M.

Mastering
Mastering Physics (SAT)

Optics

Mr. Mohamed
Mr. Gamal
Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195
00966567735195
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 • Reflection of Light
• Reflection is the change in direction of a wave at a surface.

• The texture of a surface affects how it reflects light.

– Diffuse reflection is reflection from a rough, texture surface such as paper or

unpolished wood.

– Specular reflection is reflection from a smooth, shiny surface such as a mirror or

a water surface.

• The angle of incidence is the angle between a ray that

strikes a surface and the normal at the point of contact.

• The angle of reflection is the angle formed between the

reflected ray and the normal at the point of contact.

• The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are

always equal.

• Flat Mirrors

• Flat mirrors form virtual images that are the same distance from the mirror’s surface
as the object is, and also have the same height.

• A virtual image can never be displayed on a physical surface.

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Concave Spherical Mirrors
• A concave spherical mirror is a mirror whose reflecting surface is a segment of the
inside of a sphere.

• Concave mirrors can be used to form real images.

• A real image is an image formed when rays of light actually pass through a point on the
image. Real images can be projected onto a screen.

• Image Formation by a Concave Spherical Mirror

• The Mirror Equation relates object distance (p), image

distance (q), and focal length (f) of a spherical mirror.

1 1 1
 
p q f
1 1 1
 
distance from object to lens distance from image to lens focal length

• The Equation for Magnification relates image height or distance to object height or
distance, respectively.

h' q
M
–
h p
image height distance from image to lens
magnification = –
object height distance from object to lens

• Ray diagrams can be used for checking values calculated from the mirror and
magnification equations for concave spherical mirrors.

• Concave mirrors can produce both real and virtual images.

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Convex Spherical Mirrors
• A convex spherical mirror is a mirror whose reflecting surface is outward-curved
segment of a sphere.

• Light rays diverge upon reflection from a convex mirror, forming a virtual image that is
always smaller than the object.

• Refraction of Light
• Refraction is the bending of light as it travels from one medium to another.

• As a light ray travels from one medium into another medium where its speed is
different (less than c), the light ray will change its direction unless it travels along the
normal.

• The Law of Refraction

• The index of refraction for a substance is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to
the speed of light in that substance.

c
n
v
speed of light in a vacuum
index of refraction 
speed of light in medium

• When light passes from a medium with a smaller index of refraction to one with a
larger index of refraction (like from air to glass), the ray bends toward the normal.

• When light passes from a medium with a larger index of refraction to one with a
smaller index of refraction (like from glass to air), the ray bends away from the normal.

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Snell’s Law determines the angle of refraction.

ni sin i  nr sinr
index of refraction of first medium  sine of the angle of incidence =
index of refraction of second medium  sine of the angle of refraction

Image Position for Objects in Different Media

• Pinhole Image is inverted

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 • Types of Lenses
• A lens is a transparent object that refracts light rays such that they converge or diverge
to create an image.

• The distance from the focal point to the center of the lens is called the focal length, f.

• Rules for drawing reference rays

• Characteristics of Lenses
• Converging lenses can produce real or virtual images of real objects.

• The image produced by a converging lens is real and

inverted when the object is outside the focal point.

• The image produced by a converging lens is virtual and

upright when the object is inside the focal point.

• The image created by a diverging lens is always a virtual,

upright, and smaller image.

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • The equation that relates object and image distances for a lens.
1 1 1
 
p q f
1 1 1
 
distance from object to lens distance from image to lens focal length

• Magnification of a lens depends on object and image distances.

h' q
M
–
h p
image height distance from image to lens
magnification = –
object height distance from object to lens

• Total Internal Reflection

• Total internal reflection can occur when light
moves along a path from a medium with a higher
index of refraction to one with a lower index of
refraction.

• At the critical angle, refracted light makes an

angle of 90o with the normal.

• Above the critical angle, total internal reflection

occurs and light is completely reflected within a
substance.

• Snell’s law can be used to find the critical angle.

nr
sinC  for ni  nr
ni
index of refraction of second medium
sine  critical angle  
index of refraction of first medium

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Combining Light Waves
• Interference takes place only between waves with the same wavelength. A light source
that has a single wavelength is called monochromatic.

• In constructive interference, component

waves combine to form a resultant wave
with the same wavelength but with an
amplitude that is greater than the either
of the individual component waves.

• In the case of destructive interference, the resultant amplitude is less than the
amplitude of the larger component wave.

– Coherent is sources of light for which the phase difference is constant.

– Incoherent is sources of light for which the phase difference is not constant.

• Young’s Double Slit Experiment

• Interference can be demonstrated by passing light through two narrow parallel slits.

• If monochromatic light is used, the light from the two slits produces a series of bright
and dark parallel bands, or fringes, on a viewing screen.

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 • The path difference is the difference in the distance traveled by two beams when they
are scattered in the same direction from different points.

• The number assigned to interference fringes with respect to the central bright fringe is
called the order number. The order number is represented by the symbol m.

• The central bright fringe at q = 0 (m = 0) is called the zeroth-order maximum, or the

central maximum.

• The first maximum on either side of the central maximum

(m = 1) is called the first-order maximum.

• Equation for constructive interference d sin θ = ±m λ m = 0, 1, 2,…

• Equation for destructive interference d sin θ = ±(m + 1/2) λ m = 0, 1, 2, …

• Diffraction (The Bending of Light Waves)

• Diffraction is a change in the direction of waves when forms a
diffraction pattern by passing around an obstacle or bending
through a slit and interfering with each other

• Wavelets (as in Huygens’ principle) in a wave front interfere

with each other.

– In a diffraction pattern, the central maximum is twice as wide as the secondary

maxima.

– Diffraction is observed obviously with:

– a. the longer wavelength (sound wave)

– b. smaller opening

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Diffraction Gratings
• A diffraction grating uses diffraction and interference to disperse light into its
component colors.

• The position of a maximum depends on the separation of the slits in the grating, d, the
order of the maximum m,, and the wavelength of the light, λ.

d sin θ = ± m λ m = 0, 1, 2, 3, …

• Polarization of Light Waves

• Linear polarization is the alignment of electro-magnetic waves in such a way that the
vibrations of the electric fields in each of the waves are parallel to each other.

• Light can be linearly polarized through transmission (polarized filter).

• Light can be polarized by reflection and scattering.

• At a particular angle, reflected light is polarized horizontally.

• No light can pass through two polarized filters (one horizontal and one vertical)

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 • Dispersion
• Dispersion is the process of separating polychromatic light into its component
wavelengths.

• White light passed through a prism produces a visible spectrum through dispersion.

• Scattering
• Scattering is the reflection of light in all directions.

• Short wavelength (blue light) scatters the most

• The sunlight scattered by air molecules and enters the eye giving the sky blue
appearance.

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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 Equations of Optics

Physical Term Equation

Law of Reflection Θi = θf

Index of Refraction n = C/v

Snell’s Law ni sin Θi = nf sin Θf

Critical Angle ni sin Θc = nf sin 90

Magnification M =hi/ho = - di/do

Focal Length F = R/2

Mirror and Lenses rules 1/f = 1/do + 1/ di

Young’s Double Slit Experiment Xm = m λL/d

Mr. Mohamed Gamal 00966567735195

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