NEW AQA Physics (2016) - Refraction of light

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA Physics GCSE, particularly the ‘Light’ SoW.

For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA Trilogy specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience

The lesson starts off with a teacher demonstration, or equally students could do this in pairs at their desks. A pencil is placed inside a glass of water, and students are asked to observe what is happening. They should notice that the pencil appears to ‘bend’ as it is placed into the water.

This leads onto our next slide, which outlines refraction. Students will then be handed an investigation sheet, with some of they key words missing from the method. Firstly, students will need to fill-in-the blanks to complete the method, before completing the investigation into refraction. This investigation has students observing what happens when light passes through air, then into a glass block, then back into air again on the other side of the block. They will need to trace the pathway of the ray of light onto a piece of paper. Students will then complete a conclusion of their results, to summarise what they have learned about refraction.

Students will then be shown a diagram of refraction, with clear explanations of what happens as light passes through a glass block. In the next activity, the children are provided with a set of data on how quickly light travels through different materials. They will need to draw a bar chart using the data, then answer the questions.

Next, students will complete a task where they need to match the definitions with the correct descriptions. The answers to this task are included in the presentation. Lastly, students will answer a set of exam-style questions on the topic of refraction, these can be marked using the answers provided.

The plenary task requires students to summarise their learning from the lesson in three facts, three key words and one question.

All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know at swyftresources@gmail.com.