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Light moves in straight lines

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The law of reflection
When a light ray hits a mirror it changes direction: the ray is
reflected.
normal
incident ray reflected ray
i r

point of incidence
plane mirror

angle of incidence (i) = angle of reflection (r)

This is called the law of reflection and is true for any type
of wave being reflected from a surface.

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The law of reflection in action

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Describing images – size
Many images are enlarged or reduced versions of the
object. The extent to which an image’s
size differs from an object’s is
known as the magnification.

Many devices take

advantage of the ability of
mirrors and lenses to alter
the size of an image.

These include projectors,

microscopes and binoculars.

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Describing images – orientation
If the rays of light from
the top and bottom of
an object cross over
before an image is
formed, the image will
appear upside-down.

This is an inverted image.

Inversion can also occur if rays from the

right and left of an object cross over.
This is known as lateral inversion and
is seen most commonly in plane mirrors.

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Describing images – real or virtual?
When we look into a mirror we
see an image. The image
appears to be behind the mirror.
If you look behind the mirror,
the image is obviously not
there, so we say it is a
virtual image. A virtual
image is one which cannot
be formed on a screen.
A real image is one that can be
formed on a screen, such as the
real image from the projector,
which you are reading now!

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Describing images – quiz

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Images in plane mirrors
If we look into a mirror, we see an image.

t
ca

What kind of image is formed in the plane mirror?

 laterally inverted
 same size as the object
 virtual

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Convex mirrors
Convex mirrors are
curved so that they bulge
outwards.
Convex mirrors are
diverging mirrors.
They reflect rays of F
light away from a
focal point (F) which
lies behind the mirror.
Rays parallel to the mirror’s
central axis are reflected so
that they appear to have
ƒ = focal length
come from this focal point.

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Images in convex mirrors

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Concave mirrors
Concave mirrors are
converging mirrors, as they
reflect rays of light towards a
focal point (F).
If a light source is placed at
the focal point, the mirror will F
produce a beam of parallel
light rays.
The distance between the
mirror and the focal point is
called the focal length (ƒ). ƒ
ƒ becomes smaller as the
mirror’s curve increases.

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Finding f of a concave mirror
Choose a distant
object to get parallel
rays of light.
Move the concave
mirror back and forward
to produce a clear
image on a screen.
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ƒ
Use a ruler to measure
the distance between the
mirror and screen. This is
the focal length (ƒ).
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Images in concave mirrors

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Concave mirror summary
When the object is beyond the
focal point of the mirror the
image is real and inverted. Its
size varies depending on the
object’s distance from F.

When the object is between

the focal point and the mirror
the image is large, virtual and
not inverted.

When the object is on the focal point the is no image.

Can you explain why?

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What is refraction?
The straw appears to be bent in the liquid.
What is causing this effect?
As the light crosses the boundary between
fluid and glass, it is bent, producing
a distorted image.
This known as refraction.
Spear fishing has been used for
centuries and is still practiced
by subsistence communities.
To accurately spear the fish,
fishermen learn to aim a short distance behind the fishes’
image, in order to compensate for the effect of refraction.

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Refraction in a glass block

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Refraction – labelling diagrams
If an incident ray enters incident
glass at an angle, then it ray
is refracted, and bends normal
towards the normal.
The angle of incidence (i)
is larger than the angle of
refraction (r).
When the light leaves the
glass, the opposite
happens: it bends away
normal
from the normal.
refracted
A material which light passes through,
ray
such as glass or air, is known as a medium.

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Refraction summary

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Wavelength and speed effects

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A model for refraction

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Speed of light
Light travels at very high speeds. It reaches
300,000,000 m/s in a vacuum, and is
marginally slower in air.
This means that it takes light a mere eight
minutes to reach the Earth from the Sun!
In other materials the speed of light varies significantly:
material speed of light (m/s)
water 225,000,000
perspex 200,000,000
glass 200,000,000
diamond 120,000,000
As the speed of light varies depending on the medium,
different materials refract light by different amounts.

