Lens Science: Exploring Light with Gelatin Lenses Documents

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Lens Science: Exploring Light with Gelatin Lenses Documents

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Lens Science: Exploring Light with Gelatin Lenses

written by Rebecca Vieyra
sub author: Caroline Hall

This lesson blends physics, geometric optics, and biology as students explore light refraction through convex and concave "lenses" made of clear gelatin. Set-up in the classroom is simple, requiring only cardboard, a flashlight, and laser pointers of three different colors. The activity promotes understanding of four key concepts: 1) convex lenses cause light to converge, while concave lenses cause light divergence; 2) Focal length can be easily determined from the convergence point of a convex lens; 3) Ray diagrams provide a geometric way to depict the path of light through a transparent object; and 4) The malleable gelatin lenses can model the function of the human eye, which is able to change the shape of the crystalline lens to adjust vision for near and far objects.

This AAPT Lesson Plan was inspired by two articles in The Physics Teacher magazine: "Edible Optics: Using Gelatin to Demonstrate Properties of Light" by Patrick Bunton, and "Construction of Optical Elements with Gelatin" by Mario Branca and Isabella Soletta.