Speed of Light Experiment with Gelatin and a Laser!

It doesn’t take expensive or sophisticated equipment to carry out a speed of light experiment at home or in the classroom. You can measure the speed of light with nothing but a laser, a protractor and a slab of gelatin, is inexpensive and surprisingly accurate!

Grade Range: 9-12

Duration: 45-60 Minutes

Supplies:

  • Classroom Safe Laser Pointer or Laser Blox (red or green)
  • Clear Gelatin
  • 360 degree protractor

NGSS Connections

PS4.A: Electromagnetic Radiation

  • Use mathematical representations to support a claim regarding relationships among the frequency, wavelength and speed of waves traveling in various media. (HS-PS4-1)
Back to blog

Download this lesson and many others!

Includes NGSS Standards and Student Worksheets

Go to download page

Get safe laser pointers designed for this lesson

Our LaserBlox are designed for educational use at home and in the classroom. We test every batch to ensure total power is within safe limits and the magnetic housing keeps the laser pointing the right direction when used on a steel surface.

laser blox 3 pack red violet green reflection student teacher learning kit

Laser Classroom

LaserBlox Educational Laser Pointers

Color
Pack
View full details

Or choose from our individual laser pointers:

If you just need one laser pointer for this lesson, you can get it right here! All of our laser pointers are tested to ensure safe power levels that match their laser safety rating.

1 8

See other fun and educational experiments with light!

View all
1 3
View all