Lesson Plan: Refraction of Light Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe refraction as the speed and direction change of light when passing between media of different densities.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recognize that light travels at different speeds in different media,
- recognize that the wavelength of light is different in different media but that frequency is constant,
- recognize that the greater the refractive index of a substance, the slower light travels in the substance,
- recognize that light incident nonnormally on a media boundary changes propagation direction,
- define angle of refraction,
- use Snell’s law to determine incident and refracted angles and values of refractive index.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- wavelength,
- the fact that ,
- the idea that light rays travel in straight lines.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- mechanism of change of direction of light at a media boundary.
