Left and right swap
Lateral inversion.
AMBULANCE the wrong way round
On the front of an ambulance the word is written reversed, like this: ECNALUBMA.
Why do you think it is written like that?
What this lesson covers
The idea
In a plane mirror image, left appears as right and right as left; this perceived left-right reversal is called lateral inversion, and the image is not upside down.
AMBULANCE the wrong way round
On the front of an ambulance the word is written reversed, like this: ECNALUBMA.
Why do you think it is written like that?
- So it reads correctly in a mirror
- To save paint
- Just for fun
Words and hands
Pick each word and look at its image. Then raise each hand.
Lateral inversion
Left looks like right, and right looks like left. The words read backwards, but the tops of the letters are still at the top.
In a plane mirror image, left appears as right and right as left; this perceived left-right reversal is called lateral inversion, and the image is not upside down.
Notes
In a plane mirror image, left appears as right and right as left; this perceived left-right reversal is called lateral inversion, and the image is not upside down.
Check yourself
You raise your right hand. Your image seems to raise its …
The perceived left-right reversal in a mirror is called …
Is the image in a plane mirror upside down?
Why is AMBULANCE written reversed on an ambulance?
- left hand — correct. Yes! Left and right swap.
- both hands. Only one hand goes up in your image, the one on the opposite side.
- right hand. In a mirror right appears as left.
- an erect image. An erect image is an upright one.
- lateral inversion — correct. Yes! That is its name.
- reflection of light. Reflection of light is the change in the direction of light by a mirror.
- Yes, but only for words. Words are also not upside down. They are reversed left to right.
- Yes, the head is at the bottom. The image is not upside down.
- No, it is upright but laterally inverted — correct. Yes! Left and right swap, but up stays up.
- So that it reads correctly in the rear-view mirror of the vehicle ahead — correct. Yes! The mirror reverses it back.
- So that drivers cannot read it. It is meant to be read, in the mirror.
- So that it looks bigger. The size of the word does not change in a mirror.