Living Physics Portal: Telling the story - Light problems

Abstract: To develop complex problem solving skills, students need to learn to develop a coherent story about what the situation in the problem is, what the mechanism is, and what physics principles are appropriate to apply. This part of the module contains 24 problems using the ray model of light that require "telling the story" of what's happening, matching the physics to the math, and developing a solution path. Ray optics is a great place for helping students to see the value of principle-based reasoning as a few obvious principles can lead to some interesting and surprising results.

Resource Types: Homework, Instructor supplement, Restricted access

Commercially available in:

ExpertTA

Authors:

Edward Redish (he/him)

University of Maryland, College Park

NEXUS Physics

Living Physics Portal Team

TOPICS

Physics Topics:

Optics > Geometrical Optics

Life Sciences Topics:

Medical Applications > Biomedical Imaging > Optical Imaging

Chemistry Topics:

None

Math Topics:

Algebra; Geometry; Graphical Analysis; Trigonometry

FILES Download0

Telling the story - Light problems - Ray model

A bigger lens.pdf

A fishy lens.pdf

Alice and Aslan.pdf

Alice and the looking glass.pdf

Bizarre behavior with light.pdf

Blocking a lens.pdf

Evolving an eyeball.pdf

Exploring a lens.pdf

Find your focus.pdf

Insolation of the earth.pdf

Measuring the speed of light a la Galileo.pdf

Mirrors and lenses.pdf

On the mirror.pdf

Possible mirrors.pdf

Puzzling with mirrors.pdf

Speed of light and the GPS system.pdf

The camera and the slide projector.pdf

The diverging lens.pdf

The half lens.pdf

The lit-unlit bulb.pdf

The microscope.pdf

TV vs mirror.pdf

The world in a spoon.pdf

Where can you see the bulb.pdf

A bigger lens.url

A fishy lens.url

Alice and Aslan.url

Alice and the looking glass.url

Bizarre behavior with light.url

Blocking a lens.url

Evolving an eyeball.url

Exploring a lens.url

Find your focus.url

Insolation of the earth.url

Measuring the speed of light a la Galileo.url

Mirrors and lenses.url

On the mirror.url

Possible mirrors.url

Puzzling with mirrors.url

Speed of light and the GPS system.url

The camera and the slide projector.url

The diverging lens.url

The half lens.url

The lit-unlit bulb.url

The microscope.url

The world in a spoon.url

TV vs mirror.url

Where can you see the bulb.url

A bigger lens.pdf

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INSTRUCTOR GUIDE

IMPLEMENTATION

Equipment required: Computers / software

Specific equipment needed: A computer and web access is required to access the problems on line, but they can be printed and distributed on paper.

Basic implementation tips & tricks: Ray optics is a great place to show students how chains of reasoning (telling a story) from obvious fundamental principles can lead to surprising results — covering the half lens, properties of mirrors, real images and so forth. Combining these problems with demonstrations and hands-on activities can be particularly compelling.

How does this resource fit into the flow of your course? We introduce students to the theory of light at the end of our class, though ray optics may be introduced independently earlier.

PEDAGOGY

Pedagogical approach: Collaborative problem-solving; Conceptually-oriented activities; Context-rich problems; Mathematically-focused activities

Skills / Competencies: Multiple representations; Estimation; Intuition building; Building models; Evaluating models

What insights or realizations do you hope students gain from this resource? that solving mathematical problems in science, especially complex ones, is greatly facilitated by first thinking about what's happening — telling the story: understanding the physics principles that are relevant, and considering the mechanism of what's going on. Ray optics is an excellent place to do this both since students have personal experience with vision and since the problems mostly involve geometry rather than relying on extensive algebra.

Why is this resource useful to life sciences students? Optics are a fundamental tool in biology and medicine so life-science students often appreciate the value of studying ray optics.

DISCUSSION

SUBMISSION DETAILS

License: CC BY-NC-SA - Attribution, No Commercial uses and Share Alike. Derivative works must have the same license.

Last Edit Date: January 21, 2025