Optics Unit Plan
by Stephan Crownson
completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
"Teaching High School Physics"
Physics 301
Autumn 1996
Illinois State University
Carl J. Wenning, Instructor
I. UNIT OVERVIEW
A. Optics is an important topic in physics. To study optics, a conceptual approach will be
used. The topic will be divided into different categories in which the knowledge of the prior subdivision is required to under stand the next. These subdivisions, in order, are Light, Reflection/Refraction, Lenses and Diffraction/Interference. The students for this lesson would be first year High School physics students. These students would need to a knowledge of wave theory and basic Algebra skills. The textbook used will be PSSC Physics.
B. This unit will provide students with knowledge about the nature of light. This includes such concepts as the speed of light and its importance, the principle of color, and the wave nature of light. Also, from the study of lenses, students will gain insight into the common applications of light in devices such as cameras and eyeglasses.
C. The study of optics is an important topic in physics. The following gives reasons on why the study of optics is important for the student, society, and the scientific professional.
(1) It is important for all students to have a basic knowledge of optics. A basic understanding of light can give students knowledge on how they perceive the world around them and how the instruments they use to enhance this (microscope, telescope, ...). Every technological measuring devise uses sight cues for reading. Optics delivers information we use from dashboard instruments to oscilloscopes.
(2) Optics gives society the ability to observe the world. Not just with the before mentioned microscope and other optical devises. Maybe the most dramatic use of optics today is lasers. With lasers, some cancer can be treated and highly precise measurements. And now, lasers are being used to collide hydrogen atoms so that fusion energy could power the world. Fusion power is clean, efficient, and a nearly inexhaustible fuel. Training students in optics can produce scientists to develop this technological advances.
(3) Professional scientists require knowledge of optics. As mentioned, nearly all instruments require sight and thus optics. Any scientist doing experiments uses these instruments. To use and read them correctly, scientists need the knowledge of optics. Scientists need to learn how to anticipate of errors that occur from parallax or aberrations from lenses. From optics, all scientist can achieve higher accuracy from experimentation.
II. COURSE CURRICULUM
Unit Topic Concepts Time
I Kinematics speed, velocity, acceleration, 2 wks
projectile motion
II Dynamics Newton's laws of motion, 3 wks
mass, weight, vectors
III Momentum momentum, impulse, 1 wks
conservation of momentum,
elastic and inelastic collisions
IV Energy potential energy, kinetic energy 3 wks
work, power, conservation
of energy
V Gravitation Copernicus, Gaileo, Brahe, 1 wks
Kepler, Newton, Universal
Law of Gravitation, satellite
motion and orbits
VI Circular Motion rotational velocity, moment 3 wks
of inertia, centripetal force,
centrifugal force, angular
momentum, conservation
of momentum
VII Waves transverse waves, longitudinal 2 wks
waves, superposition, standing
waves, Doppler Effect
VIII Sound speed of sound, frequency, 2 wks
resonance, decibel IX Optics speed of light, color, reflection, 5 wks
refraction, Snell's Law, lenses,
real images, virtual images,
optical devices, interference,
diffraction
X Electricity electric charge, electric force 5 wks
electric field, electric potential
current, resistance, Ohm's Law,
electric power, electric circuit,
equivalent resistors, Kirchoff's
Law
XI Magnetism magnetic field, magnetic force, 3 wks
Faraday's Law, motors,
generators
XII Modern Physics electromagnetic waves, special 5 wks
relativity, atomic structure,
radioactivity, fission, fusion
photoelectric effect, quantum
physics, cosmology
B. Physics is a great medium to introduce students to the scientific method. The scientific method is the model for experimentation in the Western world. The scientific method is a questioning attitude that makes students not merely except what they hear. Through laboratory exercises, other skills can be learned. Lab work can teach attention to detail and academic honesty through taking data. These skills are more easily taught through physics due to its extensive availability of laboratory work.
