We see objects because light enters our eyes — Physical education, 11–13 years
Light from a source reaches an object and can reflect into your eyes. This explains ordinary sight, mirrors and why changing the light can change what you see.
Light reaches your eyes
You do not see most objects because they send out their own light. Light from the Sun or a lamp hits them, bounces in many directions, and some of it enters your eyes. Your brain uses that light to build the view of the object’s shape and colour.
Why reflection matters
People once wondered how sight could work in darkness and why a polished surface shows a face. Reflection gives the missing explanation: light changes direction at a surface, and the new direction decides whether it reaches your eyes. A smooth surface makes a clearer image because the reflected rays stay organised.
Seeing a book
Suppose a lamp shines on a red book. First, light travels from the lamp to the book. Next, the book reflects more red light than other colours. Finally, some reflected red light enters your eyes, so your brain identifies the book as red. In darkness, that path is missing and the book is hard to see.
Objects do not usually make light
A common mistake is to say that a table or a book gives off light because we can see it. That seems reasonable because seeing and light arrive together. Usually the object is only reflecting light from another source; the Sun, a flame or a lamp is making the original light.
Reflection in real life
Mirrors use a smooth coating to reflect light in an organised way, forming an image. Road signs and bicycle reflectors send light from headlights back towards drivers, helping them be noticed at night. A rough wall also reflects light, but it scatters it, so it does not act like a mirror.
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