Mirror – a shiny object that reflects light instead of letting the light go through.
A reflection off a smooth surface.
A reflection off a rough surface.
“angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.” A plane mirror is a mirror that is flat and smooth and creates an image that is upright and reversed.
A convex mirror is a mirror that is curved outward and makes the image upright and smaller.
Used for – Side-view mirrors Surveillance mirrors in stores
A concave mirror is a mirror that curves inward. From far away the image will appear upside down. Close up, the image will appear larger and upright.
Used for – lighthouses car headlights
Lens – an optical tool that is transparent and refracts light as it passes through it.
A convex lens is a lens that curves outwards and refracts the light inward to bring the focal point forward.
Convex lenses can be used to fix far-sightedness by bringing the focal point forward onto the retina.
A concave lens is a lens that curves inwards and refracts the light outward to push the focal point back.
Concave lenses can be used to fix near-sightedness by pushing the focal point back onto the retina.