III. CONTENT OUTLINE
A. The speed of light
1. Roemer's determination of speed of light
2. Michelson's determination of speed of light
3. The modern accepted value of the speed of light
B. Color
1. The color spectrum
2. The relation between color, wavelength, and energy
3. Natural color phenomena
a. Why the sky is blue
b. Why sunsets are red
C. Scattering
1. Spectral
2. Diffusion
D. Reflection
1. Mirrors
a. Plane mirrors
b. Spherical mirrors
c. Parabolic mirrors
2. Angle of incident equal angle of reflection
E. Refraction
1. Snell's Law
2. Total internal reflection
3. Natural refraction phenomena
a. The rainbow
b. Prism dispersion
F. Lenses
1. Converging vs. Diverging lenses
2. Focal length
a. Focal point
b. Radius of circle equals 2*focal length
3. Images
a. Real images
b. Virtual images
c. Inverted vs. Erect
d. Magnification
4. Ray diagrams
a. Three rays of ray diagrams
i. Through center
ii. Through focal point
iii. Through opposite side focal point
b. Thin lenses equation
5. Optical instruments
a. Magnifying glass
b. Microscope
c. Telescope
G. Diffraction/Interference
1. Diffraction
c. Huygen's principle
d. Thin slit experiment
2. Interference
a. Light superposition principle
b. Young's experiment
c. Diffraction grating
3. Lasers
a. Coherent light
b. How lasers work
c. Holograms
IV. MAJOR OBJECTIVES
A. This unit of optics will present knowledge to e learned. Some of the knowledge objectives that you should reach include:
1. Explain how the different methods to find the speed of light were implemented.
2. State the color spectrum in order of increasing wavelength, increasing energy, and increasing frequency.
3. Explain what cause refraction as light travels from one medium to another.
4. State in writing Snell's law.
5. In writing, define focal point, image distance, and object distance.
6. Be able to give explanation, in writing, what causes diffraction and interference.
B. Along with pure knowledge, skills are also acquired from the study of optics.
1. Be able to find wavelength or frequency when given the other.
2. Given the index of refraction and incident angle of light, be able to find the angle of refraction using Snell's Law.
3. Given the index of refraction of a material, find the angle of total internal reflection (critical angle).
4. From incident and refraction angles, determine the index of refraction of material
5. Given the focal length of a lenses, object distance, and type of lens (concave or convex), be able to find image distance, whether real or virtual image, inverted or erect, and magnification of image.
6. Be able to trace light rays from image through a single lens system.
7. Using an optical bench, be able to place lenses in a system to operate as a telescope.
C. Many students have opinions about science and specifically physics that are not conducive to scientific literacy. This unit plan will hope to change some these as follows:
1. Many students see physics as "number crunching". This unit will provide for hands on experience with equipment and assessment that will help students move away from using the calculator as a crutch.
2. Scientific literate students need to be able to judge scientific research for its validity. This unit plan introduces a topic on why the sky is blue. This lesson will give students the opportunity to look at a unscientific explanation of the world and ask them to evaluate it.
V. ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTIONS
A. (See Attachment)
B. The most common misconception about light is that light illuminates objects which then allows us to see them or that eyes actually grab images. Another misconception, that is also stated by Arons, is that people do not often view light as traveling in all directions and not just following the straight line between object and eye. This particular view leads to unacceptable explanations of optic instruments. (Gabel, p. 182)
VI. CLASSROOM METHODS
A. (See Attachment)
B. Chapter 9 of A guide to introductory physics teaching deals with both waves and light. Due to this, I will only summarizes the sections involving optics.
9.15 Young's Elucidation of the Dark Center in Newton's Rings
The issue of understanding why the center ring of Newton's rings is dark is not an easy one to explain. Students have a difficult time understanding why this occurs. But Thomas Young developed a method to help prove that this phenomena is indeed a consequence of the wave nature of light and that what occurs is that the light ray inverts itself, essentially resulting in destructive superposition. To help support the theory, Young placed between a glass of index of refraction of 1.5 and an another glass of index of refraction of 1.7 an oil of an index of refraction between 1.5 and 1.7. If the wave model was correct then spot would now be bright, and it was. This story illustrates to students the scientific thought process and how such experiments are important to verify theories.
