When light rays strikes a surface, part of the beam passes through the surface and the rest reflects back, like a ball bouncing on the ground. Where it bounces depends on how you throw the ball.


Have you ever looked into a pool of clear, still water and seen your own face? The surface of the water acts like a mirror and you can see your reflection. (In fact, before mirrors were invented, this was the only way people had to look at themselves.) If you were swimming below the surface, you’d still see your own face – the mirror effect works both ways.


Have you ever broken a pencil by sticking it into a glass of water?  The pencil isn’t really broken, but it sure looks like it!  What’s going on?


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2 Responses to “Light Tricks”

  1. Yes totally understandable. You can find these types of intro classes under “Live Classes” and click on a previous academic year, and then scroll down to the subject you’d like the intro for. These classes walk you through the introductory content for each subject.

  2. This was our first lesson because my child was interested in the penny trick shown in the thumbnail of the video. However, I wished there was an “Overview” video on the topic of light we could have started with in this section for 1st Grade.

    My child finished 1st Grade last June, but wanted to start with the 1st grade section anyways. I agreed because we didn’t think the quality of instruction at her private school last year for science was any good. So this is helping us make sure she has the fundamentals she should have learned in 1st grade before we move on to 2nd grade curriculum.