WORKSHOP 1: May 28 (1 PM) to May 30 (1 PM) Elementary Exploring Our Solar System

July 16-18 NASA Jaffe – Light and Optics (MKH and Kyle Fricke)

July 16 3 PM Registration and Introductions/rules. Define RESOURCE Observatory, Dome, Telescope 3:20 Dispersion and spectroscopy DFL's dispersion activity. Build spectrometer. 5:20 PM Reflection - the TEKS/TAKS of the day (20 minutes) Working copies and on CD. 6 PM Dinner in AL 7 PM Tour telescope 2.1 or 2.7-m 8:30 PM Astronomy activity: navigating the night sky (make Planesphere, StarDate, and Celestial planisphere & use Star Maps) Sphere handout (and on CD) 9:30 -12 Observing with small telescopes and binoculars weather permitting

July 17:

10:30 Review of Observing Session - list objects seen 10:45 Jaffe talk on grisms and their use Via videoconference or in person 12:15 Lunch in the VC and break 1:00 PM Tour the observatory – see the HET 3:00 PM Audacity 4:00 PM Refraction & More than magnifiers Working handouts. Glass block & laser, prism Reflection - the TEKS/TAKS of the day (20 minutes) 6:00 PM Dinner in AL 7:00 Tour telescope 8:30 Experiments with infrared From SOFIA kit Getting ready for evening observing – making observing lists 9:30 – 12 Observing with small telescopes and binoculars weather permitting

July 18 10:30 AM Discussion of observing and telescopes discussion list telescopes, equipment used, observers for visits 11:00 AM Color Shadows and polarization 11:20 Concept Map - grisms 11:50 AM Review of TEKS/TAKS for the day Evaluation form and focus group 12:15 Lunch in VC. Certificate presentation. StarDate Teacher Guide, StarDate: BSS and TSS.

Light and Optics 2007 1

Consumable (one per participant) On-hand supplies Stop Faking It: Light worksheets/paper/crayons StarDate/Universo Teacher Guide Optics/light supplies as needed Planesphere Guide to the Solar System and Beyond the Solar System More than Magnifier lenses, rulers, light source, mirrors for telescope talk and activity Star maps (from StarDate magazine is good) "hearing infrared" materials CD-with handouts TEKS list, interdisciplinary form, Certificates Laser pointer, large glass lens Spectrometers with diffraction grating prism Diffraction card from Arbor Scientific

http://www.regulusastro.com/regulus/papers/grism/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grism

Think about Kyle's wave activity and where it fits….

This totals 20 instructional hours for the certificate.

Integrated Physics and Chemistry (5) Science Concepts. The student knows the effects of waves on everyday life. The student is expected to (B) demonstrate wave interactions including interference, polarization, reflection, refraction, and resonance within various materials.

Possible equipment list: Surplus shed: 100MM DIA DCX LENS, 200MM FL Double convex lens, 100mm diameter by 200mm focal length. Unused and boxed. L2006D $3.50 or 5 for $15.00 16MM DIA

http://www.surplusshed.com/catalog/ss_catalog_s06_w.pdf

CLEAR ACRYLIC PLATE - 3" X 5", 1/4" THICK Precut standard-sized rectangular clear acrylic plates for your experimenting, hobby, or optical use. Non-polished edges. M2206 $0.50 or 10 for $4.00 (PS Got these – did not work as expected. Need to try thick glass plates.)

COATED LITTROW DISPERSION PRISMS 30-60-90 degree prisms. 37.9mm long by 22mm wide and 22mm high. One surface is coated with AlSiO and protected with black paint. It diverts the beam by 60

Light and Optics 2007 2 degrees without inverting or reverting the image. Unused. Made of BK-7 optical glass with surface quality of 60-40 and flatness of 1/2 wave. L2003D $14.00

Arbor Scientific http://www.papercatalogsonline.com/ec/arborscientific/2007/lg_display.cfm? page_number=13 Prism $6.75 part 33-0220

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=54050 Cen-Tech Laser Level $4.99

Diffraction cards: http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?id=938&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

Concave-convex mirror: http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?id=827&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

polarizing material http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?id=395&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083 glass prism http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?id=39&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

Stop Faking It: Light Angie to get from NSTA at 30% discount

Light and Optics 2007 3 Tentative schedule – subject to change

July 16 3 PM Registration and Introductions Introduction to light and optics Spectroscopy and dispersion 6 PM Dinner at Astronomers' Lodge 7 PM Tour a telescope 8:30 PM Astronomy activity- navigating the night sky 9:30 PM Begin nighttime observing session (weather permitting) or alternative activity Midnight Return to Indian Lodge