9.16 Specular versus Diffuse Reflection
Many textbooks skim over the difference between specualar and diffuse reflection, leaving students with an unclear idea of the concept. The most significant gap of knowledge is that students do not realize that all not selflumi9nous objects are visible because of diffuse ambient light. Also, students rarely understand that light is actually diffusing in all directions from each point. This gap results in students starting lens diagrams without the thought that each point on the object produces light rays in all direction instead of just the directions chosen for the diagram. Students do not realize that we merely select the rays that are most useful for us in making these diagrams. This fact leads to more misconceptions in lenses and image formation.
9.17 Images and Image Formation: Plane Mirrors
A study was conducted by Goldberg and McDermott in which three tasks were presented to students involving mirror images. In the first task, students were asked to point to where the image is located of an object placed in front of a mirror. Most students answered correctly in saying that the image is behind the mirror, not on the mirror face. The second task asked students place their finger at the same image but in this case, what would happen if they moved two feet. About answered correctly that the image would not move. The third task asked students to predict if they could see images of an object from a mirror. The mirror was kept covered so that the students were not able to actually see the image. Here, most students gave the correct responses. Arons argues that the incorrect views of students is a result of the previous section, in that students do not understand that each point produces light in each direction.
9.18 Images and Image Formation: Thin Converging Lenses
Here, Goldberg and McDermott tested students on thin lens image formation. The first task asked students to view an image formed by a lens and determine if the image would still Be there if lens is removed. A little over half were correct in saying that image would disappear. The findings saw that students rarely understand the importance of lenses in image formation, even though everyday experience shows this, for example, we do not see images of light bulbs projected on floors in a lit room.
The second task asked students to predict what would happen to an image if half of the lens is covered. The vast majority answered incorrectly that the half the image would disappear instead of the image just becoming less bright. The research suggests that the students only consider the principal rays when thinking of image formation, removing one or more of these principal rays, in their mind, effects the image.
The third task had students answer whether a focused image would change id the screen is moved. More than half answered incorrectly in saying that the image would not become fuzzy. Many students did not realize that the focal point is a very specific point and only exists in one place for an image.
9.19 Novice Conceptions Regarding the Nature of Light
Students come to the study of light with many preconceptions. Few students see light as illuminating objects so that the reflect of this light is then perceived by us. Some still believe that the eye itself illuminates objects for us to see them. Also students see reflection as something that only happens with mirrors. And students see color filters as adding something to white light to make colors. These misconceptions are important for teachers to be aware so that they can help correct them.
9.20 Phenomenological Questions and Problems
In optics, it is useful to ask questions such as "What will happen if . . .?" so that students make predictions and invoke their knowledge of light. Also, numerous illustrations are useful that show physical optics. When dealing with an example, introduce varying factors and show how these factors effect the final result. As an addition, the brightness of images can be used as a tool for ratio reasoning to help students make qualitative conclusions about light and stray away from pure mathematical relations.
C. Below are three lesson plans. They are in order from (1) Concept-change, (2) Inquiry - based Learning , and (3) Cooperative Learning.
(1)
AUTHOR: Crownson, Stephan DATE:
COURSE NAME: Physics GRADE LEVEL: 11-12
UNIT TITLE; Light and Optics CONCEPT: Color of Sky
OBJECTIVE: The student will understand how misconceptions of why the sky is blue are incorrect and that true nature of sky color is due to scattering of shorter wavelength of blue light.
CONTENT:
I. Sunlight Scattering
A. Blue light has shorter wavelength than most other colors
B. Shorter wavelength of light is scattered more easily.
C. Violet light is scattered more, but human eye is insensitive to violet light.
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
(3) 1. Ask students for their opinion on why sky is blue
(5) 2. Play Devil's advocate and introduce my "theory" on why sky is blue.
