Science 10

Quarter 2 – Module 4: Uses of Mirrors and Lenses

What I Need to Know

Before leaving your house, you find yourself in the mirror most of the time and see
how you look, what’s missing or what’s too much. A mirror in real life is not just like that of a fairy-
tale, which is used just to determine the fairest being alive on the planet. Mirror’s use is not only
for checking one’s physical appearance. A mirror in fact saves lives of many. Side mirrors in cars,
buses and other vehicles allow drivers to see vehicles behind. With careful driving, having side Fig 1. A mirror
mirrors can prevent road accidents. Rushing ambulance which may have a passenger on a critical
condition, are easily identified with its inverted print.

These are reasons why you see mirrors not only in your house, but also in cars, in hospitals, and even in dental
clinics.

Aside from mirror, this module will also focus on the use and importance of lenses to man’s life. Like mirror, a lens
is also a fundamental object that opens the gateway to man’s discovery of the previously unknown world of
microorganisms and the universe afar. Lenses also enable us to see the world we are living in and to know what
surround us. Through lenses, we are capable of enjoying the beauty of nature and some other creations.

These are just some of the examples of the uses and importance of mirrors and lenses. These objects, though
simple and plain have become part of man’s daily life, and plays an essential part of his everyday existence.

In this module, you will further discover the Science behind mirrors and lenses. How they work and what their
uses are.

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

identify ways in which the properties of mirrors and lenses determine their use in optical
instruments (e.g., cameras and binoculars); S10FEIIh52
determine how the location of the object from the lenses/mirrors affect the image formed.

Before you go through this module, let’s check how much do you know about the application of Mirrors and
Lenses.

What I Know

Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer and write it on your Science Activity
Notebook.

1. You see the reflection of the analog type of clock without numbers in your
plane mirror. The image formed by the hands of the clock shows the time of 8:30.
What is the real time?
a. 3: 30
b. 8: 30
c. 9:30
d. 12:30
2. What kind of lens curves inward toward its center?
a. convex
b. concave
c. mirror
d. glasses
3. Which of the following uses concave lens?
a. Magnifying glasses
b. Dentist’s mouth mirror
c. Telescopes
d. Car’s headlight
4. Which mirror concept explains why the word AMBULANCE is written in reverse
in an ambulance car?
a. Lateral inversion
b. Multiple image
c. Virtual image and real image
d. All of the above
5. What kind of mirror is used in the side mirrors of automobiles and trucks to
give the driver a wider area and smaller image of traffic behind him? a. Plane mirror
b. Convex mirror
c. Concave mirror
d. None of the above
6. A car’s headlight uses __________.
a. Plane mirror
b. Convex mirror
c. Concave mirror
d. None of the above
7. Concave mirror ______________.
a. gives wider view field
b. produces smaller image.
c. can produce real and virtual image
d. gives wider view field and gives enlarged image.
8. The sun’s rays are observed to focus at a point behind a lens. What kind of
lens was used?
a. converging lens
b. diverging lens
c. focusing lens
d. none of the above
9. What kind of image is formed by concave lenses?
a. always real
b. always virtual
c. could be real or virtual; depends on the distance of the object from the focal
point
d. could be real or virtual; but always real when the object is placed at the focal
point.
10. Which of the following is an application of multiple image reflection?
a. kaleidoscope
b. car’s side mirrors
c. magnifying glass
d. binoculars
11. What type of lens is used in a magnifying glass?
a. Converging lens
b. Diverging lens
c. Focusing lens
d. None of the above.
12. What type of image is formed by the concave side of the spoon when the
object is closer to it?
a. Upright and bigger
b. Upside down and bigger
c. Upright and smaller
d. Upside down and smaller

14 What part of the camera corresponds to the retina of our eyes?

e. aperture
f. shutter
g. iris diaphragm
h. photographic film

15.Convex lenses are used in _______________.

a. magnifying smaller objects
 b. camera
c. microscopes
d. all of the above

Lesson
Uses of Mirrors
1
What’s In

As mentioned in the first part of this module,

mirrors have become part of our daily routine. At
home, we normally use plane mirror, a type of mirror
that can be found in almost every household. We use
this to check on what’s needed to be fixed on the
way we look.

