Refraction and Lenses Labs
The following PDF files represent a collection of Lab write ups pertaining to the topic of Refraction and Lenses. The Labs are synchronized to readings from the Tutorial, missions of the Minds On activities, and more. Teachers may print these Labs and their related Ruberics and use them freely with their classes. Learn more about creating a Lab Notebook for these activities as well as Reporting and Guidelines.
Available Labs
Select a Lab below to learn more about it, or download the teacher guide and other supporting documents.
Refraction Action Lab
When does light refract? Why does light refract? When does light not refract?
Direction of Bending Lab
What rule could be developed to describe the direction of bending of a light ray as it crosses the boundary between two transparent media?
Least Time Principle Lab
How do the ratios of light speed compare to the ratio of angles for light passing from one medium to another?
How Much? Lab
What is the mathematical equation relating the angle in air to the angle in water for light refracting across the boundary from air into water?
The Unknown n Lab
What is the index of refraction for the materials which comprise a variety of prisms?
R and R Lab
What is the effect of increasing the angle of incidence upon the amount of reflection and refraction which occurs for light when it reaches a boundary?
A Critical Lab
At what angle does refraction cease to occur in such a manner that light undergoes total internal reflection?
Exploring Lenses Lab
How would you describe the images formed by a converging and a diverging lens for nearby and distant objects?
The L•O•S•T Art of Image Description Lab
How do the characteristics of images formed by converging lenses compare for various object locations?
The Lens Equation Lab
How can carefully collected data and a graphical analysis of the data be used to derive the lens equation?