GPS Activities for the Classroom

Activity Description: Describe in as much detail as possible.

What do you want the students to learn?

• The students will learn how to demonstrate examples of refracted light and track the points of where the light refracted and how far the refracted light traveled from point to point using mirrors, flashlights and GPS.

Set-up

• How can we refract or bend the light from the flashlight and make it touch each mirror in the room?
• Give each group a GPS, mirror, and flashlight. How can we mark the exact point of where each time we bend the light, and then calculate the distance the light traveled throughout all points?

What steps will the students take?

• Each group points the flashlight at the mirror to make it bend and eventually (in theory) touch the other groups’ mirrors as a point.
• Then the students use the GPS to see and chart the distance the light traveled and where it had to travel to make it bend.
• Then the students make a map using construction paper of the route shown on the GPS.

Extra Activities?

• 5.8a – difference among different forms of energy – light, heat, sound, solar.
• Find what points around the school building are receiving the most heat energy from the sun. Where are the hottest points?
• Find what points the sounds are heard; the softest and loudest.

Elementary GPS Lessons

Middle School GPS Lessons

High School GPS Lessons

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