(3) 3. Ask students for opinion on my new theory.
(5) 4. Offer globe to students to calculate angle that sunlight must come in at to make sky blue in landlocked regions.
(5) 5. Show demonstration to offer alternative explanation.
(3) 6. Ask students for any explanations for that the demonstration showed.
(3) 7. Ask students to conclude why my theory is incorrect.
(3) 8. Ask students to explain new reason on why sky is blue
(30)
MATERIALS: Water tank, coffee creamer, globe, tape measure, light source
(2)
AUTHOR: Crownson, Stephan DATE:
COURSE NAME: Physics GRADE LEVEL: 11-12
UNIT TITLE: Light and Optics CONCEPT: Thin Lens Equation
OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to use thin lens equation to find image distance from focal length and object distance.
CONTENT:
I. Thin lens equation
A. F-1 = Si-1 + So-1
1. F: focal length of lens
2. Si: image distance from lens
3. So: object distance from lens
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES
(3) 1. Review definitions of focal length, image distance, and object distance.
(2) 2. Introduce concept that all three of these can be related by equation.
(3) 3. Show students optical bench and lenses and demonstrate that how it works.
(3) 4. Ask students for a plan to discover the relation before they may begin.
(10) 5. Allow students to implement their plan making sure that all students are involved.
(3) 6. After all data is collected, ask students to make predications on possible relation.
(2) 7. If difficulty at arriving equation arises assist students in the equation.
(2) 8. Test students' equation to verify that it works.
(2) 9. Devise a problem for students, have them predict and then test answer on optical bench.
(30)
MATERIALS: Optical bench, lenses of varying focal length, light source
(3)
AUTHOR: Crownson, Stephan DATE:
COURSE NAME: Physics GRADE LEVEL: 11-12
UNIT TITLE; Light and Optics CONCEPT: Snell's Law
OBJECTIVE: Students will be able to work together to apply Snell's law in finding the index of refraction of a material.
CONTENT:
1. Snell's Law
A. ni * sin qi = nr * sin qr
1. ni: index of refraction of incident material
2. nr: index of refraction of second material
3. qi: angle between incident ray and normal to surface
4. qr: angle between exiting ray and normal to surface
INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:
(2) 1. Review Snell's Law with students
(3) 2. Show equipment that students will use and how to use it.
(2) 3. Explain to students that they are to work cooperatively to find the index of refraction of glass square and develop a plan to reduce error in measurements.
(15) 4. Allow students to work on project, paying close attention to how students work together.
(2) 5. Have one student give me the index of refraction that they found.
(3) 6. Have a student from each group explain what measures where taken to reduce error to reach a more accurate answer.
(3) 7. Discuss with students how they believe they worked together during the project.
(30)
MATERIALS: Glass square, pins, cardboard slab, paper with outline of rectangle, protractor
VII. DEMONSTRATIONS
A. "Hide and Seek" with mirrors
1. Law of Reflection
2. Roll out butcher paper on to a large table. Attach mirrors to wooden blocks. Place dots on each mirror face with a water-soluble pen. Have one students look at one mirror from one place and another student look at another mirror from a different angle. Have students line up all mirrors so that they can see the reflection of each other and that the dots line. Next, draw line connecting dots of mirror on butcher paper. Then measure angles of incidence and reflection to insure that they are equal.
3. (Cunningham, p. 436)
B. Magic Candles
1. Law of reflection, images
2. Place one candle on one side of glass plate. Place another candle on other side of glass so that the image of the first candle is overlapped by second candle. Light the first candle but only pretend to light second candle. It will now appear that the second candle is lit due to reflection of glass. Place hand above second candle and students will be surprised that you do not burn yourself.
