By Courtney Fernandez
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CONTENTS
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Intended student learning outcomes
This resource guide is aimed at Level 4 students It fulfils the VELS standards as
indicated in http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vels/science.html. It revisits
information from level 2 and 3 sciences, about light and reflections.
At the conclusion of this course, students should be able to:
Understand the ways in which the reflection of light is affected by even
and uneven surfaces. (Experiment 1: Foil Mirror)
See the connection between wavelengths and the colour of light.
(Experiment 2: Sunrise and Sunset)
Recognise the different colours which result from the combination of
red, blue and green light. (Experiment 3: The Colours of Light)
Understand how differently shaped reflective or transparent surfaces
manipulate the direction of light. (Worksheet 1: Convex and Concave
Lenses)
Know how atoms behave under the influence of light energy.
(Worksheet 2: Behaviour of Atoms under Light Energy)
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There are many different forms of light that we see or
use in our everyday life. This might be a light bulb, a rainbow,
the sun or forms of lights that the human eye can’t see, like
ultraviolet or infrared light.
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No matter what type of light we encounter, there are
particular traits which are common to all light rays. One of
these traits is the way that light moves. Just like a tennis ball
being thrown at a wall, light bounces off its obstructions. This
is called reflection. However, light always travels in straight
lines. Its path does not curve or fall with gravity like a ball
would.
Incident light occurs when light travels from its source (e.g. a
light bulb or the sun) directly onto a surface (e.g. the ground
or an object). In order for reflection to occur, there has to
first be incident light.
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To explore the ways in which light rays travel, you could use a
bright torch or even a laser light to investigate how these
lights behave when they are shined onto smooth and shiny
surfaces. Some materials which may be interesting to
experiment with are mirrors, windows and steam.
Hint: A dark room could make your observations clearer!
Here is a fascinating way in which reflection is used in our
everyday technology.
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It is not uncommon that people are long or short sighted.
This occurs because the eye does not reflect and process light
the way that it should. So how do glasses and contact lenses
correct impaired vision?
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So what is it that makes the light’s direction change when it
travels through the lens? This is because when light passes
through transparent substances of different densities, for
example, glass, water or air, the speed of the light changes
and therefore the direction is also affected. This action is
called Refraction.
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So how do so many different types of light occur? What is it
that allows light rays to shine bright or dim or coloured or
invisible? It is because of their different wavelengths.
Wavelengths are the way in which light travels, but they also
have other traits which influence how light is presented.
Here you can see that the smaller and more frequent waves
over a period of time show colours on the purple end of the
spectrum, whereas the red end of the spectrum has larger
waves over the time period. Each of these colours has a
distinct wavelength. Light rays which give a particular colour
of light are called monochromatic light. This occurs when the
rays of light have wavelengths between a discrete, particular
range. For example, the rays from a green laser light would
be monochromatic with very little variance in the
wavelengths.
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The amplitude of a wavelength determines how bright a light
is, and the frequency determines the colour and visibility of
light.
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There are some forms of light with a frequency so high that
they cannot be seen by the human eye. Some of these are
infrared light which in used in remotes to transmit
information, x rays which has enough energy to travel
through human flesh and gamma rays which are common in
nuclear radioactive environments, capable of mutating and
damaging human tissue and cells.
Ultraviolet rays are a form of light which the sun emits onto
the Earth. Its frequency is higher than that of the violet light
at the end of the spectrum, below 400 nanometres. These
rays are capable of causing reactions within our skin,
resulting in burns and damage, but luckily for us, most of the
sun’s UV rays are blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere.
However, we must still protect ourselves from the UV light
which does reach our skin. To prevent sun burn or more
crucially, skin cancer, we must use sun screen and
appropriate clothing.
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So how is light able to cause reactions in our skin and other
substances? Well, all substances are made up of atoms.
These atoms carry energy in their electrons. Think of an
electron as a tiny planet which circles the sun (protons and
neutrons) on its particular orbit. When an atom gains
excessive energy, its outermost electrons or photons can
jump to an orbit which is further away from core of the atom.
This energetic photon changes the behaviour of the atom so
that it moves much more vigorously, and creates more
pressure in its environment as it tries to avoid its
neighbouring atoms.
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To explain what exactly how the atoms behave, we are going
to suggest that an atom is similar to a 4 year old child. When
you give a 4 year old some red cordial or ‘light energy’, the
child will get excited. He will run around like crazy, bumping
into its surroundings and causing havoc. Eventually the child
will run out of sugar, or energy, and he will return to his
natural state. As this occurs, he will release energy in the
form of movement, heat and sweat.
