ScienceAges 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Explore how light travels in straight lines, reflects from mirrors and forms shadows behind opaque objects. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Age band:Ages 7-9 Ages 10-12

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Does light require a material medium (like air) to travel, or can it travel through the vacuum of space?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
2. According to the law of reflection on a flat plane mirror, how does the angle of reflection compare to the angle of incidence: they are equal, or the angle of reflection is twice as large?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
3. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
4. What happens to the size of an object’s shadow on a wall when the object is moved closer to the small light source: the shadow gets larger, or the shadow disappears?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
5. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
6. What type of lens is thicker in the middle than at the edges and brings parallel light rays together to a focal point: a convex (converging) lens or a concave lens?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
7. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
10. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
11. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
12. If a light ray strikes a flat mirror at an angle of incidence of 35° to the normal, what is the angle of reflection: 35° or 55°?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Does light require a material medium (like air) to travel, or can it travel through the vacuum of space?
It can travel through the vacuum of space
Light is an electromagnetic wave and travels through vacuum at about 300,000 km/s.
2. According to the law of reflection on a flat plane mirror, how does the angle of reflection compare to the angle of incidence: they are equal, or the angle of reflection is twice as large?
They are equal
The angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection (measured from the normal).
3. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Specular reflection vs diffuse scattering
A smooth mirror reflects parallel rays in one direction (specular), whereas rough paper scatters rays in all directions (diffuse).
4. What happens to the size of an object’s shadow on a wall when the object is moved closer to the small light source: the shadow gets larger, or the shadow disappears?
The shadow gets larger
Closer to the light source, the object blocks a wider cone of diverging light rays.
5. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Pupil
The pupil is the aperture whose size is adjusted by the iris to control how much light enters the eye.
6. What type of lens is thicker in the middle than at the edges and brings parallel light rays together to a focal point: a convex (converging) lens or a concave lens?
Convex (converging) lens
A convex lens converges parallel rays to a focus and is used in magnifying glasses.
7. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
White surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler
White and shiny surfaces reflect most incident radiation, whereas matt black surfaces absorb it.
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
In a vacuum (space)
Light reaches its maximum speed c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum and slows down in optically denser materials.
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
It reflects red light and absorbs other colours
Pigments in the apple skin reflect red wavelengths to our eyes and absorb the rest of the spectrum.
10. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
In straight lines
Light rays travel in straight lines in a uniform medium.
11. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Refraction of light rays leaving the water
Light rays from the submerged part bend away from the normal as they exit water into air.
12. If a light ray strikes a flat mirror at an angle of incidence of 35° to the normal, what is the angle of reflection: 35° or 55°?
35°
By the law of reflection, angle of reflection = angle of incidence = 35°.

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Does light require a material medium (like air) to travel, or can it travel through the vacuum of space?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
2. According to the law of reflection on a flat plane mirror, how does the angle of reflection compare to the angle of incidence: they are equal, or the angle of reflection is twice as large?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
3. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
4. What happens to the size of an object’s shadow on a wall when the object is moved closer to the small light source: the shadow gets larger, or the shadow disappears?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
5. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
6. What type of lens is thicker in the middle than at the edges and brings parallel light rays together to a focal point: a convex (converging) lens or a concave lens?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
7. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
10. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
11. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
12. If a light ray strikes a flat mirror at an angle of incidence of 35° to the normal, what is the angle of reflection: 35° or 55°?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Does light require a material medium (like air) to travel, or can it travel through the vacuum of space?
It can travel through the vacuum of space
Light is an electromagnetic wave and travels through vacuum at about 300,000 km/s.
2. According to the law of reflection on a flat plane mirror, how does the angle of reflection compare to the angle of incidence: they are equal, or the angle of reflection is twice as large?
They are equal
The angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection (measured from the normal).
3. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Specular reflection vs diffuse scattering
A smooth mirror reflects parallel rays in one direction (specular), whereas rough paper scatters rays in all directions (diffuse).
4. What happens to the size of an object’s shadow on a wall when the object is moved closer to the small light source: the shadow gets larger, or the shadow disappears?
The shadow gets larger
Closer to the light source, the object blocks a wider cone of diverging light rays.
5. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Pupil
The pupil is the aperture whose size is adjusted by the iris to control how much light enters the eye.
6. What type of lens is thicker in the middle than at the edges and brings parallel light rays together to a focal point: a convex (converging) lens or a concave lens?
Convex (converging) lens
A convex lens converges parallel rays to a focus and is used in magnifying glasses.
7. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
White surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler
White and shiny surfaces reflect most incident radiation, whereas matt black surfaces absorb it.
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
In a vacuum (space)
Light reaches its maximum speed c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum and slows down in optically denser materials.
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
It reflects red light and absorbs other colours
Pigments in the apple skin reflect red wavelengths to our eyes and absorb the rest of the spectrum.
10. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
In straight lines
Light rays travel in straight lines in a uniform medium.
11. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Refraction of light rays leaving the water
Light rays from the submerged part bend away from the normal as they exit water into air.
12. If a light ray strikes a flat mirror at an angle of incidence of 35° to the normal, what is the angle of reflection: 35° or 55°?
35°
By the law of reflection, angle of reflection = angle of incidence = 35°.

12 questions · Seed 104731 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification