Curated OER
Wave Actions
In this waves worksheet, students read about the ways waves react depending on the boundary they encounter. They read about natural frequency, resonance, phases and interference in waves. They match 13 terms with their definitions, they...
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Hot Air
High schoolers conduct an experiment to determine how hot air affect the path of laser. In this physics instructional activity, students explain why stars appear to twinkle at night. They discuss how light travels from space to Earth.
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Electromagnetic and Physical Waves
Young scholars compare and contrast electromagnetic and physical waves. In this wave lesson plan, students discover that all waves reflect, refract, and diffract energy. Young scholars work in small groups to experiment with waves and...
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Mirrors and How They Reflect
Students experiment with mirrors. In this Mirrors and How They reflect lesson, students read how mirrors reflect light. Then students perform over ten experiments and record their conclusions about mirrors and reflection. Students create...
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Applied Science - Science and Math Post-Lab
Students explore optical illusions. In this Applied Science lesson, students view optical illusions and record the data of what they see. Students graph the data that they collect.
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Basic Space
Three basic slides cover information about light years and how images of space are viewed. Some facts about light years are given and then a labeled diagram of a telescope is shown. One basic slide is included with definitions of...
K12 Reader
What Causes Reflections?
Your kids probably use mirrors every day, but do they know how they work? A reading passage about reflection and reflective objects can address both physical science and reading comprehension. Kids read the paragraphs and use context...
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Gel-O-Colors!!
What distinguishes the differences between refraction and reflection? Learners identify the properties of light as they mix colored light to create new color variations. As they work they gather data about the properties of light and...
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Snell's Law
Students determine whether the index of refraction of sample of Corn Syrup meets Federal standards. This task assess students' abilities to explain the procedures for investigation, plan for recording and organizing observations and...
American Institute of Physics
Optics and Anthony Johnson
Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...
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Astronomy
A broad sampling of material related to stars is covered here. You will want to review each question to see if it corresponds to your curriculum. The formatting is inconsistent, but easily corrected if you use the information to create...
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Why is the Sky Blue?
Students explore diffusion or scattering of light. For this physics lesson, students explain why the sky is blue and sunsets/sunrises are red.
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Jell-O Optics
Students 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.
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Fiber Optics
Students explore the uses of optical fibers, are exposed to the principles of refraction and total internal reflection, solve problems relating to the design of fiber optic cables, and compare them to copper transmission lines.
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Physical Principles in Living Systems
Seventh graders experiment with white light, plane mirrors, and curved mirrors in order to demonstrate the physical principles of living systems. In this physical principles lesson plan, 7th graders take 3 days to discover what happens...
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Special Senses
In this special senses worksheet, 9th graders briefly describe the structure of a taste bud and the pathway a signal takes to the brain. Then they list the five basic taste sensations and homeostatic values of taste. Students also...
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Frozen Film
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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Enlightening Explorations, Part II
Sixth graders review their results from the previous experiments. After viewing a kaleidoscope, they make their own pattern on paper and describe the role of light. To end the lesson, they examine light being relfected and refracted and...
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Exploring Microscopes
Students explore the parts of a microscope. For this microscope lesson, students examine simple and compound microscopes. Students discover how the parts of a microscope work together to generate an image.
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Online Exploration: Telescopes From the Ground Up
Students explore a web-based illustrated text and interactive graphics to determine the relationship between the operation of telescopes and light. optics. They work in small groups to become an expert on one of the ten eras of telescope...
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Extreme Flashlight Tag
Fifth graders view a Powerpoint show about reflecting light. They experiment through a reflection simulation on the internet. Students complete the activity by using mirrors and light to complete send light to a specified spot.
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The Virtual Electron Microscope
Students explore the world of the very small using a Flash plug-in Virtual Electron Microscope. They complete and discuss an activity in which unknown samples are placed under the computer simulated microscope to determine where the...
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Settling Rates of Different Size Particles
Young scholars discover how and why the settling rate of particles differs with the size of the particles. Using different soil samples, they calculate the amount of time it takes for a sample to settle in water for up to forty minutes....
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The Vocabulary of Space
Students build their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary related to space. In this space lesson, students discuss four categories of words and phrases related to space.