I always tell my students: “Physics is all around,” and “Just observe carefully to learn physics.” This paper describes one of my own experiences in looking carefully at light reflection and, in particular, the difference between specular reflection and diffuse reflection. I also describe how I have adapted this experience for use with my students. During my years as a high school teacher, I have read many papers in TPT that describe other teachers' interesting physics-related experiences. It was those accounts that stimulated me to write this paper.

Topics
Education, Teaching
1.
My desk lamp has a small filament and behaves similar to a bright point-source of light.
2.
Paul Hewitt, Conceptual Physics, 9th ed. (Addison-Wesley, 2002), pp. 533–538.
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© 2008 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2008
American Association of Physics Teachers
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