Directions
- Work with a partner. Take two mirrors and place them together with the shiny sides facing one another. Tape them along the side to form a hinged door. The mirrors should be able to open freely like a book.
- Take a piece of paper or cardboard. Using a protractor, measure and mark angles (by drawing a line) of 180 degrees, 90 degrees, 60 degrees, 45 degrees, 36 degrees, 30 degrees, and 20 degrees.
- Place the hinged mirrors at each of these angles and put an object (it could be a coin, a pencil, an eraser, or some other item you may have at your desk) between them as close to the mirrors as possible.
- Count the number of images you see and record your observations in your science notebook.
- When you are finished, answer the following questions in your science notebook:
- What happened to the number of images you saw as you changed the angle from 60 to 45 degrees between the mirrors?
- What happened to the number of images you saw as you changed the angle from 30 degrees to 60 degrees?
- Can you now make a statement about how the angle between the mirrors determines how many images will be produced?
- Compare your findings with the findings of other groups. Is the information the same?
- If not, then what do you think might be the reason for them being different?