Make the first turn
Tilt mirror A to send the horizontal light upward toward mirror B. Send the light to inspect each adjustment.
Turn two flat mirrors and send a light ray toward a target using the law of reflection.
Grades 3–5 · Physics
Your goal
Turn both mirrors so the light reaches the golden target after two reflections. Send the light to test your path.
Reduced motion is on. The controls still update the scene.
Turn a mirror, then send the light to see where it goes. Angles are measured from a horizontal mirror.
A narrow ray reflects from both sides of each finite flat mirror with equal incoming and outgoing angles. The golden disk catches the ray. Rays stop at the room edge or after eight reflections. Beam width, absorption and three dimensional effects are ignored.
Mirror Maze gives students in grades 3–5 a concrete way to explore the law of reflection. Turn two flat mirrors in small angle steps, then send a narrow light ray through the scene. Follow the actual reflected path to see whether it reaches the golden target after bouncing from both mirrors. A ray only reflects when it meets a mirror segment, so position and direction matter together. The puzzles encourage children to predict a turn, test their idea and explain equal angles using a visible light path.
Tilt mirror A to send the horizontal light upward toward mirror B. Send the light to inspect each adjustment.
Once the light reaches mirror B, adjust that mirror to aim toward the golden disk. The incoming and outgoing angles match.
The goal requires two reflections. A ray that crosses a mirror line outside its endpoints does not reflect from that mirror.
Use equal incoming and outgoing angles to guide a light ray through two reflections. Ask students to predict what will happen, change one setting, and explain what they observe. Learn gives a starting point. Practice and Challenge offer new goals with the same scene.
A narrow two dimensional ray reflects from either side of finite flat mirrors with equal incoming and outgoing angles. The target catches the ray. Paths stop at a room boundary or eight reflections. Absorption and beam width are omitted.
Continue with Mirror Reflection Maze .
Continue with Lens and Mirror Calculator .