Orlando Santiago SEDC 754.

03
Index of Refraction Lab Lesson Plan
Date: 5/11/23
Topic: Refraction
Do Now: The following questions will be provided to students on their lab handouts as “Pre-Lab
Questions”:
1. What is the definition of refraction?
2. What is the equation for the index of refraction of a material?
3. What is the equation for Snell’s Law?
Aim: How can we use the concept of refraction and Snell’s Law to identify unknown materials?
Standards:
From the NYS Standards listed in the Physical Setting/Physics Core Curriculum document:
• STANDARD 4 – The Physical Setting: Students will understand and apply scientific
concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living
environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science.
o Key Idea 4: Energy exists in many forms, and when these forms change energy is
conserved.
▪ 4.3i: When a wave moves from one medium into another, the wave may
refract due to a change in speed. The angle of refraction (measured with
respect to the normal) depends on the angle of incidence and the
properties of the media (indices of refraction).
▪ 4.3j: The absolute index of refraction is inversely proportional to the
speed of a wave.
Performance Objectives: Students will be able to:
• Calculate the index of refraction of a material by recording measurements for the angles
of incidence and refraction and then using Snell’s Law.
• Explain the inverse relationship between the index of refraction and speed of light in a
material by comparing the indices of refraction for different materials and answering
analysis and conclusion questions.
 • Explain the connection between refraction and dispersion by shining white light through
a prism and answering observation and conclusion questions. (Bonus Activity)
Vocabulary and Academic Language:
• Refraction: The change in direction of a wave (bend) due to a change in speed at the
boundary between two different media. The severity of the change depends on the
properties of the two media. Causes visual bending.
o Common usage: n/a
o Possible Misconceptions: Students may confuse refraction with reflection, which
is when light waves bounce back at the boundary of two media as opposed to
transmitting through the new medium.
• Index of Refraction: The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum, c, to the speed of light in
𝑐
a material medium, v: 𝑛 = 𝑣. The greater the value of n, the slower light travels in that

medium.
o Common usage: n/a
o Possible Misconceptions: Students may confuse the index of refraction for the
actual speed of the light in a material as opposed to a ratio between the speed
of light in a vacuum and in the speed in that material.
• Snell’s Law: The mathematical law governing refraction: n1sin(θ1) = n2sin(θ2), where n1
and n2 and the absolute indices of refraction for the incident and refractive media
respectively.
o Common usage: n/a
o Possible Misconceptions: Students may mix up which angle should be plugged
into which side of the equation.
Material List:
• Lucite/Acrylic Prisms
• Low-emitting Lasers (with white and red options)
• Protractor dry-erase boards
• Calculators
• Student lab handouts (Appendix A)
 • Wheel of Names (for summative assessment): https://wheelofnames.com/
Safety and Disposal: The following are the safety precautions that students should be aware of
as they participate in the lab activity:
• Students should not point lasers towards people’s eyes; the lasers are low-emitting, and
do not pose any extreme danger, but this is still a pertinent rule for the students to
follow to eliminate any chance of ocular injury.
• The prisms used in this activity are acrylic, and should be shatter-resistant even if they
are dropped; however, if a prism were to shatter, students should move away from the
vicinity of the break and alert the teacher immediately.
All materials can be recollected at the end of the day and used again for future iterations of
the activity.
Anticipatory Opening: The teacher will setup the main activity of the lab by first asking
students what material they think the prisms are made of. Students will field some guesses, and
then the teacher will reveal to them that the teachers “have no idea” what the material is (they
are made of lucite/acrylic), and that they need the students to help them identify the mystery
materials. This should generate a bit of intrigue in the students and motivate them to complete
the activity.
Development of the Lesson:

What the teacher does What the student does

Place one set of materials at each group’s

table.

Put the HW up on the board.

Place the student lab handouts in the handout Pick up one of the student lab handouts
bin so that students can grab the paper as from the bin and get seated.
they enter class.

Beginning of Lesson
Ask a student to read the Aim/Purpose. Volunteer reads the Aim. Acknowledge the
Inform students that most of their materials lab materials.
are already at their group tables.

Allow students some time to answer the Do Discuss and answer the questions with
Now (Pre-Lab) questions on their handouts, tablemates. Volunteer to read the Do Now
either on their own or with their group. Ask questions and provide responses when
for a volunteer to read the questions and elicit prompted.
student responses to review the content.

Anticipatory opening Engage with anticipatory opening.

Main Body of Lesson

Introduce and model the primary procedure Observe the demonstration and request
of the lesson. Address any specific concerns or clarifications where necessary.
questions that students bring up.

Supervise students’ progress through the Participate in the main activity of the lesson
activity while providing guidance and support (measuring angles of refraction) Work
when necessary. together with group members and ask the
teacher for assistance if stuck.

Collect student handouts from groups as they Hand in main activity handouts and work on
finish the main activity. If there are advanced the secondary activity if time permits.
groups who are finishing early, provide them
with the Bonus Activity worksheet.