When these plane mirrors are placed next to

each other at an angle, it gives our eyes not only one Figure 2. Images inside a kaleidoscope
image, not even two but more than that. This is
called multiple

images. The mechanism of multiple images is used in the fun and colorful
kaleidoscope.

In a barbershop and in a salon or even in malls’ fitting rooms you will find a lot of
mirrors arranged parallel to each other, one in front of you and another one at your back;
it can also be one on your left and another on your right. Were you able to notice the
images that your eyes can see?

If the answer in the above’s question is no, try to observe again the images in the
mirrors that surround you, when you happen to go to one of the said places and count the
number of images that you can see.

Surely, this arrangement of mirrors will make it hard for you to count the number of
images that you see, because it will give you infinite number of images; which means a
number that can’t be counted.

What’s New

Have you checked yourself in the mirror today? Try to do this activity to reveal a
message that is specially sent for you.
You’ve Got a Message in a Mirror!
What you need: Pen, Science Activity Notebook and Mirror
What you have to do:

1. Read the flipped words below by facing the text box in front of a mirror.
 2. Write the message you deciphered on your notebook 3. Now, look at the
mirror and read it loud and with confidence.

What is It

Did the activity brighten up your day? In the previous

modules you learned about the nature of images formed by
different types of mirrors and lenses. One of the properties
of images formed by a mirror that you learned in the
preceding module is called the lateral inversion, wherein
your right becomes your left and your left becomes your
right. What you did in the activity is a demonstration of this
property of the image formed in a plane mirror.

Maybe along the way to school, you happened to see

an ambulance rushing its way to the hospital, have you Figure 3. The word AMBULANCE written
noticed that the word AMBULANCE is written in reverse? in
Why do you think is this so? reverse.

Let’s have a little recall of what a mirror is. Technically, a mirror is a reflective
surface, made of glass coated with metals, which bounces off light that strikes its surface
and form a visual representation or projection of an object called image.
Questions like: How do images form in a mirror? How is one able to see his or her
image in the mirror? What makes up a mirror? These were the queries you asked before
going through the modules about Mirrors and Lenses, but surely these learnings were all
made clear in the prior modules about the said topics.
In the previous modules about mirrors, you found out that mirrors produce different
types of images depending on their shapes. Plane and convex mirrors form images called
virtual images, upright and erect. Other type of image formed by a mirror is called real
image; inverted upside down and larger than the original image. Concave mirrors can
produce both virtual and real images.

Applications of Concave and Convex Mirrors

A mirror is not just flat and plane, a mirror can be curved; convex and concave mirrors.
These mirrors are collectively called spherical mirrors.
Concave mirror

Concave mirror, also known as a converging mirror has

reflecting surface which collects light inward and focus
them to one focal point, this type of mirror is what the
dentist used in magnifying the area behind your teeth to
check on cavities and tooth decay.
Figure 4. A mouth mirror used by a dentist
 For illuminating purposes, you can see concave
mirrors used in headlamps, flashlights and spotlights.
In these devices, the light rays that gathered from a
small source of the mirror are collected and directed
outward in a beam. Small light source bounded by a
concave mirror flashes a brighter beam.
Figure 5. Concave mirror in a flashlight

Convex mirror, also known as diverging mirror, is

another type of spherical mirror which has the outer
bulging surface that reflects light instead of the inner one.
It has a wider view field compared to a concave mirror.
This makes bigger objects appear to be smaller than their
original form.

A car’s side mirrors enable the driver and its

passenger to see the vehicles behind. Also, while in mall
supermarkets and in some convenience stores, you may Figure 6. Side mirrors of Cars are convex
notice mirrors hanging on corners from which you can see mirrors.
your reflection and those of other people. These are just
some of the applications of convex
mirrors.

