Changes in students' understanding on the concept of properties of light before and after a simple optical experiment using a laser pointer are investigated and analyzed. The comparative investigation was made on the first grade students at a Middle s...
Changes in students' understanding on the concept of properties of light before and after a simple optical experiment using a laser pointer are investigated and analyzed. The comparative investigation was made on the first grade students at a Middle school in Youngchon city. The author designed a test problem sheet which includes several questions about basic concepts on properties of light such as reflection, refraction, paths of light in convex and concave lens, and total internal reflection. Experimental set are composed of a laser pointer as light source and conventional optical experiment components. Our comparative study leads to a conclusion that the rate of giving correct answers from the class after experiment was higher than those from the class before experiment. This means the very simple experiment is much helpful for the students to understand the concept of optical properties of light.