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  • Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

    Book Chapter | May 2018

    This chapter features Physical sciences StEMT lessons. This lesson is based on the classic misconception about reflections in mirrors with regard to distance. We use this same lesson to demonstrate STEM to our new…

  • Curved Mirrors

    Book Chapter | May 2009

    This inquiry activity will be used before discussing curved mirrors in class. Students will discover how curved mirrors act and how the size and the orientation of the image are related to the distance from the mirror.…

  • The clamshell mirrors

    Book Chapter | January 2006

    A very popular physics toy consists of two concave spherical mirrors facing each other like the shells of a clam. If a coin or button is placed on the surface of the lower mirror, its image appears in the hole at the…

  • Mirror on the Wall

    Book Chapter | June 2009

    The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about reflection of light. It can be used to examine how students use ideas about light to explain how we see objects in a mirror. Elementary school…

  • A Mirror Big Enough

    Book Chapter | April 2009

    This story is designed to motivate students to explore how mirrors work and how mirrors reflect the light—first reflected from objects to the mirror and then to our eyes as images—and to discover in this particular case…

  • Mirror full of water

    Book Chapter | January 2006

    “It’s done with mirrors.” Whether we attend magic shows or ride the “Haunted Mansion,” we are often surprised and pleased by clever manipulations of images. This chapter looks at the image produced by a concave mirror…

  • Optics and Mirrors: Challenging Learners' Illusions

    Book Chapter | March 2010

    Science depends on empirical evidence, logical argument, and skeptical review. Optical illusions challenge us to consider if our eyes sometimes play tricks on us. In this activity, coins dropped into a magic bank appear…

  • Idea Bank: Mirror, Mirror

    Journal Article | October 2001

    The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s Idea Bank learn about demonstrations using concave mirrors.

  • Science 102: Mirror, Mirror

    Journal Article | September 2015

    An exercise about reflection to challenge content knowledge.

  • The Magic Mirror

    Journal Article | December 2009

    In “The Magic Mirror” lessons described here, children explore reflection and mirror phenomena in the environment. They make a mirror, explore a hinged mirror with its many images, and look at symmetries. The activities…

  • Editorial: Smoke and Mirrors

    Journal Article | November 2010

    It seems that every year, the author sees more examples in television, movies, and even books of dislike, distrust, and disdain of the field of science. In “real” life, she teaches increasing numbers of students…

  • Favorite Demonstration: Cheap Mirrors—Image Construction With Mylar Mirrors and Whiteboards

    Journal Article | January 2011

    The cylindrical mirrors lab described in this demonstration has been done in many forms. However, because of its ease in construction and variation, this version allows students to do the exercise themselves, thereby…

  • Tried and true: It's all done with mirrors

    Journal Article | April 2005

    Reflect the magic of science using the following activities to spur an interest in the study of light and its associated properties with the use of mirrors--these activities are designed to startle the senses! With a…

  • Idea Bank: Mirror Writing and Learning Physics by Helping Others

    Journal Article | September 2011

    The Idea Bank provides tips and techniques for creative teaching, in about 1,000 words. In this month’s Idea Bank, authors explore mirror writing and physics.

  • Reflecting on a Misconception: Can students see a full-length image in a small mirror?

    Journal Article | February 2002

    Looking at the reflection of our image in a mirror is so commonplace that most of us are unaware of the misconception we hold with respect to this phenomenon. This article provides an activity that will help students…

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