GRADE 10 FORCE, MOTION AND ENERGY LIGHT: MIRRORS AND LENSES

I SHALL RETURN

AT A GLANCE:

A ray of light is usually represented by a straight line with

an arrow head pointing to the direction of travel. This is because
light travels in a straight line in one medium. What happens to
light when it meets a boundary? As light travels through air, it will
often meet an obstacle or perhaps another medium through
which it could travel. What happens then to light when it hits a
very smooth or well-polished opaque material such as mirror?

WHAT YOU AIM:

1. Give the meaning of reflection.

2. Measure and compare the angle of incidence to the angle of
reflection.
3. State the laws of reflection.

WHAT YOU NEED:

LASER pointer, plane mirror, photocopy of protractor, 2 laundry

clips

WHAT TO DO:

1. Let the plane mirror stand vertically along a line on a

photocopy of protractor. The mirror should exactly be placed
at the middle of the protractor outline. Use the laundry clip to
support the plane mirror.

2. Get a LASER pointer and position it on the 30o of the outlined

protractor. See Figure 2.7. Let the light from the LASER pointer
strikes the middle portion of the mirror touching the protractor
photocopy .

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 GRADE 10 FORCE, MOTION AND ENERGY LIGHT: MIRRORS AND LENSES

Figure 2.7. Plane Mirror-LASER Set-up

Caution: Handle the mirror with care because some mirrors

have sharp edges. Do not pinpoint LASER to the
eyes of your classmates. It destroys the eye.

3. Adjust the ray of light according to the specified incident

angles on the data table. The angle of incidence and angle
of reflection should be measured with reference to the
imaginary line perpendicular to the surface of the mirror
which is called the normal line (N).

4. Repeat procedure 2 with 45o, 60o, 75o and 90o. Record your
observations on the data Table 2.3.

Data Table:

Table 2.3. Angle of Incidence vs. Angle of Reflection

Angle of Incidence Angle of

(degrees) Reflection(degrees)
30
45
60
75
90

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WHAT YOU KNOW:

1. In procedure # 2, what happens to the light as it strikes the

mirror? What is reflection of light? Illustrate using diagram.
Ans. ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
2. What part of the protractor outline shows the incident ray,
angle of incidence, normal line, reflected ray and angle of
reflection? Are they located in the same plane?
Ans. ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
3. How is the angle of incidence compared with the angle of
reflection?
Ans.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
4. What could be the possible sources of error in the activity?
Ans.
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
5. What are the two laws of reflection?
Ans.
________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________

WHAT YOU THINK:

Cite real life applications of reflection.

_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________
________________________________________________

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Protractor Template:

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