LOWER SEC SCIENCE

MASTERY LEARNING CENTRE

Light

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
State the properties of light Draw ray diagrams Explain the meaning of reflection and refraction Explain how we see colours Infer the colour of an object under coloured lights

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ABOUT LIGHT
Light is a form of energy that is needed to support life. It can travel through vacuum at a ver y high speed of 300 million metres per second ( 3 x 10 8 ms -1 ). Light slows down when it travels through solids, liquids and gases . Light can only travel in straight lines .

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ABOUT LIGHT
Objects that give out light on their own are called light sources or luminous objects . Objects that do not give out light are called non-luminous objects .

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ABOUT LIGHT
When light hits an object, any one of the four dif ferent things below can happen:
it it it it can can can can pass through the object be absorbed by the object be reflected by the object be refracted by the object

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TRANSPARENCY
A transparent material allows almost all light to pass through it. Glass is a transparent material. Objects behind a transparent material can be seen clearly through the material.

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TRANSPARENCY
A translucent material allows some light to pass through it. Plastic and frosted glass are translucent materials. Objects behind a translucent material cannot be seen clearly through the material. Opaque materials do not allow light to pass through it at all. Objects behind an opaque material cannot be seen at all through the material.

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REFLECTION
Light can be absorbed or reflected by an object. When light is blocked , a shadow is formed behind the object.

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REFLECTION
When light is reflected , it bounces off the surface of the object. In regular reflection of light, the reflected light can form a sharp image . Smooth and polished surfaces produce regular reflections.

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REFLECTION
In an irregular or diffuse reflection of light, the reflected light cannot form a sharp image . A dif fuse reflection is produced when the surface is irregular.

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REFLECTION
A light ray that hits a surface is called the incident ray . The reflected light is called reflected ray . When the incident ray travels in a path that is at right angle to a smooth surface, the light will be reflected back along the same path . This path is called the normal .

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REFLECTION
When the incident ray strikes the surface at an angle to the normal, it will be reflected at the same angle on the opposite side of the normal.

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REFLECTION
A mirror gives a regular reflection with a sharp and clear image . The image produced is/appears
virtual (cannot be projected on a screen) upright laterally inverted (right becomes left and left becomes right) equal in size to the object as far behind the mirror as the object is in front of it

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LAWS OF REFLECTION
the incident ray, the normal and the reflected ray all lie on the same plane angle of incidence (i) is equal to the angle of reflection (r)

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IMAGE FORMATION (PLANE MIRROR)

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IMAGE FORMATION (PLANE MIRROR)

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IMAGE FORMATION (PLANE MIRROR)

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REFRACTION
Light travels at different speeds through different mediums . Light travels fastest through gases and slowest through solids . When light passes from one medium to another , its speed changes and the ray of light bends . This is called refraction of light.

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REFRACTION
When light passes from a less dense to a denser medium , the refracted ray slows down and bends towards(nearer) the normal .

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REFRACTION
When light passes from a denser to a less dense medium , the refracted ray speeds up and bends away from the normal .

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EFFECTS OF REFRACTION
The bending of light causes an object to appear nearer than it actually is when a transparent material is on top.

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EFFECTS OF REFRACTION
In the diagram, refraction causes point A to appear nearer to the surface at B. So to the eyes, the straw appears to bend towards the surface of the water.

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REFRACTION
Light can be dispersed by a prism. When a beam of light is passed through a prism onto a screen, the prism refracts the light into a spectrum of seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

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COLOURS
Thus, white light is made up of a spectrum of colours . When light falls on an object , some of the colours in the spectrum are absorbed while others are reflected . This allows us to see the object as a coloured object. For example, a red object reflects red light and absorbs all other colours. A black object absorbs all the colours . A white object reflects all the colours .

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COLOURS
The three primar y colours are red , blue and green . All other colours, called secondar y colours, are results of combinations of these three colours .

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OBJECTS IN WHITE LIGHT

White objects appear white as they reflect all colour s and absorb none.

Red objects reflect light and absorb all other colours.

red the

Black objects absorb all the light. Since no light is reflected, the objects appear black due to an absence of light.

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OBJECTS IN COLOURED LIGHT

The colour of an object is the colour of the light that is reflected from it into our eyes .

green light

red light

In green light, a green leaf appears green because it reflects green light. mastery learning centre

In red light, a green leaf appears black because it absorbs the red light and does not reflect any light.