Revi e w th e

pr e vi o u s
lesson
 OH YEAH ! OH NO!
Direction: say “ oh yeah “ if the statement
is correct and say “ oh no! “ if the statement
is incorrect.
1. A violin is a place where there is no air,
therefore, no air resistance.
 OH YEAH ! OH NO!
Direction: say “ oh yeah “ if the statement is correct
and say “ oh no! “ if the statement is incorrect.
2. Air
resistance offers opposition to
motion, slowing down a moving object.
 OH YEAH ! OH NO!
Direction: say “ oh yeah “ if the statement is
correct and say “ oh no! “ if the statement is
incorrect.
3. Galileo believes that objects move not by
their nature but because of impressed forces.
 OH YEAH ! OH NO!
Direction: say “ oh yeah “ if the statement is correct
and say “ oh no! “ if the statement is incorrect.
•4. Motion is among the behaviors of
an object.
 OH YEAH ! OH NO!
Direction: say “ oh yeah “ if the statement is correct and
say “ oh no! “ if the statement is incorrect.
described projectile motion as motion
5. Galileo
of an object which is moving parallel to the
ground.
 ONE PIC ONE WORD

R_FL _C_I_ N
 ONE PIC ONE WORD

_E _RAC_ _O N
 ONE PIC ONE WORD

__ __G__T
 Module 3:
Propagation of Light,
Reflection and

Refraction
 Learning Objectives
• 1. describe how the propagation of light, reflection, and refraction
are explained by the wave model and the particle model of light
(S11/12PSIVf-59);
• 2. explain how the photon concept and the fact that the energy of a
photon is directly proportional to its frequency can be used to
explain why red light is used in photographic dark rooms, why we
get easily sunburned in ultraviolet light but not in visible light, and
how we see colors (S11/12PS-IVf-61)
 General behavior of light
• . Reflection
is the bouncing of light when it
reaches a reflecting surface or the boundary
between two media.
• The part of the light coming from source that
passes through a medium, such as a glass pane,
is absorbed or scattered. The rest of the light that
strikes the boundary of the medium is partially
reflected and transmitted.
 Question:
•What happens to the light
ray as they strike a smooth
and shiny surface, like that
of a mirror?
 ANSWER

• If the surface is smooth and shiny, like

glass, water or polished metal, the light
will reflect at the same angle as it hit
the surface.
 Two Types of Reflection
1. Specular reflection occurs
when parallel rays of light hit a
smooth surface and is reflected
uniformly or regularly.
Specular reflection
• All the light
travelling in one
direction and
reflecting from the
mirror is reflected in
one direction.
• This occurs on a
smooth surface.
 Two Types of Reflection
•2. Diffuse reflection occurs
when parallel beam of light
strike uneven or coarse
surfaces.
 Diffuse Reflection

• Light is reflected in all directions.

• This is caused by a surface that isn’t smooth.
In the below photographs, which reflection is diffuse
and which is specular? Explain your answer briefly.
 In the below photographs, which reflection is
diffuse and which is specular? Explain your answer
briefly.

A B
 REFRACTION
• When light passes obliquely from one medium to
another medium or different density, or when it passes
through different layers or varying densities within the
same medium, such as Earth’s atmosphere, its path is
bent from a straight line at the boundary of the
medium where the density changes.
 Refraction
• The change of direction of a ray of
light, sound, heat, or the like, in
passing obliquely from one medium
into another in which its wave velocity
is different.
• Refraction is the bending of light (it
also happens with sound, water and
other waves) as it passes from one
transparent substance into another. This
bending by refraction makes it possible
for us to have lenses, magnifying
glasses, prisms and rainbows.
• The speed of light Refraction
in a vacuum is
3.00x108 m/s.
• When light travels
through a different
material, it travels
at a different
speed.
 Laws of Refraction
1. When a ray of light passes obliquely from a medium
of lower optical density (air) to one of greater optical
density (water), it is bent toward the normal. When a
ray of light passes obliquely from a medium of greater
optical density to one of lower optical density, it is
refracted away from the normal.
The normal is a line
perpendicular
(forming a 90
degree angle) to the
boundary between
the two substances.
The bending occurs
because light
travels more slowly
in a denser medium.
Laws of Refraction
 Laws of Refraction
• .3. The index of refraction is independent of the angle
of incidence, and is constant for any homogeneous
medium. The refractive index of a material, n, is the
ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum, c, and the speed
of light in that material, v: n=c/v. Note that c = 3.00 ×
10⁸ m/s and v is a value of speed that is always lower
than c. Thus, n is always greater than 1.
Dual Nature of Light
 Light Is a Particle!
(Sir Isaac Newton)
• Newton thought that light was a particle because the edges of the
shadows it created was extremely sharp and clear.
 Light Is Also a Particle! (Einstein)
• The theory of light being a particle completely
vanished until the end of the 19th century when
Albert Einstein revived it.
• Einstein believed light is a particle (photon) .
• Scientists have combined both theories.
 Light Is a Wave! ( Christian Huygens)

• About the same time as Newton, Dutch physicist, Christian Huygens,

believed that light was made up of waves vibrating up and down
perpendicular to the direction of the light travels. It explained
diffraction and could be demonstrated through experimentation.
 The Dual Nature of Light
• Light is a form of energy.

• Sometimes it behaves like a particle and

sometimes it behaves like a wave .

• For this reason, light is said to have a dual nature

 The properties of light can be summarized into two groups…with its dual nature

3 "wave" properties
3 "particle" properties

1) Interference (waves
1) Travels in straight lines "superpose" and pass right through
2) Reflection (changes direction) each other)

3) Refraction (bends, in going from 2) Diffraction (waves "spill over" the

edges of their obstructions)
one material to another)
3) Polarization (eliminating one of
light's "fields")