End of Lesson

Have a student read the homework. Make a note of the homework and its due
date.

Summative Assessment

Review the conclusion questions on the lab Participate in the review of the summative
sheet by selecting students randomly using assessment questions if selected.
the Wheel of Names website listed under the
Materials section. Questions should be
projected onto the board for student
reference.

Collect all student handouts before they leave Ensure that all sheets are handed in to the
class. teacher.
Differentiated Instruction:
• The “Introduction” section of the lab handout provides a summary of the primary
concepts needed to complete the lab activity. This gives students who may be struggling
or those who may have missed some previous lessons some scaffolding information.
• The primary goal of the lesson is to complete the activity related to Snell’s Law;
however, some more advanced groups may finish this activity earlier than others. To
address this, there is an additional Bonus Activity that ties refraction into the concept of
dispersion, which has been covered previously. This activity is not going to be graded,
but exists to ensure that students of all levels remain engaged throughout the class
period.
Homework: Light Unit Test on 5/16; Extra Credit Assignment due 5/29
Summative Assessment: The following questions will be provided to students on their lab
handouts. After the lab sheets have been collected from all groups, the answers to these
questions will be reviewed as a class by randomly selecting students using the website Wheel of
Names; if students are not prepared with an answer to a question or are struggling, they are
allowed to “phone a friend” and ask one of their peers for assistance.
1) Using the values of n that you have determined above, calculate the average value for
the index of refraction of your prism (Average = Sum / Amount).
2) Which of the following three materials are your prisms most likely made of: Flint glass,
Lucite, or Zircon. Why? (Hint: you need your reference tables!)
3) Did the laser bend/refract towards or away from the normal line after passing through
the prism?
4) Based on your answer to the previous question, is the material of the prism more
optically dense or less optically dense than air?
5) Is the speed of the light in the prisms faster or slower than the speed of light in the air?
Verify using math (Hint: index of refraction equation!).
Notes for Revision:
 APPENDIX A: STUDENT LAB HANDOUTS

Index of Refraction Lab

Introduction: As light travels through a given medium, it travels in a straight line. However,
when light passes from one medium into a second medium, the light path bends due to a
phenomenon called refraction. The refraction occurs only at the boundary. Once the light has
crossed the boundary between the two media, it continues to travel in a new straight line. The
severity of the bending depends on the indexes of refraction of two media and can be
mathematically calculated using Snell’s Law.

Purpose/Aim: How can we use the concept of refraction and Snell’s Law to identify unknown
materials?

Materials: Low-emitting Laser (with white and red light options), Set of Different Shaped
Prisms, Protractor Card, Calculators

Pre-Lab Questions:

1. What is the definition of refraction?

2. What is the equation for the index of refraction of a material?

3. What is the equation for Snell’s Law?

Procedure:

1. Take out Activity Card 3

a. Place the semicircular prism on the middle and point one RED laser to the prism
from a specified angle; MAKE SURE TO AIM FOR THE CENTER OF THE
PRISM!
b. Identify the angle of refraction for each angle and record it in the table below.
c. Determine the index of refraction in each case by filling out the table.

n1 (Air) Incident Reflected sin(θi) sin(θr) 𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝜽𝒊 )

Angle (θi) Angle (θr) 𝒏𝟐 = 𝒏𝟏 ×
𝒔𝒊𝒏(𝜽𝒓 )

1.0 15o
 1.0 20o

1.0 25o

1.0 30o

1.0 35o

1.0 40o

1.0 45o

Data Analysis and Conclusion Questions:

1) Using the values of n that you have determined above, calculate the average value for
the index of refraction of your prism (Average = Sum / Amount).

2) Which of the following three materials are your prisms most likely made of: Flint glass,
Lucite, or Zircon. Why? (Hint: you need your reference tables!)

3) Did the laser bend/refract towards or away from the normal line after passing through the
prism?

4) Based on your answer to the previous question, is the material of the prism more optically
dense or less optically dense than air?

5) Is the speed of the light in the prisms faster or slower than the speed of light in the air?
Verify using math (Hint: index of refraction equation!).

CONCLUSION: The higher the index of refraction of a material is, the ________________
the speed of light is in that material.
 Index of Refraction Bonus Activity!

Procedure:

Take out Activity Card 5

a. Take out the triangular prism and place it flat on the activity card. Aim a single
WHITE laser at the prism (Start to the position labeled on the activity card).
b. Use your setup to answer the observation questions.

Observations:
What do you notice about the color of the light as it passes through and exits the triangular
prism? Draw a picture of this observation below:

Which color do you see refracts (bends) the most? Which color refracts the least?

Next, try switching to the red laser instead. Do you see the same pattern inside the prism?
(Yes/No)

Conclusion Questions:

1. Based on this activity, refraction must be the mechanism behind ______________, which
is the name of the phenomenon when white light enters a prism and separates into
multiple colors.

2. Why doesn’t the red laser exhibit the same phenomenon as the white laser?