3. (Cunningham, p.438)
C. Aquarium Reflection
1. Total internal reflection, critical angle
2. Tape a protractor on side of water filled aquarium. Project light (a laser would probably be even better) from side of aquarium with focused light source. Adjust angle of light until there is no transmitted light through top of aquarium. Measure angles to calculate critical angle
3. (Cunningham, p.441)
D. Fiber Optics
1. Total internal reflection, fiber optics
2. Melt hole in one side of two liter bottle and wrap bottle in black paper. Make two holes in paper, one that matches the hole in bottle and one that fits diameter of focusable light. Fill bottle with water and let water pour out while light is shining from hole opposite drain hole. Light will travel down the stream of exiting water.
3. (Cunningham, p. 443)
F. Magic Coin
1. refraction, index of refraction
2. Place a coin at bottom of opaque container and position container so that the coin is just out of view. Now, slowly add water and the coin will magically appear, Measure height of water when coin appears to make calculations of index of refraction. The process can be repeated for other liquids such as cooking oil and rubbing alcohol.
3. (Cunningham, p.451)
G. Magnification
1. Magnification, refraction
2. Fill a large beaker with water. Put in beaker a large rectangular object of wood, cardboard or something similar. Measure diameter of rectangle before placed in water. Now move rectangle back and forth and determine when the image is as it most. The magnification ratio is found by dividing image diameter with actual diameter.
3. (Cunningham, p. 457)
H. Air interference
1. Interference
2. Take two clean, Plexiglas sheets and tape together at the ends. Now shine light on sheet from the top. By pressing down on Plexiglas, air trapped between sheet thickness will change producing different patterns of constructive and destructive interference.
3. (Cunningham, p. 467)
I. Cross Polarization
1. Polarization
2. Take two polarization sheets and hold up to class. Overlap one over the other and alter angle to show how transmitted light becomes darker and bright depending on relative angle. Show that at a right angle, no light is transmitted. Now, place a third polarization sheet between the two sheets and amazingly, now light will be transmitted.
3. (Cunningham, p. 480)
J. Infrared radiation
1. Infrared radiation, spectrum
2. Cover a window with sunlight shining through with a piece of black paper with a 5mm x 15mm slit. Place a prism in line with light from slit so that the spectrum appears on a piece of paper. Record temperature of room by taking temperature with a thermometer away from spectrum. Now, measure temperature at different colors of spectrum. Also, measure temperature in region just to other side of red light. This region will be infrared light and will give a temperature reading hotter than visible reading.
3. (Cunningham, p.518)
VIII. LABORATORY ACTIVITIES
A. Index of Refraction
1. Index of refraction
2. Give students a piece of glass and sheet of paper which contains outline of glass piece. For easiest results, piece of glass should be only a few millimeter thick but at least 10 cm in length. Also on sheet put dots on one side of page. Attach sheet to cardboard slab and give students pins. Have students put pins in the two holes on sheet. Now, have student look through opposite side of glass to find where the image of the pins line up. Students now put two pins on this side of glass such that both coins line up with the lined up images of first two pins. If you remove the glass and pins, the students can draw straight lines to connect holes and edge of glass. Now, students can draw line from the points where the first two lines meet edge of glass outline. Students can now measure all the incidence and refracted angles. Using Snell's Law, students can now find index of refraction of glass.
3. (Cunningham, p. 453)
B. Telescope Lab
1. Magnification, lenses
2. Using light source, screen, and optical bench, have students find the focal length of two lenses. Now, have students remove screen and point one end of optical bench out window or any other distant place. Students now place the lens with larger focal length on optical bench about 10 cm from end of bench facing distant object. The second lens can now be put at distance from the larger lens so that the focal lengths of both lens is added. Place screen on far end of small lens such that it produces a clear image. Record this distance from second lens. Now magnification values can calculated by comparing distance of image and distance of object. Try with different lenses to see how different focal length effect magnification.
