Some students believe light doesn't bounce off anything (including mirrors)
Misconception
Diagnostic Resources
The following worksheets may help to identify whether students hold this particular misconception.
For more information, see the University of York BEST website.
Resources to Address This
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Travelling light (5-11)
Ref- SPT HS01 PN03
Pupils will often refer to things moving at the speed of light when they are talking about things moving very quickly. In the simple models set out in the previous section, the light travels from a luminous source to the eye, the light travels from the torch to the object and then to the eye.
View Resource -
Reflection of light (11-14)
Ref - SPT Li03 PN02
Light beams are reflected from surfaces according to the law of reflection, which states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
View Resource -
Reflecting a ray of light and a rubber ball (11-16)
Ref - Practical Physics; Light and Optics; Reflection of light;
Comparing the paths of a reflected ray of light and a rubber ball.
View Resource
References
The following studies have documented this misconception:
- Van Zee, E. H., Hammer, D., Bell, M., Roy, P. and Peter, J. () Learning and Teaching Science as Inquiry: A Case Study of Elementary School Teachers’Investigations of Light, Science Teacher Education.