist scientists in a...

Design a mission over the rainbow. Small groups spend several weeks together determining a mission related to spectroscopy. The teams build spectrographs and analyze the design to determine whether it will carry out the mission. At the...

A spectacular spectrograph awaits. A fun lesson plan has scholars build a spectrograph from an oatmeal container. They then use their devices to investigate the spectra of different light sources. They record their observations on a...

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...

Eleventh graders investigate the nature of light. In this physics lesson, 11th graders determine how light intensity varies with the distance of the light source.

Young scholars observe and explore the characteristics of light.