NCERT Curiosity · Class 7 · Science
Light: Shadows and Reflections
Riding through moonlit hills after watching fireflies, Keshav wonders whether the Moon makes its own light at all.
Shadows Mirror Images Pinhole Camera Periscopes
Key idea
Luminous and Non-luminous Objects
Luminous

Emit their own light — the Sun, stars, fire, lightning, some animals.

Non-luminous

Don't emit light — the Moon only reflects sunlight falling on it.

Key idea
Transparent, Translucent, and Opaque
Light always travels in a straight line — how much of it gets through depends on the material.

Transparent

Almost all light passes through — glass.

Translucent

Only some light passes through — tracing paper.

Opaque

No light passes through — cardboard.

Key idea
How a Shadow Forms, and Changes
Three ingredients

A light source, an opaque object, and a screen — all three are needed.

Size changes

Closer to the light, the shadow grows bigger; closer to the screen, it grows smaller and sharper.

Key idea
A mirror changes the direction of light the moment it strikes.
This change in direction off a shiny surface is called reflection.
Key idea
Images in a Plane Mirror

Same size

Matches the object exactly.

Erect

Upright, not upside down.

Virtual

Cannot be caught on a screen.

Laterally inverted

Left and right are swapped.

Key idea
Why AMBULANCE is written backwards.
A driver ahead, looking in their rear-view mirror, sees it laterally inverted back to normal, readable text.
Key idea
A pinhole camera forms an image that's inverted, not reversed.
Light passes through a tiny hole and forms an upside-down image — unlike a mirror image, which is right-side up but laterally inverted.
Key idea
Periscope and Kaleidoscope
Periscope

Two mirrors in a Z-shaped tube let you see around a corner — used in submarines and tanks.

Kaleidoscope

Three mirrors in a triangle create repeating patterns through multiple reflections.

Chapter · key terms to remember
Key Terms

Luminous / Non-luminous

Emits its own light / does not.

Transparent / Translucent / Opaque

Full / partial / no light passes through.

Shadow

Dark patch where an opaque object blocks light.

Chapter · key terms to remember
More Key Terms

Reflection

Change in light's direction off a shiny surface.

Erect image

An upright, non-inverted image.

Lateral inversion

Left-right reversal in a mirror image.

Chapter · key terms to remember
More Key Terms

Pinhole camera

Forms an inverted image via a tiny hole.

Periscope / Kaleidoscope

See around corners / view repeating patterns.

Opening

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