LIGHT

We know that: The sun acts as our main source of heat and light The sun through radiation provides both light and heat to the earth Green plants trap light energy and manufacture food during photosynthesis Fuels such as oil, coal and gas may be burned to produce more heat and light Light is therefore in a form in which energy is released Light may be absorbed, reflected or refracted by objects

Harnessing the suns energy through solar panels which are heated with the conversion of solar energy into thermal energy where the water is heated before it is stored in a geyser.

Reflection of light
Light waves reach the earth as visible or invisible light. When the waves strike the particles the waves are either reflected (bounced back) or refracted(bent)

i = angle of incidence r =angle of reflection

Refraction of light
When a beam of light passes through air it moves in a straight line. When the same beam of light passes through a denser medium like glass or water, the light rays are interfered with and bent away from the normal line. This is called refraction.

The Colour Light Spectrum This principle of refraction can be used to split a beam of white light into the various colours or a spectrum of light. The beam can be split into all the light waves forming the visible and invisible light waves of the spectrum. All these waves are not the same. Some are longer others are shorter and they have different amounts of energy. For example the violet light has a shorter wave than the blue light but it has more energy and Red has the longest wavelength but the smallest angle of refraction. We see the different colours when these light waves travel through the air and strike an object like the prism below.

White light contains all the colours so when it falls onto a white object all the colours are reflected, when it falls onto a black object all the colours are absorbed. When it falls onto a coloured object, all the other colour are absorbed except the colour of the object which is reflected. For example, a leaf is green due to the pigment chlorophyll which is involved in the process of photosynthesis. This green colour absorbs all the other colours but reflects green which is the colour we see as it is the colour reflected into our eyes. There are three Primary Colours : Red, Blue, Green and three Secondary Colours: Yellow (green and red), Magenta(Red and Blue), Cyan(Blue and Green)

Activity 3 Work in groups of 3. Resources: Light kit with a ray box, mirror and protractor White sheet of paper and a sharp pencil Instructions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Set up the ray box Put the mirror on its side with its shiny front facing the ray box Shine a ray of light at the mirror at an angle Using a pencil, draw a row of dots on the paper to mark the position of the mirror and the path of the rays reflected by the mirror Remove the ray box and the mirror Look at the lines which you drew and make a mark on the line of the mirror at the exact point where the incident ray and reflected ray touched the mirror. Draw a line perpendicular (at right angles) to the surface of the mirror at the exact point where the light ray hit the mirror (this line is the Normal) Measure the angle formed between the incident ray and the normal (Angle of reflection) with a protractor Repeat the experiment and tabulate your results below: Angle of incidence 1 2 10. How do the sizes of the two angles compare with each other? Angle of reflection

Activity 4 Work in groups of 3. Resources: Light kit with a ray box, filters, lens and a prism White sheet of paper and a sharp pencil Experiment 1 Instructions : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Set up the ray box Place the prism in front of the ray of light Shine a light through the prism onto the sheet of white paper Turn the prism slowly until a spectrum of colour can be seen Mark the position of the prism, the incident and emergent rays Make note of the order of colours you see

Extension: Remove the slit to allow a wider beam of light Place a lens between the ray box and the prism Move the lens and the prism until the colours on the screen (white paper) are as sharp and bright as possible. Make a note of your observations:

Remove the prism and place the filter with 3 colours in, what is the colour of the converged light? Block one colour at