Georgia S4P1.b
The Standard
Plan and carry out investigations to describe the path light travels from a light source to a mirror and how it is reflected by the mirror using different angles.
Georgia Standards of Excellence for Science · Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the nature of light and how light interacts with objects.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students plan and run a fair test with a flashlight, mirror, and marked paper. They trace the incoming and reflected light paths, change the angle, and record what happens.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can set up repeated trials, change one angle at a time, and trace straight light paths. They can use their results to predict where reflected light will travel.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may draw light curving around the mirror or stopping at its surface. They may think reflected light always returns to the source or that changing the mirror angle has no effect.
How to Assess It
- Give students a flashlight, mirror, and paper. Ask them to trace light paths at two mirror angles, label each path, and explain the change.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Stand a mirror on protractor paper, shine a slit flashlight at three angles, and trace each incoming and reflected path.
Ask students to write: How did turning the mirror change the reflected light, and what evidence from your tracings supports your answer?
Play a reflection target game by rotating a mirror to direct flashlight beams onto numbered cards, then sketching each successful setup.
Have students adjust a small mirror to see an object behind them, then explain how the light reached their eyes.
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Printable S4P1.b Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to S4P1.b, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- S1P1.c
Plan and carry out an investigation of shadows by placing objects at various points from a source of light.
- S4P1.a
Plan and carry out investigations to observe and record how light interacts with various materials to classify them as opaque, transparent, or translucent.
- S4P1
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the nature of light and how light interacts with objects.
- S4P1.c
Plan and carry out an investigation utilizing everyday materials to explore examples of when light is refracted.
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