Corner Refractor - "Figuring Physics" in the May TPT

Paul Hewitt (author, Conceptual Physics) contributes a "Hewitt Drewitt" physics cartoon puzzle to each issue of the American Association of Physics Teachers magazine/journal, the aptly titled The Physics Teacher.

This month's "Figuring Physics" a refraction puzzle that came to me last year while retooling an interactive classroom lesson.

Corner Refractor (PDF)

Hewitt would implore you to wait before getting to the solution. And all the "Figuring Physics" puzzles are intended as "Next Time Questions," meaning you give them to students one day, and don't provide answers until next time, no matter how compellingly students beg.

Corner Refractor - Solution (PDF)

I'm delighted whenever I can conjure something good enough for Paul Hewitt to use in the column. "Figuring Physics" requires the right balance of trickiness and accessibility, novelty and familiarity. They're not easy to write.

If you've got one, send it in! He's always keen to have more.

Need some inspiration? Or just looking for more where this one came from?

Hewitt's Next-Time Question Archive at Arbor Scientific.