Teachers' Domain, Hubble Telescope:
Looking Deep, published December 17, 2005, retrieved on
September 27, 2008,
When you wake up each morning, hopefully you take a look at
yourself in a mirror in order to clean up and get ready for another
day. How does light behave when it reflects off of a mirrored
surface, and how does your image form in a mirror anyway? What if
your mirror image one day decided to "step out" of the mirror
and follow you around--would you or your friends be able to tell the
difference between the "real" you and your 'evil' mirrored twin?
In these activities you will explore how light behaves as reflects as
well as how images are formed in plane, concave, and convex
mirrors--you'll soon be 'reflecting' on how mirrors make our lives
easier!
Lab Links:
Lab Sim:
Curved Mirror Images How
does your mirror image form in a plane (flat) mirror when you comb your hair in
the morning? If you want to buy a new mirror for your bedroom, what's the
minimum size that you need in order to see your whole body? In this
activity we will explore how images are formed in a plane mirror--remember that
it takes two lines to determine a point in space; thus we need to determine at
least two rays of light in order to locate any point on the image. You
may need to hit F11 for a Full Screen view of the website; if your webpage is
having problems then just hit F5 to refresh it--be sure to read
ALL the directions carefully! Good luck! :)
