Reflection, absorption, refraction, diffraction. The basics

What is reflection We can see objects because light reflects off that object and into our eyes. But we didn’t always understand it this way. Pythagoras (about 500 years BCE), best known for the theorem of the right-angled triangle, proposed that vision resulted from light rays emerging from a person's eye and striking an object. Epicurus argued the opposite: Objects ...

FLEET Schools Home science: Light and optics

Activities that explore Reflection, refraction, diffraction and pretty stuff such as rainbows 13 Oct 2021Reflection, absorption, refraction, diffraction. The basics27 Nov 2017Moving Arrows12 Feb 2018Marker Pen Chromatography6 Apr 2020How to find a rainbow22 Sep 2021FLEET Schools30 Jul 2018Coloured Light26 Mar 2018Appearing Coin

FLEET Schools

FLEET Schools is a resource for primary and secondary teachers and students to engage with physics and chemistry, and to learn and think about the research problems FLEET is working on. That problem is our ever increasing energy requirements coming from our for rapidly increasing computation demand. Think Internet of Things, AI, driverless cars, smart phones and gaming. To solve ...

How to find a rainbow

Why are there so many songs about rainbows? And how to locate one with a bit of simple physics, maths and home-craft Maunder and Hunt’s Very Fabulous Rainbow Position Locator* There’s something quite fascinating about rainbows, which is why they feature in so many wonderful legends and myths, from the Bifrost bridge of Norse legend, to God’s reassuring post-Flood sign, …

Coloured Light

What colour do you get when you combine red, green and blue light? What you need: 3x torches 3x rubber bands red, green and blue cellophane a dark room What to do: Put each of the colours of cellophane over each of the torches and secure it them with rubber bands. Turn out the lights and shine each of the …

Appearing Coin

Use the science of refraction to make a coin suddenly appear. Download the pdf of complete activity that includes worksheet tables. Learning Intentions The activity investigates refraction and its applications in the real world. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: draw a diagram to show how the light coming from the coin changes direction (refracts) …

Marker Pen Chromatography

Examine what makes up some colours in coloured markers. What you need: a tall glass, about one-third full with water paper towel or coffee filter paper different coloured textas or markers (non-permanent) What to do: Get a long strip of paper towel. Put several dots of different coloured markers in a row about half way up the paper towel. Bend …

Moving Arrows

Watch arrows magically flip direction thanks to refraction of light. Download the pdf of this activity. Learning outcomes Students will recognise the refraction of light at the surfaces of different transparent materials, such as when light travels from air to water or air to glass and be able to apply this understanding to vision and humans’ development of lenses. Materials …