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Light rays travel in a straight line. But you can block them by putting something in the way. This is called a shadow. |
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You can also bounce light off something shiny like a mirror. This is called reflection. When a ray of light comes towards a mirror, it hits it, and it bounces off again. What your eye sees looks as though it is behind the mirror, but it isn't really. Look at this butterfly and think about it. Then try it yourself with a mirror. |
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Things look the other way around in mirrors. Look at the reflection of these trees in the water. The trunks are at the top, and the leaves are at the bottom. You try looking in a mirror, and seeing what is on the left side, and what is on the right side. What have you learned about reflections? Try holding some writing up to the mirror. Can you read it? Some people can write a secret code by writing backwards, so that you can only read it by holding it up in front of a mirror.
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If you look carefully at the direction light rays go, you will see that they bounce off the mirror at the same angle that they hit it. You can try the same thing with a ball. Roll it against a wall, and measure the angle it hits the wall, and the angle it bounces off. They will be the same! |