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Mirror

Key Stage 2

Meaning

A picture showing the wing mirror of a car.

A mirror is a shiny surface used to reflect the image of an object.

About Mirrors

Mirrors are usually made of metal because it is shiny. The metal is sometimes covered in glass to protect the metal.
A mirror can be used to change the direction of light by reflecting it.
A mirror makes an object look like it's in a place that it is not.

Examples

MirrorDiagram.png
PeriscopeDiagram.png
This mirror makes it look like the triangle is in front of the eye, but it is not. A periscope uses the reflection from two mirrors to see a clear image.

Key Stage 3

Meaning

A mirror is a shiny surface used to reflect the image of an object.

About Mirrors

Mirrors are usually made of metal because it is shiny. The metal is sometimes covered in glass to protect the metal.
A mirror can be used to change the direction of light by reflecting it.
A mirror makes an object look like it's in a place that it is not.
Reflection from a mirror follows the Law of Reflection.
ReflectionDiagram.png
When a ray of light strikes a mirror it is reflected by the same angle that it arrives.

References

AQA

Mirrors; images in, page 189, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
Mirrors; reflection of light, pages 188-9, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA

OCR

Mirrors, page 189, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR