Did you think of a question that could be studied, or make an observation
that was interesting or unexpected? You should send it to the Question
board!
Discuss some of these questions with the people in your group:
There is a little sign on the passenger-side side mirror on my car, that
says "Objects in mirror are closer than they
appear." It is a slightly curved mirror: is it convex
or concave? Why did they make it this way? Why do objects
viewed in this mirror seem smaller than they actually are?
Christmas tree ornaments frequently are in the form of reflecting spheres.
If the purpose is to reflect the tree lights and make it look like there
are even more than there are, why not use little flat mirrors? Would
cylindrical mirrors be useful?
Suppose we had a tube with reflecting surfaces on the inside (we could
make one by rolling up a piece of silvered mylar). If you were to look
through the tube as if it were a telescope, what would you see? For
the best effect, look at the edge of a piece of white paper on a dark table,
or the edge of a blackboard on a light-colored wall. Predict first!
Then try it -- and then explain the result.
Please send
us your discussion of two of these questions. Don't forget to tell
us who is in the group.
If there is something that you don't understand about mirrors, Ask
us! This is the end of this section.
Please note that these activities are written up (in slightly different
form) in the manual (in the Mirrors and Light Beams sections).
The next section is about images.