LIGHT CHAPTER NOTES BY MUSTAHMIN KHAN [V - 1.

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Light
Light:
→It is the part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum (EM) which we can see
→Light travels in straight lines called rays
→A bundle of rays is known as a beam of light

Reflection:
→ Reflection is the bouncing of light rays of a surface
→ We are able to see objects as light is reflected off them

Reflection for different surfaces:

Regular reflection:
• Occurs at smooth surfaces, e.g. mirrors, polished metals.
• The law of reflection holds true for each individual ray:
angle of incidence = angle of reflection
→ • Parallel incident rays are reflected in the same direction
because the surface is even. All rays have same angles of
incidence and reflection.
smooth surface
• The normal at all points of incidence are parallel to each
other

Diffuse (irregular) reflection:

• Occurs at rough surfaces, e.g. sandpaper, cloth
• The law of reflection holds true for each individual ray:
angle of incidence = angle of reflection
• Parallel incident rays are reflected in the different
→ directions because the surface is uneven. The angles of
incidence and reflection of one ray are different from those
of another ray
rough surface • The normal at all points of incidence are not parallel to
each other
(a) Define the terms used in reflection including normal, angle of incidence and angle of
reflection.
Normal → It is a line drawn perpendicular to the surface of mirror from the point where incident
mirror from the point where the incident ray meets the
surface of the mirror.
Angle of incidence → It is the angle between incident ray
and normal.

Angle of reflection → It is the angle between reflected ray

and normal.

(b) Describe an experiment to illustrate the law of reflection.

A horizontal line MM' and a normal ON is drawn as shown. A mirror strip is placed vertically on
the line MM' and a ray box is used to shine a ray of light at 45° of angle of incidence on the mirror.
The ray is reflected along OR. Mark the positions of the incident ray and the reflected ray. Remove
the apparatus from the paper and measure the angle of reflection 𝑟̂ . If the value of the angle of
reflection is the same as that of the angle of incidence i.e. 𝑖̂= 𝑟̂ , then it verifies the law of reflection.

Repeat the experiment for 𝑖̂ = 60° and compare the values of 𝑖̂ and 𝑟̂ to confirm the results.

Results and discussions:

→ Every angle of incidence 𝑖̂ is equal to its corresponding angle
of reflection, 𝑟̂ .
→ The incident ray, reflected ray and the normal at the point of
incidence all lie on the same plane (i.e. a flat surface).

Note: → Incident ray is the light ray that hits the reflecting surface
→ Point of Incidence: The point at which the incident ray hits the reflecting surface
 (c) Describe an experiment to find the position and characteristics of an optical image formed
by a plane mirror.
Mirror

Position of image formed:

→ Behind the mirror/ on
the opposite side of mirror
to the object
→ Same distance as
Wooden holder
object from mirror
Softboard

Graph paper

Set up the apparatus shown in the figure above. Observe the images formed. Then find the
distances d1 and d2 by counting the number of squares between one of the pins and the mirror
surface, and between its image and the mirror surface. Compare these two distances. Finally,
repeat this step for the other two pins and their images.
Properties of an image produced by a plane mirror:

• It is always an upright image

• It is at the same distance behind the mirror i.e. its distance from the mirror is equal to the
distance of the object from the mirror (d1 = d2)
• The image is laterally inverted (left-to-right inversion)
• The object and the image is perpendicular to the mirror
• The image is virtual

Note: → Laterally inverted image is an image whose left-hand side is the right-hand side of the object and vice
versa.
→ Real image is an image that can be captured/formed on a screen e.g. the pictures in a movie theatre. It is
an image where the light rays go/meet at the image position i.e. occurs at the intersection of rays.
→ Virtual image is an image that cannot be formed on a screen because the rays of light do not actually past
through it. Also, it is an image formed by the apparent divergence of rays from a point, rather than their actual
divergence from a point, so it cannot be formed on a screen.

The light rays do not meet at the image position.

Differences between a real image and a virtual image:

→ Real image can be formed/projected on to a screen but virtual image is not found on screen i.e. virtual
image cannot be caught on a screen.
→ The rays converge on real image whereas the rays do not converge on virtual image
→ The rays only appear/seem to come from a point on virtual image
→ Light actually passes through a real image.
→ A virtual image is formed behind the mirror an in front of a lens i.e. on the opposite side of mirror to object and is
always on the same side of the lens as the object whereas a real image is formed in front of the mirror and behind the
lens.
→ A real image is generally inverted whereas a virtual image is generally erect (upright) but laterally inverted.
→ A real image is formed due to the actual meeting/intersection of reflected (or refracted) rays but a virtual image is
formed when reflected (or refracted) rays appear to meet when produced backwards.
→ Real images can be reached to but virtual images can’t be reached to
→ Real image is formed by concave mirror or concave lens whereas virtual image is formed by concave, convex and
plane mirrors (or concave and convex lenses).
→ Example of a real image is a cinema screen and example of a virtual image is the image of an object in plane mirror
Ray Diagram for a Plane Mirror:

Here, d1 = d2
(d) State that for reflection, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection and use
this in constructions, measurements and calculations.
The incident ray, normal and reflected ray at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane. The
angle of incidence, i is equal to the angle of reflection r.
This is known as the law of reflection.

These laws are true for all reflecting surfaces, for plane mirrors as well as curved surfaces.

Angle of Angle of
Incidence equals Reflection

i P
C F r
Incident Ray

PLANE MIRROR
Ray Diagram for a point object: A mirror image cannot be captured on a screen because it is a virtual image.
However, its position can be located by drawing ray diagram

Step 1: Locate the position of the Image I behind the mirror.

distance of distance of
mirror image = object in front
behind mirror (OI) of mirror (OM)
i. Measure the perpendicular distance from object O to the mirror surface
ii. Mark off the same distance behind the mirror to locate the image I
Draw a line with equal distance in between the object and mirror
and other side of the mirror to find the image eye.

Step 2: Draw the reflected rays

Join Image I to the eye with straight lines

i. Draw dotted lines for the rays behind the mirror.
ii. Draw solid lines with arrowheads for rays reflected off the mirror. The arrowheads indicate
the direction that light is travelling in.
Step 3: Draw the incident rays.

points of
incidence

i. Join the object O to the points of incidence on the mirror surface. Note that, for each ray, the
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
 Ray Diagram for an extended object:
An extended object can be seen as many points. To draw the ray diagram for the extended object,
several points needs to be selected and the same steps have to applied as the ray diagram for a
point object.

Step 1: Locate the position of the Image I behind the mirror using the two extreme points.

Step 2: Draw the reflected rays from the selected points.

Step 3: Draw the incident rays to the points of incidence.

1. Measure object distance to image distance

2. Reflected ray from image to eye
3. Draw incident ray to the intersecting point