Lesson Plan: Drawing Ray Diagrams for Convex Mirrors Science
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to draw diagrams of light rays interacting with convex mirrors.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- show using diagrams that parallel incident rays on a spherical mirror are reflected through the focal point of the mirror,
- show using diagrams that incident rays that pass through the focal point are reflected parallel to the optical axis,
- show using diagrams that incident rays that pass through the center of curvature are reflected back through the center of curvature,
- recall that a real image is an image that can be projected onto a screen,
- recall that a virtual image is an image that cannot be projected onto a screen,
- draw ray diagrams to determine the position of an image produced by reflection from a spherical mirror,
- identify from ray diagrams of reflection from spherical mirrors whether the image is real or virtual,
- identify from ray diagrams of reflection from spherical mirrors whether the image is magnified or reduced in size,
- identify from ray diagrams of reflection from spherical mirrors whether the image is inverted or upright.
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the idea that light travels in straight lines,
- reflection from flat mirrors,
- drawing diagrams of reflection from flat mirrors,
- what convex mirrors are.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- concave mirrors,
- lenses,
- refraction,
- wavefronts,
- aberration,
- curved mirrors that are not spherical, such as parabolic mirrors.