Homework HW-25:
*The Mirror Puzzle
Complete the following activity using a full-length flat mirror. You can often
find such mirrors in a bedroom or at a shopping mall or where ever. This
activity will take two people so feel free to work with someone else in the class, a
brother or sister, parent, cousin, sales clerk, or whoever!
Question #1:Describe as precisely as possible what you see when looking into a
flat (plane) mirror. What can you see? How does what you see
when looking into the mirror compare to what you see when
looking directly at the same objects?
Question #2:What is the relationship between the height a mirror needs to be
in order for you to see yourself and your distance away from the
mirror?
To answer this question, conduct the following experiment with a second person
and a meter stick (or yard stick):
*One person in the team will be the object/observer and the other will help
make the measurements.
*The person who is the object/observer should stand a certain distance in front
of the mirror. (Say, three paces.)
*The other group member will use a meter stick held straight across the mirror
(parallel to the floor).
*Slowly raise (or lower) the meter stick until the person who is the
object/observer perceives that the meter stick is touching the top of his/her
head as seen in the mirror. Note this position on the mirror.
*Next repeat the procedure using the meter stick to find where the
object/observer perceives the meter stick touching the tip of his/her toes.
*Determine the height which the mirror needs to be in order for the object
person to see his/her full body. Record all relevant data in a table.
- Repeat this for at least two other distances from the mirror.
- Now switch jobs. The observer becomes the measurer and the measurer
becomes the object/observer. Repeat the experiment.
2a.
2b.
Based on your data, how does the height of the mirror needed for the observer
to see their own full image depend on their distance from the mirror?
How does the height of the mirror needed for the object person depend on
his/her actual height?
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