Teacher Resources

The Physics Classroom has been devoted to helping students, teachers, and classrooms since the 1990s. We are as passionate about that mission now as we have ever been. If you are a teacher of Physics or Physical Science, we encourage you to use our Video Tutorial with your students. And we also encourage you to consider the use of other resources on our website that coordinate with the video. We have listed a few below to help you get started.


Curriculum Corner, Reflection and Mirrors

 
Our Curriculum Corner includes in excess of 200 Think Sheets on discrete topics. Each Think Sheet takes a developmental approach to a topic. The following two Think Sheets provide exceptional support for this video. Combine them with a simulation and either a Concept Builder or a Minds On Physics mission and you have a super lesson.

Ray Diagrams for Concave Mirrors

Object-Image Relations

 

Physics Interactives: Optics Bench - Mirrors

The Physics Interactives is our simulation section. This section provides a playful way to learn. Alter a variable, experiment with a system, and interact with the simulation in order to find out how nature works. Our Optics Bench simulation allows students to explore the reflection of light by curved mirrors and the formation of images. The classroom-ready exercise that accompanies the simulation emphasizes the LOST Art of Image Description.


 

Physics Interactives: Name That Image

This Interactive from our simulation section presents an object location and students must identify the image that has the corresponding orientation, location, and size. It's an awesome way to practice what has been learned in the video.


 

 

Concept Builders: Lost Art of Image Description

Students love Concept Builders. They provide awesome practice to strengthen understanding of a concept. The Help Me page provides background help specific to the question. When combined with our Task Tracker system, Concept Builders make for great out-of-class assignments.

 
 

Minds On Physics, Reflection and Mirrors module, Mission RM6

Our Minds On Physics program provides an intense workout in careful reading, logical thinking, and conceptual reasoning. It's like eating broccoli - nobody likes it but you know it's good for you. Consider Mission RM6 on Object-Image Relations as a follow-up exercise to this video.

 
 

Science Reasoning Center: Concave Mirrors

This passage from our Science Reasoning Center setion describes a collection of experiments in which students investigate the characteristics of images formed by a concave mirror. Information is presented in the form of two diagrams and a data table. Students must answer questions that target their ability to reason scientifically. We think this actually makes a good introduction to the video. Of course, teachers know what works best with their own classes.
 

 

Tutorial on Reflection and the Ray Model of Light, Lesson 3

When you need to quickly review a topic and/or freshen up on a concept, The Tutorial section of our website is your go-to place. Many teachers include these as links for students on their course management sites. The page titled Image Characteristics for Concave Mirrors makes a good complement of this video.

Image Characteristics for Concave Mirrors
 



Teacher Toolkits: Image Formation by Curved Mirrors

We love our Teacher Toolkits. We hope you do as well. They include a collection of links to vetted resources throughout the web that are standards-based and multi-media driven.