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Refractive index
Refractive index is a measure of how much a substance
slows down light. The higher its value, the more a medium
slows light. The more the light is slowed, the more it bends
towards the normal.
Refractive index is calculated by comparing speed of light
in a vacuum to that in a given medium:

refractive index = speed of light in vacuum

speed of light in medium
The speed of light in a vacuum is 300,000,000 m/s, and the
speed of light in water is 225,000,000 m/s. What is the
refractive index of water?
refractive index = 300,000,000 = 1.33
225,000,000
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Snell’s Law
The refractive index can also be calculated using Snell’s
Law, which uses the angle of incidence (i) and angle of
refraction (r) to establish how much a medium slows light.

refractive index (n) = sin i

sin r

Use the information in the diagram normal

to find the refractive index of glass.

refractive index = sin 45°

sin 28°

refractive index = 1.5

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Using Snell’s Law
Use Snell’s Law to answer the following:
Diamond has a refractive index of 2.4. If light passes
into a diamond crystal at an angle of 15°, find the
angle of refraction.
sin r = sin i
refractive index

sin r = sin 15° = 0.1

2.4

r = sin-1 0.1

r = 6.2°

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Using Snell’s Law
Use Snell’s Law to answer the following:
Perspex has a refractive index of 1.5. If a ray of light
passing into a perspex block has an angle of refraction of
24°, find the angle of incidence.

sin i = sin r × refractive index

sin i = (sin 24°) × 1.5 = 0.61

i = sin-1 0.61

i = 37.6°

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Using Snell’s Law
Use Snell’s Law to answer the following:
If a ray of light enters water at an angle of 15° and has an
angle of refraction of 11.2°, find its refractive index.

refractive index = sin 15

sin 11.2

refractive index = 1.33

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Total internal reflection
Total internal reflection is when a light ray hits the boundary
between two materials of different densities, and is reflected
rather than refracted.
There are two conditions for
total internal reflection:
1. The angle of incidence must
be greater than the critical
angle.
2. The light must be passing
from a high refractive index
to a low one.
Sometimes only part of a light ray will be reflected, while the
rest crosses the boundary and is refracted.

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Total internal reflection – a recap

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Optical fibres
Optical fibres are thin strands of solid glass
which are widely used in communication,
medicine, lighting and as sensors.
They exploit total internal reflection in order to
carry beams of light over long distances and
along winding paths.
The glass core is often encased
in a layer of cladding, which
prevents light escaping the
core. A protective plastic jacket
surrounds the whole fibre.
Why are the materials used to make the core and cladding
of an optical fibre important?

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Critical angle in different materials
Different materials have different critical angles.
How does the refractive index (n) of different materials
affect the critical angle (c) at a boundary with air?

medium n c
ice 1.31 50°
water 1.33 49°
glass 1.5 42°
quartz 1.54 40°
diamond 2.4 24°

The greater the refractive index,

the smaller the critical angle.
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Calculating the critical angle
Each medium has a different critical
angle. We can calculate the critical
angle if we know the refractive index:
sin c = nr
ni
What do you notice about this equation?
The critical angle varies depending on the refractive index (n)
of both materials at a boundary.
Calculate the critical angle of perspex at a perspex to air
boundary.
perspex: n = 1.5 sin c = 1 = 0.67 c = sin-1 0.67
air: n=1 1.5 c = 42°

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Calculating the critical angle – examples
Calculate the critical angle for this water
glass to water boundary. n = 1.33
sin c = 1.33 = 0.89
1.5
glass
c = sin 0.89
-1
c = 63°
n = 1.5
Now repeat your calculation for an air to glass boundary.
When light hits a medium with a higher refractive index:
ni
>1
nr
As sin (x) has a maximum value of one, total internal
reflection is impossible.

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Total internal reflection – true or false?

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Prisms
A ray of white light can be split into a spectrum of colours.
This is known as dispersion.
The different colours of light have different wavelengths.
The different wavelengths are refracted different amounts.

Richard – red
of – orange

gave – green
battle – blue
in – indigo
vain – violet

Which colour is refracted the most? violet

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Speed of light in materials

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Dispersion – summary

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Glossary

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Anagrams

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Reflection and refraction quiz

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