Light – Reflection and Refraction
Class 10 · Science
4 ideas in Class 10 Science, explained in plain words, with games and quizzes to practise.
Reflection and Spherical Mirror Features
Part of: Reflection
A mirror reflects light. Concave mirrors curve inward and can bring parallel rays together; convex mirrors curve outward and make reflected rays spread as if from a point behind the mirror.
Why it matters. Knowing how rays behave helps explain where images form and why different mirrors suit different tasks.
Try it in two minutes
- Use a spoon’s inner and outer sides as curved surfaces.
- Ask which side curves inward and which outward.
- Trace a pretend parallel ray and discuss where it would go after reflection.
Try at home. Compare the image in both sides of a clean spoon without directing sunlight into anyone’s eyes.
Mirror Images and Uses
Part of: Reflection
A concave mirror can make different images depending on object position. A convex mirror always gives an upright, smaller image and shows a wide area.
Why it matters. Image properties explain why mirrors are selected for tasks such as viewing traffic or enlarging a nearby face.
Try it in two minutes
- Place a small object near a spoon’s inner surface.
- Move it farther and notice that the image changes.
- Compare the outer surface and note its smaller upright image.
Try at home. With a spoon, observe how moving an object changes its image; do not use sunlight.
Refraction and Refractive Index
Part of: Refraction
Light changes direction when it passes obliquely from one transparent medium into another because its speed changes. It bends toward the normal on entering an optically denser medium and away on entering a rarer one.
Why it matters. Refraction explains why objects under water appear shifted and why lenses can form images.
Try it in two minutes
- Place a pencil in a clear glass of water.
- Observe the apparent shift at the water surface.
- Discuss how a change in light’s direction can change where an object seems to be.
Try at home. Place a coin in a bowl and slowly add water while viewing from a fixed safe position.
Lenses and Image Formation
Part of: Refraction
A convex lens is thicker in the middle and converges parallel rays. A concave lens is thinner in the middle and diverges rays. Their image properties depend on lens type and object position.
Why it matters. This explains why a short-focus convex lens magnifies nearby print and why lens signs and power matter in optics.
Try it in two minutes
- Compare the middle and edges of a magnifying lens.
- Sketch parallel rays meeting after a convex lens.
- Sketch rays spreading after a concave lens.
Try at home. Use a magnifier on printed text in a bright room, never to view the Sun.
What your child will practise
- Lenses and Image Formation: Desert Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Lenses and Image Formation: Mission Control Quest (Collect the Answer)
- Mirror Images and Uses: Lab Explorer Sort (Sort It Out)
- Reflection and Spherical Mirror Features: Ocean Quick Fire (Quick Fire)
- Refraction and Refractive Index: Space Puzzle (Clue Puzzle)
- Quiz: Lenses and Image Formation (8 questions)
- Quiz: Mirror Images and Uses (8 questions)
- Quiz: Reflection and Spherical Mirror Features (8 questions)
- Quiz: Refraction and Refractive Index (8 questions)