Learning Outcomes for Ray Optics

Lesson Plans || Learning Outcomes and Activities || Teacher Notes || Labs

 

The list below displays sample learning objectives for the unit on Ray Optics. The various activities from the Lesson Plans have been organized by objective. This format of organizing The Physics Classroom's activities may be more useful to some teachers than the Lesson Plan format. It is worth noting that the activities identified below only include those activities included on the Lesson Plans and in the Pre-Built Task Tracker courses. Additional activities are referenced on the Teacher Notes page.

 

 

1. The Law of Reflection

State the law of reflection and use it to predict the manner in which light reflects off a plane mirror.
 

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2. Plane Mirror Images and Image Formation

Explain how a plane mirror produces an image of an object and describe the characteristics (location, size, etc.) of those images.
 

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3. Ray Diagrams for Plane Mirrors

Construct a ray diagram for a plane mirror and use such diagrams to predict how much mirror is required to view an image and what objects might be seen in a plane mirror from a given eye position.
 

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4. Specular vs. Diffuse Reflection

Describe the distinction between specular and diffuse reflection using words and/or a diagram; explain the cause and the result.
 

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5. Reflection and Image Formation by Curved Mirrors

Recognize the two types of curved mirrors, describe their anatomy, and demonstrate how images are formed by reflection of light off the mirror surface.
 

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6. Ray Diagrams for Concave Mirrors

Apply rules of reflection for curved mirrors to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a concave mirror.
 

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7. Concave Mirror Image Characteristics

Describe the characteristics of the images (location, orientation, size, and type) that are formed for various object locations along the principal axis of a concave mirror.
 

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8. Ray Diagrams for Convex Mirrors

Apply rules of reflection for curved mirrors to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a convex mirror.
 

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9. Convex Mirror Image Characteristics

Describe the characteristics of the images (location, orientation, size, and type) that are formed by a convex mirror.
 

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10. Nature of Refraction

Define refraction and explain when it occurs and why it occurs; identify the incident and refracted rays, the normal line, and the angles of incidence and refraction in a refraction diagram.
 

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11. Direction of Refraction

Relate the direction that a light ray bends at the boundary to the relative value of the light speed, optical density, or index of refraction of the two media on opposite sides of the boundary.
 

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12. Snell's Law of Refraction

Derive Snell's Law from laboratory data and use it to determine the index of refraction for any given boundary if sufficient information is known.
 

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13. Total Internal Reflection and the Critical Angle

Describe the effect of the angle of incidence upon the intensity of the reflected and refracted rays and state the conditions under which total internal reflection occurs; define the meaning of a critical angle.
 

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14. Refraction by Lenses and Image Formation

Understand the distinction between converging and diverging lenses based on their shape and relate this to how the light refracts as it passes through each type of lens; know basic patterns of refraction for both types of lenses.
 

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15. Ray Diagrams for Converging Lenses

Apply rules of refraction for lenses to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a converging lens.
 

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16. Image Characteristics for Converging Lenses

Describe the characteristics of the images (location, orientation, size, and type) that are formed for various object locations along the principal axis of a converging lens.
 

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17. Ray Diagrams and Image Characteristics for Diverging Lenses

Apply rules of refraction for lenses to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a converging lens.
 

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