Discipline: Physical Science, Light Refraction
Age Range: 5+
Estimated Time: 5-10 minutes
What you need: A mirror and a spoon
Find a mirror in your house. What does your
reflection look like? Draw a picture of your reflection in the box below (or on a piece of paper).
Now, find a spoon. What do you think your reflection will look like when you look into the inside of the spoon? Observe your reflection and draw a picture on a piece of paper).
Flip your spoon around so the curved side is facing outward. What do you think your reflection will look like when you look into the spoon like this? Observe your reflection and draw a picture on a piece of paper.
Reflections can be described as light that doesn’t enter a medium, but are sent back out from the surface of the medium. Here are three basic types of mirrors that create different types of reflections:
Flat or Plane: This type of surface is the same as your mirror. It has a flat surface and causes an image to be flipped from left to right when reflected.
Concave: This type of surface is like the inside of your curved spoon. It has an inward rounded surface and causes an image to flip upside down. It also can cause the image to be magnified.
Convex: This type of surface is like the outside of your curved spoon, It has an outward rounded surface, causes an image to be magnified, and is not flipped.
