Learning Outcomes for Reflection and Mirrors

Lesson Plans || Learning Outcomes and Activities || Teacher Notes || Labs

 

The list below displays sample learning objectives for the unit on Reflection and Mirrors. The various activities from the Lesson Plans have been organized by objective. This format of organizing The Physics Classroom's activities may be more useful to some teachers than the Lesson Plan format. It is worth noting that the activities identified below only include those activities included on the Lesson Plans and in the Pre-Built Task Tracker courses. Additional activities are referenced on the Teacher Notes page.

 

 

1. The Law of Reflection

State the law of reflection and use it to predict the manner in which light reflects off a plane mirror.
 

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2. Plane Mirror Images and Image Formation

Explain how a plane mirror produces an image of an object and describe the characteristics (location, size, etc.) of those images.
 

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3. Ray Diagrams for Plane Mirrors

Construct a ray diagram for a plane mirror and use such diagrams to predict how much mirror is required to view an image and what objects might be seen in a plane mirror from a given eye position.
 

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4. Specular vs. Diffuse Reflection

Describe the distinction between specular and diffuse reflection using words and/or a diagram; explain the cause and the result.
 

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5. Reflection and Image Formation by Curved Mirrors

Recognize the two types of curved mirrors, describe their anatomy, and demonstrate how images are formed by reflection of light off the mirror surface.
 

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6. Ray Diagrams for Concave Mirrors

Apply rules of reflection for curved mirrors to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a concave mirror.
 

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7. Concave Mirror Image Characteristics

Describe the characteristics of the images (location, orientation, size, and type) that are formed for various object locations along the principal axis of a concave mirror.
 

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8. Ray Diagrams for Convex Mirrors

Apply rules of reflection for curved mirrors to construct an accurate ray diagram showing the image location, size, and orientation for various locations along the principal axis of a convex mirror.
 

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9. Convex Mirror Image Characteristics

Describe the characteristics of the images (location, orientation, size, and type) that are formed by a convex mirror.
 

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10. Mirror Equation, Magnification Ratio, and Problem-Solving

Use the mirror equation and magnification ratio to predict the location, size, and orientation of an image formed by a concave or convex mirror for any given object location and size.
 

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Review Activities

 

Also Available ...

Physics teachers may find the following for-sale tools to be useful supplements to our Lesson Plan and Pacing Guide section:

 

1. Task Tracker Subscription (annual purchase)
   A subscription allows teachers to set up classes, add students, customize online assignments, view student progress/scores, and export student scores. Task Tracker accounts allow your students to begin assignments in class or at school and to finish them at home. View our Seat and Cost Calculator for pricing details.
    
2. The Solutions Guide
   We publish a free curriculum with >200 ready-to-use Think Sheets for developing physics concepts. The Solutions Guide is a download containing the source documents, PDFs of source documents, and answers/solutions in MS Word and PDF format. An expanded license agreement is included with the purchase. (Cost: $25 download)
    
3. Teacher Presentation Pack
   This is a large collection of downloadable content packed with nearly 190 Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks, the corresponding Lesson Notes (as PDF and fully-modifiable MS Word format), about 170 animations (in .gif, .png, and .mp4 file formats), a countless number of ready-to-use images (including the original source documents that would allow for easy modification of those images), and a license that allows teachers to modify and use all the content with their classes on password-protected sites (such as course management systems).  (Cost: $40 download)
    
4. Question Bank
   We distribute a Question Bank that includes more than 9300 questions neatly organized according to topic. The Question Bank is the perfect tool for busy teachers or new teachers. Even if you don't use the website with your classes, the Question Bank will assist you in quickly putting together quizzes, tests and other documents with high-quality questions that target student's conceptions of physics principles. And if you do use The Physics Classroom website, the Question Bank is the perfect complement to the materials found at the website. (Cost: $25 download)