Inverted Spoon

Materials

  • Clear glass bowl or container
  • A spoon (or other utensil)
  • Elevated surface
  • Water
  • Lab notebook

Directions

  1. Fill the clear container with water
  2. Place utensil inside water
  3. Look at the spoon from above and write your observations in your lab notebook.
  4. Put the container on an elevated surface and look upwards at the side of the bowl.
  5. Write the difference in your observations in your lab notebook.

Explanation

When looking up at your clear container, you should have noticed an image of an upside down spoon floating on the water. However, that image is an illusion. When the light from your spoon comes into contact with the surface of the water, some of the light particles reflect off the water. As a result, you see a reflected version of the spoon when you are looking at the container from below.