Mississippi Science PHS.6.7
The Standard
- PHS.6
- Students will explore the characteristics of waves.
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to design and construct an apparatus that forms images to project on a screen or magnify images using lenses and/or mirrors. *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Waves
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students set a goal for image size or sharpness, then build a device with a lens or mirror. They test the image and change the spacing or parts to improve it.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can make a clear image on a screen or a larger view through a magnifier. They record what they changed and show how the result compares with their goal.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a lens makes a sharp image on a screen at any distance. Some try to catch the enlarged view from a magnifying glass held close to text on a screen.
How to Assess It
- Give pairs a flashlight, paper arrow cutout, convex lens, and white card. Ask them to project a sharp arrow and write which spacing change improved it.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a projector from a flashlight-lit arrow cutout, convex lens, and white card; adjust spacing, check sharpness, and revise the setup.
Ask students to explain why a magnifying glass enlarges nearby text but can project an upside-down image when the text is farther away.
Give pairs lens diagrams with marked focal lengths; have them sort arrow and screen placements into sharp image, blurry image, or no screen image.
Turn a classroom projector’s focus ring and ask students which adjustment on their model serves the same purpose.
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Printable PHS.6.7 Worksheet
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