Periscopes
In this activity, students use the law of reflection to create their periscope.
A periscope lets you look around walls, corners or other obstacles. Submarines
have periscopes so that people inside can what is on the surface of the water.
A periscope is a useful example of
the law of reflection at work. It’s important that your mirrors are placed at a 45°
angle, because light always reflects away from a mirror at the same angle that it
hits it. In a periscope, light from an object strikes the top mirror at 45° and
bounces off at the same angle. This sends light directly down the tube and onto
the lower mirror. This mirror, also at a 45° angle, reflects light directly to your
eye.
Objectives
Describe how light rays can change direction.
Demonstrate how visible light is reflected.
Materials
PerStudent:
2 clean 1-litre milk or juice cartons
2 small, flat mirrors (less than 9 cm in at least one dimension)
ruler
marker
tape
scissors
Key Questions
How does the periscope work?
Can you trace the path of light from the object, through the periscope, to
your eye?
How could you build your periscope to see behind you?
When would you use a periscope?
What To Do
Preparation
1. Use a craft knife to cut off the top of each carton.
2. Using a marker, draw a square at the bottom of each carton. These will be
the windows of the periscope. Use the craft knife to cut along one of the
sides of the window. (The students can cut out the rest of the window
using scissors.)
Optional: If your students are younger and need help with careful cutting,
measure and cut the slit for the mirror. (See step 4 in the instructions below).
Instructions
1. Provide each student with two prepared cartons, two mirrors, scissors,
tape and stickers/decorations.
2.
Carefully cut out the windows of the cartons.
3. Measure and mark a 45° angle on the side of the box, extending from the
bottom corner of the window up to the back of the box.
4. Along this line, cut a slit into the cardboard.
5. Insert the mirror into the slit.
Hint: To measure a 45° angle on any sized box, simply measure the width of the
box, measure the same distance up along the side of the box, and mark that
point. Draw a line between that mark and the opposite corner of the square
you’ve measured out, and you’ll have a 45° angle. Repeat with the
secondcarton.
6. Use a craft knife (an
adult should do this part) to cut a slit along the 45° line. Make the cut as
long as one side of the mirror. If the mirror is thick, widen the cut. Repeat
with the second carton.
7. Slide a mirror into the carton through the slit with the shiny side facing the
window and the dull side facing the “roof.”
8. Repeat with the second carton.
9. Tape the mirrors in place.
10.Once the mirrors are firmly secured, join the two cartons together by
sliding one into the other. You may have to pinch the open end of the
upside-down carton so that it can slide into the other carton. Tape the two
cartons together. Hint: You can create a forward-looking periscope by
facing the mirrors in opposite directions, or a backwards-looking one by
facing the mirrors in the same direction.
Hint: Don’t have one-litre milk cartons? Any sized box works as long as you have
big enough mirrors positioned at a 45° angle.
Extensions
Make a periscope with a really long tube. The longer the tube is, the
smaller the image you will see. Note: Periscopes in tanks and submarines
have magnifying lenses between the mirrors to make the reflected image
bigger.
Could you build a periscope that would let you look over a wall and down
at something at its base on the other side? How would you have to
arrange the mirrors to do that?
