Class 7 Science Chapter 11, Light: Shadows and Reflections, begins with Keshav watching fireflies and headlight beams in the Western Ghats. It explores luminous and non-luminous objects, rectilinear propagation of light, shadow formation, reflection by plane mirrors, pinhole cameras, periscopes and kaleidoscopes.
What Class 7 Science Chapter 11 Covers
11.1–11.4 Sources of Light, Straight-Line Travel & Shadows distinguishes luminous and non-luminous bodies (11.1), proves that light travels in a straight line (11.2), classifies transparent, translucent and opaque materials (11.3), and investigates how a light source, opaque object and screen form shadows of changing size (11.4).
11.5–11.6 Reflection of Light & Plane Mirror Images demonstrates how a mirror changes the direction of light (11.5) and establishes the properties of an image in a plane mirror: erect, virtual, same size, same distance behind the mirror, and laterally inverted (11.6).
11.7–11.8 Pinhole Camera, Periscope & Kaleidoscope guides students to build a pinhole camera (forming an inverted real image, 11.7), a two-mirror periscope (11.8.1) and a three-mirror kaleidoscope (11.8.2).
Exercises in Chapter 11
- In a Nutshell key points summary and Let Us Enhance Our Learning chapter exercises.
- Exploratory Projects and Dive Deeper hands-on science activities.
Read Class 7 Science Chapter 11 Online
More Chapters
- Previous: Chapter 10: Life Processes in Plants
- Next: Chapter 12: Earth, Moon, and the Sun
- Hindi medium: Class 7 Science Chapter 11 PDF in Hindi (Jigyasa)
- All Science chapters and the other Class 7 books: Class 7 NCERT books 2026-27
- All Class 1 to 12 NCERT Textbooks: NCERT Books PDF (Class 1–12)
FAQ
What are the characteristics of an image formed by a plane mirror?
The image in a plane mirror is virtual (cannot be obtained on a screen), erect (upright), of the same size as the object, at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front, and laterally inverted (left-right reversed).
Why is the image formed in a pinhole camera upside down?
Because light travels in straight lines, light rays from the top of the object travel straight through the pinhole to the bottom of the screen, and rays from the bottom travel to the top, forming an inverted image.