3. (Goodwin, p.244)
C. Thin Lens Equation
1. Lenses, thin lens equation
2. Give students various lenses, optical bench with light source, screen, and lens holder. Ask student to find an equation that relates focal length, image distance, and object distance. Make sure that students are clear on how to find these values, but in general, let students work on their own to try and find this relation. Hints such as the inverse relation may be need to be given. Diopters could also be introduced here to help in students discovering inverse relation.
3. (Not published)
IX. SAFETY CONSIDERATION
A. Within the school different people have different responsibilities. The principal of a high school has several responsibilities. It is the principal's job to ensure that the lighting and heating of the classroom is adequate. Also, the principal must make sure that there are two exits into open areas. Lab tables must be fire proof and shut offs must be available within the classroom. Fire extinguishers must be in the classroom with first aid kits. And finally, the principal must have a safe place to store chemicals and other equipment. (NSTA Subcommittee on Safety, p.10)
The science department chairperson also has certain duties. Specifically, chairperson must discuss and identify hazards that are in the classrooms. Also, the chairperson must inform the principal of faulty equipment in writing. Plus, the chairperson must make periodic inspections of the equipment and first aid kits in the classrooms. (Ibid., p.11)
The science teacher also has responsibility for the safety of the class. The teacher must instruct students of the hazards in the classroom. The teacher should also demonstrate all labs to students before they do the lab themselves. Teachers should also list all rules for the students that apply to all labs and demonstrations. (Ibid., p.12)
B. There are not that many safety issues when dealing with optics and light. But one is to be careful with lasers if they are being used. Although most lasers in high school classes are not powerful enough to hurt the skin, if directly looked at, it can cause eye damage. Also, working with lenses may involve extent contact with glass, which can be dangerous if it breaks.
C. The only demonstration that has and danger is the Magic Candles demonstration. Because it does involve fire, this is an inherent risk. To minimize risk, make sure that there are no flammable materials near by and that fire extinguisher is near by and charged. Both the Thin Lens lab And the Magnification Lab have the same danger. Lenses do focus light and viewing through these lenses could produce a light intense enough to harm the eye, whether that source is a intense light bulb or even the sun. To minimize risk, make sure students are warned of this danger and that they should only produce images on screen and not to be direct observed.
X. SPECIAL STUDENT NEEDS
A. Paraplegic students are likely and probably should be mainstreamed. Paraplegic students would have complete paralysis over the lower half of their body. This would require them to be in a wheelchair during class.
B. A paraplegic student may have handicaps in getting around the classroom for labs and demonstration. For example, if the students are asked to come to the front of the classroom for a demonstration, the paraplegic student may not be able to see. If accommodations are not made, the student will not be as involved in demonstrations and labs which will hinder the extra knowledge and skills gained by hands-on experience.
C. Most importantly, I would make sure that the student was able to see the all demonstrations, which may include doing it specifically in front of the student. Also, the student must have lab tables and equipment at an appropriate level so that they may participate. Even with these handicaps, the student should have no extra problem with the reading the textbook and doing homework problems.
D. For an enrichment program for a gifted student, a good suggestion would be to have the students devise an holographic film plate. Holography is not to difficult to accomplish in the classroom. But, it is a topic that requires a great deal of time for a high school student to understand. By using a laser and holographic film, a student could, with time, produce an observable holographic plate for the other students to view.
XI. RESOURCES
A. In choosing the textbook for the unit, my first interest was finding a book that could be used for all topics, not just this one. With limited money and supplies, a teacher cannot offer a different textbook for each topic. My second point in choosing a textbook was finding one that had the math needed in studying physics. Although math can be introduced by the teacher without the a textbook, having a second resource for the students, I believe, is better. My last point in choosing a textbook was finding a textbook that went in to depth and not breadth. More specifically, I want a textbook that does not fill pages with topic that are superfluous for a high school physics class. Considering these points, I chose the PSSC Physics textbook. It has all the points that I specified above. The Raygor readability estimate that I calculated for this book was in the college region, but this is not unusual for a science textbook, which has a great deal of technical vocabulary. Also, the PSSC had a great deal of pictures and diagrams that always help students understand material by providing a visual reference.