July 17 10:30 AM Review observing session The Hobby-Eberly Telescope – an activity 12: 15 PM Lunch in StarDate Café 1 PM Tour the HET Refraction Grisms and their Use 6 PM Dinner at Astronomers' Lodge 7 PM Tour a telescope 8:30 PM Experiments with Infrared Light 9:30 PM Begin nighttime observing session (weather permitting) or alternative activity Midnight Return to Indian Lodge

July 18 10:30 AM Discussion of observing and telescopes/equipment Concluding astronomy activity Noon - Evaluation 12:15 PM Lunch in StarDate Café 1 PM Certificate presentation 1:15 PM Departure

Light and Optics 2007 4 Dear Lyn:

Thanks for your feedback. I will take your suggestions and substitute the Color Shadows activity for the solar viewing. (Since all of our workshops at McDonald include nighttime observing, none of them start at 8 AM - so I'm sure we won't do a gnomon experiment. It does not have enough to do with the topic "light and optics". I had considered using the solar telescope since it uses the H-alpha filter and different instrumentation, but since you think the color shadows is more useful for the teachers, I'll do color shadows.)

I will get you a copy of "Light: Stop Faking it" so that you can consult it before the CAST conference.

I will try to get an inexpensive laser pointer for each participant. (They will be red- -the green ones are more expensive. And, we have found pen- sized laser pointers less expensive than the Arbor Scientific source when we purchase large quantities.)

I will take your advice on the glass prism and diffraction cards since you think they may be more useful than the convex-concave mirrors. We can do focal length measurements with the lens.

I got your attachments, but there was not one on the laser and CD. Some comments:

For the one on wavelengths and color, it refers to a value of "d" that the student gets from the teacher. Do you know what this value is in relation to lines/mm on the grating? We get our gratings from different sources, so perhaps what we want is to give the student the wavelength and have them calculate d. What I find troubling about this write-up is that it doesn't really discuss what "d" is and how it varies - and what the advantage of using different types of gratings might be.

The "Light: Stop Faking It" book has some interesting experiments to do with polarized light. None are quantitative. The most interesting one involves using a glass of corn syrup and viewing it through the rotating polarizing filters.

Light and Optics 2007 5 I think everyone will enjoy the spoon images experiment - I especially like the predict page that is included.

I enjoyed the website you included on your prism sheet -- http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/outreach/8thGradeSOL/WavpartST.htm

Thanks for your help.

I'll be in touch later. mary kay

I just wanted to get back to you with my thanks for such a rapid response with your advice.

Dear Mary Kay,

How are you doing? Here are my comments/suggestions:

1. Solar observing activity You can do the Color Shadows. I do this with my classes for light and colors topic. My students find this activity exciting and fun. But if you want a field activity and if the workshop starts at 8 in the morning, you can do the measurement of shadow of a gnomon for 8 hours. Each teacher is assigned to plot the shadow every 30 minutes.

2. The NSTA book "Light: Stop Faking It" is a great teacher resource. In fact, I would like to have a copy, too!

But if you get the GEMS book, instead, a laser pointer would be a great give-away item for teachers. As I recall, during last year's summer workshop, teachers were amazed by the laser pointer (especially the green long-range one) and consistently asked where to get it. In the Lower Valley,

Light and Optics 2007 6 most teachers do not have a laser pointer for classroom demonstration for use with mirrors and prisms.

In fact, there was a question in the exit level TAKS released test last year, about reflection showing a CD and a laser pointer. In the attachments, I have a lab activity on this.

In the grade 8 level, there was a question on how sound wave is generated.

Economical Laser pointer http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx?ID=374

3. Preferably, get the diffraction cards and small glass prisms. You can use the shiny silver spoon as a substitute for concave-convex mirrors if there's a budget constraint. But if you want to determine the focal length of the lens, then get the convex-concave mirrors. A good substitute for this activity would be the large glass lens.

Please review the attached lab worksheets and let me know if there's a need for modifications.

Mary Kay Hemenway wrote:

Dear Lyn:

I'm pleased to be working with you. What I need an teacher's opinion on right now concerns the schedule of activities for the workshop and the necessary accompanying materials.

Light and Optics 2007 7 Of course, we will have telescope tours, meet the astronomers, and observing sessions - with the Astroscans and small telescopes at the visitor center (not the 0.8-m and 0.9-m that you used).

The underlying topic of the workshop is grisms (basically a grating-prism combination that is often used at infrared wavelengths for spectroscopy).

The activities that I am thinking of doing are:

1. waves (use a slinky) and their detection (sound analog with the computer program audacity) http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ This is a cool way to "see" sound waves.

