Objectives - Reflection and Mirrors

The Minds On Physics program consists of 15 modules. Each module covers a different topic and consists of a varying number of assignments. Every assignment addresses one or two objectives. The objectives for the Reflection and Mirrors module are listed below.

• Assignment 1:
  • The student should be able to identify and apply the definitions of the angle of incidence, the angle of reflection, incident ray and reflected ray.
  • The student should be able to apply the law of reflection in order to identify the angle of incidence and reflection if given other angle information.
     
• Assignment 2:
  • The student should be able to explain what an image is and describe how it is formed as a result of reflected light.
  • The student should be able to identify image characteristics such as location and orientation.
     
• Assignment 3:
  • The student should be able to identify where an eye must sight to view an image of an object and to trace the path of light from the object to the eye.
  • The student should be able to use the line of sight method to determine what objects an eye can see when sighting in a mirror.
     
• Assignment 4:
  • The student should be able to identify the distinction between regular and diffuse reflection in terms of both the cause and the effect.
     
• Assignment 5:
  • The student should be able to identify the basic rules of reflection for concave mirrors and describe the usefulness of such rules in determining the image location for an object.
  • The student should be able to recognize and distinguish between correct and incorrect ray diagrams.
     
• Assignment 6:
  • The student should be able to identify the characteristics of the images (size, location, orientation, and type) which are produced by concave mirrors.
  • The student should be able to use an understanding of image characteristics to match an image with a given object based on the image size, location and orientation.
     
• Assignment 7:
  • The student should be able to use the mirror equation to predict the image distance if the object distance and focal length are known (or to predict the focal length which is required to produce a known image and object distance). (For concave mirrors)
  • The student should be able to combine the mirror equation and magnification ratio to predict either the image distance or image height and magnification for a known object distance and focal length. (For concave mirrors)
     
• Assignment 8:
  • The student should be able to identify the basic rules of reflection for convex mirrors and to describe the usefulness of such rules in determining the image location.
  • The student should be able to recognize and distinguish between correct and incorrect ray diagrams.
     
• Assignment 9:
  • The student should be able to identify the characteristics of images formed by convex mirrors and contrast such images to those formed by concave mirrors.
  • The student should be able to recognize the approximate location, orientation and size of a convex mirror image if given a diagram with the object position.
     
• Assignment 10:
  • The student should be able to use the mirror equation to predict the image distance if the object distance and focal length are known (or to predict the focal length which is required to produce a known image and object distance). (For convex mirrors.)
  • The student should be able to combine the mirror equation and magnification ratio to predict either the image distance or image height and magnification for a known object distance and focal length. (For convex mirrors.)
     
• Assignment 11:
  • The student should know what an image is and be able to recognize the distinction between real and virtual images.
  • The student should be able to compare and contrast various mirror systems (plane, concave, convex) in terms of their ability or tendency to produce real and/or virtual images of objects.