Can you think of other uses of convex and concave mirrors?

What’s More
Enrichment Activity 1: “Light Reflectors”

(Adapted from: Science and Technology Textbook for Fourth Year, Reprint Edition)

Materials: Flashlight (the one that can be dismantled), pen and Science
Activity Notebook
Procedure:

1. Get a flashlight and switch it on. What do you observe about the beam it emits?

2. Examine the part where the bulb is positioned. Q1. What do you notice?
_________________________________________
3. Remove the reflector from the flashlight’s body. Describe the reflector. Note: The
reflector is the silver-colored material that surrounds the bulb of the flashlight
4. Remove the bulb and connect it to a source such that it can be moved or adjusted
within the concave reflector. See figure below:

5. Put the bulb in a position 1. Connect to the source and switch it on.
Q2. What do you observe about the beam it emits?
_________________________________________

6. Repeat step 5 with the bulb at position 2 then 3.

Q3. What are the differences of the beam intensities?
_______________________________________
 7. Summarize your observations by writing: brightest, brighter, and bright for the
beam intensities in the table provided below.
Position of Bulb in the Beam Intensities
Reflector
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
8. Reassemble the flashlight that you dismantled after use.

The activity on Light Reflectors allows you to understand how a concave mirror
illuminates light beam from a small source. As you can observe, when the bulb is removed
from the concave reflector, the light it emitted is not as bright as when it is positioned in
the center of the reflector.

Enrichment Activity 2: Mirror Self-Check!

Directions: Write your answers to this activity on your Science Activity notebook.
Materials: Double-sided make up mirror, side mirror (of a motorcycle or of a car) Science
Activity Notebook
Procedure:

1. Hold a make-up mirror close in front of you. Describe the image that you see. Write
your observations in your Science activity notebook.

Q1. _______________________________________________________________________

2. Have someone hold the mirror for you, slowly move at least 3 m away from the it.
Observe your image as you move away from the mirror. Are there any changes in the
image formed? Write your observations.

Q2. _______________________________________________________________________

3. Holding the same mirror, turn the other side close in front of you. What do you
observe about the image that you see? How do you compare your image on this side of
the mirror to the image formed in the opposite side of it?

Q3. _______________________________________________________________________

4. Again, have someone hold the mirror for you, slowly move at least 3 m away from
the mirror. How do you compare your image when you were observing it closer in front
of you and when you were 3m away from the mirror?

Q4 _______________________________________________________________________

5. Now this time, sit close in front of a side mirror. How do you describe the image that
you see? Write your observations.

Q5. _______________________________________________________________________

6. Slowly move at least 3 m away from the side mirror. Observe your image as you
move away from the mirror. Write your observations.

Q6. _______________________________________________________________________

7. Compare the images formed in different mirrors. You may draw illustrations to
support your answer.

Q7. _______________________________________________________________________

The activity above helped you understand the different images formed by the three
different mirrors; plane mirror, concave mirror and convex mirror. A plane mirror
 produces upright, left-right reversed and virtual image. Concave mirror produces a
magnified image and virtual image, but as you move away from it, image is projected
upside down, called real image. Convex mirror on the other hand gives us the smaller
version of the image, thus allowing us to see wider view field.

Assessment 1
Directions: Identify what is defined in the following statement, you can use the jumbled
letters in each item as a hint. Write your answers on your Science Activity Notebook.

1. A plane mirror is a flat surface mirror, the image formed by a plane mirror is
called (TULARIV) image.
2. Mirrors arranged parallel to each other can form (ENITFNII) image, a number
you can’t count.

3. A (PEOCSOKAEILD) is a colorful optical instrument in which the mechanism

of multiple image is used.

4. A convex mirror is used in car’s side mirror because it gives (RDWIE) view
field than concave mirrors.

5. To secure the store from shoplifters, aside from CCTV camera, store owners
hang (RORMIR XNCOEV) on the corner.