2. spectroscopy - making a cardboard spectrometer and viewing different sorts of spectra

3. Human HET This is described at http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/classroom/ttt/ttt.html

4. Refraction. (More than Magnifiers type exercise ... http://www.lhsgems.org/GEM290&291.html This is for grades 4-9 and is ONLY refraction.

5. experiments with the Infrared. I usually do the "listening to light" from http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Edu/materials/activeAstronomy/activeAstronomy. html

6, Solar observing - some demonstrations and daytime observing OR that experiment you did last summer "Color Shadows" if you think it is useful for this topic. Let me know which one I should include. This short (two night) workshop doesn't have time for both.

In addition, Dr. Jaffe will deliver a talk on grisms and his research with them.

I have a limited supply budget, and this is where I need your help since I want the teachers (a combination of middle and high school teachers) to walk away with some materials.

Light and Optics 2007 8 For one of the demonstrations, I'm pretty sure I want each person to have an acrylic block. For another one, a large glass lens. And, one spectrometer/person. And, I want each person to have a lab notebook.

Here are some items I'm considering for which I need your feedback:

The book: "Stop Faking it: Light" from NSTA http://www.nsta.org/pressroom&news_story_ID=48495 Although it is written for grade 3-8 teachers, and we have grade 6-12, it does cover most facets of light with many illustrations and would give the teachers a printed reference, good diagrams on many facets of light and optics.

Diffraction cards: http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx? id=938&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

Concave-convex mirror: http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx? id=827&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083 polarizing material http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx? id=395&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

Equilateral Glass Prism http://www.arborsci.com/detail.aspx? id=39&catalog=2007&cfid=2365548&cftoken=61155083

I can get two out of the following three if we get the books: diffraction cards, small glass prism, concave-convex mirror. So, the question is which one to eliminate. (The polarizing material is much less expensive, so it doesn't impact the budget too much. If we get the books, there is a little bit of polarizing material in the small kit that comes with the book.)

If I don't get the NSTA book, I could get the GEMS "More than Magnifier" book plus another item. For each item we are considering ONE - not a classroom set.

Light and Optics 2007 9 To remind you, the TEKS objective that seems most important are the IPC:

Science concepts. The student knows the effects of waves on everyday life. The student is expected to: (A) demonstrate wave types and their characteristics through a variety of activities such as modeling with ropes and coils, activating tuning forks, and interpreting data on seismic waves; (B) demonstrate wave interactions including interference, polarization, reflection, refraction, and resonance within various materials; and PHYSICS:

Science concepts. The student knows the characteristics and behavior of waves. The student is expected to: (A) examine and describe a variety of waves propagated in various types of media and describe wave characteristics such as velocity, frequency, amplitude, and behaviors such as reflection, refraction, and interference; (B) identify the characteristics and behaviors of sound and electromagnetic waves; and

I know that this is a lot to think about, but perhaps over your Spring Break you can consider what I've written and think about what you - as a teacher - would like to take away with you from a workshop on optics and light.

I want to get the final agenda together and order supplies by April 1 - so a response from you by March 30 would be appreciated.

Let me know if you have any questions. Also, I currently don't have any write-ups about what to do with polarizing material or prisms or diffraction cards - so if we get those, I'll hope for some ideas from you -- for example, a student worksheet that provides guided inquiry. These are the "holes" in the program at the moment. I have ideas for everything else.

Mary Kay

Dear Mary Kay,

My principal approved of this opportunity.

I am looking forward to work with you.

Thank you.

Mary Kay Hemenway wrote:

Dear Lyn:

I am preparing for my summer workshop for Dan Jaffe's Education/Public Outreach project on Grisms. The workshop is titled "optics and light". Since you have a strong background in physics, I would like to invite you to work with me on planning the workshop and presenting a short workshop on this topic at CAST next November.

We built a stipend of $1000 into the grant for a high school teacher. There is another small amount for travel to CAST (in Austin) to present a workshop based on the workshop activities. You need not attend the workshop (and, in fact, if you did, I suspect that the funds for room and board and travel would come out of the stipend since we did not budget funds for that), but we would expect you to attend CAST.

Are you interested, or shall I look for another teacher? I need help within the coming month to set the workshop schedule and to select materials and supplies (so that they can be ordered). If we think there is a glaring hole in the schedule and need a new activity, I would need help with that also.

Let me know.

Mary Kay

Attactments:

"Wavelengths of Colors.doc"

Light and Optics 2007 11 Polarized Light.doc"

"Prisms.doc"

Spoon Images.doc"