Product title

Science Explorer

Activity title on CD-Rom

Lazer maze

Key Stage and year

KS2, Y6

Curriculum Reference

 
Science

Primary Curriculum

QCA Y6 6F How we see things
NC Sc1 KS2 Sc1 2j - k Sc4 3a, 3c

Scottish Guidelines

Environmental Studies 5-14 Society, Science and Technology Energy and Forces Level B and C (Energy)

Children make decisions on mirror arrangements that reflect laser light from a source to a detector. The differentiation offered by this activity is at the two extremes of the spectrum. The easy mode is an excellent practice ground for handling the mirrors while the expert mode presents the children with some very challenging examples.
Discuss with the children the angle at which the light hits the mirror and the angle of bounce (reflection). Is there a pattern? Try to explain that shiny objects reflect the light in one direction while non-shiny objects scatter the light in all directions. (In both cases the light can be considered to be travelling in straight lines).