B. All of the following materials were taken from the 1996 CENCO science catalog. Some of the items will be needed in multiple amounts, such as optical bench needed for labs and lenses which would require multiple focal lengths.
ITEM PRICE
Meter Stick Optical Bench $24.75
includes:
Meter stick, object, 2 lens holders, screen support, 5 screens
12 candles, candle holder
Minimum Lamp Base $10.25
(To replace candles of optical bench above)
5 x 5 cm Flat Mirror $9.95
Glass Rectangular Block $16.10
Double Convex Lenses (varying focal length)
3.75 cm diameter $3.95
5 cm diameter $5.25
Diffracting Gratings $24.00
Polarization Square Sheets $22.25
He - Ne Laser $339.00
Holography Handbook $32.50
XII. STUDENT ASSESSMENT
A. A good process skill that students could be assessed for is ability to use lenses. The students could given lenses and optical bench and then a certain type of arrangement could be asked for, such telescope with a certain magnification, or given specifications for an image such inverted and image size, place a one lens system appropriately.
B. To assess the student' scientific disposition, one method would be to have the students look at modern optical telescopes. Such telescopes can produce great knowledge of outer space but also cost a great deal of money. Plus, new technologies are always being added to their design, such as increasing accurate parabolic lenses. But is the cost in producing these telescopes worth the scientific knowledge gained? Here, students can write a short report in which they can research the topic and produce value judgments on the value of scientific research.
XIII. CONGRUENCE WITH STATE AND NATIONAL GOALS
A. The study of optics will introduce students to several criteria as stipulated by the Illinois State Goals for learning. For example, general concepts of science will be introduced such as refraction and diffraction. This unit will also give definitions for science terms such as focal point and virtual images. When this unit discusses modern optical instruments, many other issues are also presented. Such a discussion will give students the social limitations of this technology. Environmental issues are not introduced in this topic, but will be in others. Scientific research basics are covered in this unit with labs that demonstrate proper data analysis used in laboratory work. Optics may be best at offering techniques, methods, equipment, and technology. Optics has several more recent topics such as lasers and holography which can easily fulfill this requirement.
B. Similar to state goals, this unit will also fulfill several goals established by the National Science Education Standards. Optics will give inquiry instruction with several of the optical labs and demonstration that this unit provides. Also, this topic will involve hands - on manipulation science to help facilitate student learning and give them the resources needed to accomplish this goal. This plan will also offer social values in science by discussing the modern use of lasers and holography.
C. Project 2061's Benchmarks suggests goals that students to reach in their science education. Specifically, Benchmarks suggests that students should understand how light is used in modern investigation of the sky. This unit will accomplish this goal through its discussion and lab involving the telescope. Plus, the overall understanding of light will give students the knowledge they need to understand how other optical instruments work.
XIV. REFERENCES
AAPT Committee on Apparatus. (1978). Teaching Physics Safely. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Arons, A. B. (1990). A guide to introductory physics teaching. New York, NY: John Wiley & sons.
Bowker, R. R. (19) El-HI textbooks & Serials in Print 1994. New Providence, New Jersey: Reed reference Publishing Company.
CENCO. (1996) CENCO. Franklin Park, IL: Author.
Cunningham, James and Norman Herr. (1994). Hands on Physics Activities. West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in Education.
Gabel, Dorothy. (19) Handbook of research on Science Teaching and Learning. New York, NY: Macmillian Publishing Company.
Goodwin, Peter. (1990) Practical Physics Labs. Portland, Maine: J. Weston Walch.
NSTA Subcommittee on Safety. (1978). Safety in the Secondary Science Classroom. Washington, D.C.: Author
Uri Haber-Schaim et al. (1986) PSSC Physics. Heath School.
XIV. PRESENTATION OF UNIT PLAN