Activity Overview
Refractive index is an important physical property of a substance that can be used for identification, purity determination or measurement of concentration. This activity is designed for the TI-Nspire handheld and intends to help students understand the refraction of light as it moves from one medium to another. Students will discover Snell's Law using an interactive diagram.
Before the Activity
Before the lesson, teachers should review the teacher files and explore the activity. The mathematics level of students will determine how teachers approach the discovery of Snell's Law.
The teacher files attached (both .doc file and pdf) include sample responses to questions and suggest some options for instruction.
During the Activity
The student files for this lesson include a pdf file, a word 2003 document and the TI-NSpire file. Teachers may wish to try the student version before teaching the lesson. Modifications in the lesson can be made using the word document and the tns files.
After the Activity
Post activities are included in the lessons already uploaded.