Light waves travel faster thought air (which is a less dense material) than they do through water or glass (a more dense material). In this case, we’re looking at how light waves travel through the air, through water and through glass. Refraction is a physics concept that refers to how a wave travels through a medium. Here’s the science behind this cool experiment …
You can tell kids that this is an optical illusion - your eyes are being ‘tricked’ because the pencil still looks the same when you pull it out of the water. As you can see above, the part of the pencil in the water appears to be shifted to the left of where you would expect to see it. You may have to lean the pencil closer to the front of the glass but you should see a distinct ‘break’ in the pencil when you peep through the side of the glass. Step 3: Look at the pencil through the side of the glass or jar - did it bend? You can already see that the pencil appears larger once in the water (as water is also a magnifier - learn more about that in this pine cone experiment). Step 2: Hold the tip of the pencil while inserting it into the water You’ll get the best results with a clear, glass container for this experiment. We used a mason jar since all of our drinking glasses have an etched design in them. Step 1: Fill a drinking glass or glass jar with water. The Bending Pencil Experiment: Light Refraction
Easy reflection refraction and diffraction activity series#
You can see all the books in this series here: Let’s Read & Find Out Science series for kids!Įxplore Light & Optics with 25 Great Projects – includes a number of other cool activities and experiments kids can do with light! I love the Explore Your World project books - so many awesome themes & topics! This is from a great set of early science books which always include a ‘Learn More’ section and easy experiments kids can do after reading the book. Light is All Around Us – a great introduction to sunlight, shadows and the speed of light. Since we always pair our experiments with books (it’s a great way to explain & extend the science 😉 here are a few of our favorites on light: We’re also including affiliate links to some great books and items we used for this experiment. This quick experiment (actually 2) is so fun to do with kids, takes only 5 minutes and is SUPER EASY - all you’ll need is a pencil and a glass of water. Similar to our Optical Illusion science experiment, light experiments also rely on what our eyes see. In the 28 Days of STEM series, this week’s topic is STEM Challenges so we thought we would introduce a science challenge that ‘tricks’ your eyes. Refraction & Light Experiments: Easy Science for Kids Today we’re going to play with that sense of wonder and highlight the science behind light refraction as we bend a pencil without breaking it! In my experience, you can AMAZE kids with two types of science activities - the first type are those that show some behind-the-scenes phenomenon like this How Does a Leaf Breathe? experiment!Īnd the second type are those that seem to work like magic. Our easy science experiments are back and this week, we’re adding a touch of ‘magic’! Learn about refraction of light with this easy science experiment that can be done at home or in the classroom.
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