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Convex and Concave Lenses
Considering the size of the flower when looking through a straight lens:
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Glossary
Amplitude: The measure of the height of Molecules: A group of bonded atoms.
a wavelength.
Monochromatic light: Wavelengths of
Atoms: Matter which make up all one general range of frequency, which a
materials. These are made up of protons, particular coloured light.
neutrons and electrons.
Photons: The outer electrons of an atom.
Concave: A curved surface in which the These are the electrons which are able to
centre is furthest away from the eye. This move to outer shells when an atom gains
manipulates the reflection of light. energy.
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Experiment 1: Foil Mirror
(from Singleton, G., 2004, 101 Cool Science Experiments, Dingley, Victoria)
Aim:
Materials:
Aluminium foil
Scissors
Method:
1. With the scissors, cut a ruler length (30cm) sheet of aluminium foil. Make sure it is smooth!
2. Look at your reflection and use some describing words to note down your observations in
the table below.
3. Without breaking it, or crushing it too tightly, scrunch the foil into a ball.
5. Look at your reflection again and use some describing words to note down your
observations.
Observations:
Discussion:
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Experiment 2: Sunrise and Sunset
(from Singleton, G., 2004, 101 Cool Science Experiments, Dingley, Victoria)
Aim:
To understand why the sky changes colour during sunrise and sunset.
Materials:
1 Clear drinking glass or glass jar 1 Stirrer (e.g. paddle pop stick or
teaspoon)
½ cup of Water
1 Torch
½ cup of Full cream milk
A dark room
Method:
1. Fill the drinking glass or glass jar with the ½ cup of water.
2. With the torch shining through the glass from above, note down what colour you see (in the
Observations section).
3. Pour the ½ cup of milk into the glass, and mix it with the teaspoon.
4. In a dark room, shine the torch into the side of the glass. Note down yours observations.
Observations:
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Discussion:
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Experiment 3: The Colours of Light
(from Robinson, T., 2008, The Everything Kids' Science Experiments Book : Boil Ice, Float Water,
Measure Gravity-Challenge the World Around You!, e-book, accessed 08 May 2011,
<http://vu.eblib.com.au.wallaby.vu.edu.au:2048/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=422291>.)
Aim:
Materials:
Method:
1. Secure a sheet of cellophane to each separate torch with a rubber band, so that you have a
torch shining red light, a torch shining blue light and a torch shining green light.
2. Shining these coloured lights on a white screen or wall in a dark room, observe and record
the colour you see when you overlap the red and blue lights.
3. Observe and record the colour you see when you overlap the green and blue lights.
4. Observe and record the colour you see when you overlap the green and red lights.
5. Now shine all three coloured lights so that they all overlap. Observe and record the colour
you see.
Observations:
Discussion:
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Explanation of Discussion Questions
Experiment 1: Foil Mirror
a. When light reflects of a smooth surface, its light rays are able to reflect in the
same direction, or angle. This means that when you look in a mirror, the
reflection of the image will appear the same since the whole image is
reflected in the same general direction.
Recommended reading:
a. http://www.z-oc.com/blog/2007/08/some-physics-background-related-to-
photography/#more-122
b. http://zonalandeducation.com/mstm/physics/light/rayOptics/reflection/reflecti
on1.html
c. http://science.howstuffworks.com/light2.htm
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Experiment 2: Sunrise and Sunset
Recommended reading:
a. http://www.ehow.com/about_5091308_sun-change-colors-sunset.html
b. http://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/faculty/reusch/VirtTxtJml/Spectrpy/UV-
Vis/spectrum.htm
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Experiment 3: The Colours of Light
Recommended reading:
o http://www.z-oc.com/blog/2007/08/some-physics-background-related-to-
photography/#more-122
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Behaviour of Atoms under Light Energy - EXPLANATION
B – When under light energy, the atoms in the balloon absorb energy. This causes the atoms
move more vigorously and fight its surroundings for more space, causing an increase in
pressure. The balloon expands due to the increased pressure .
B – When an atom is in its excited state, its outer electron leaves its natural position and
moves to an outer shell. after it has used up its extra energy, it will return to its natural
position again.
A – Gaseous atoms under light energy like to spread out in the entire area of their container.
They move erractically, resulting in collisions and allowing for atoms to bond with other
atoms or molecules
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Convex and Concave Lenses - EXPLANATION
Considering that this is the size of the flower when looking through a straight lens:
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Concave and Conves Lenses – EXPLANATION
See website:
http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/index.html
http://www.historyforkids.org/scienceforkids/physics/light/
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