11

Grade 8 Science
Module 4, Lesson 3
23

Lesson 3
Reflection and Refraction

Learning Outcomes
After completing this lesson you will be able
to
Vocabulary • explain the laws of reflection
• transparent • identify examples of reflection in daily life
• opaque • compare the refraction of light through substanc
• reflection
es of different
densities
• Law of • explain how reflection and refraction produce
Reflection natural
phenomena
• light ray
• incident ray
• reflected ray How Does Light Interact with Objects?
• normal At the beginning of this unit, when you
were brainstorming what
• angle of you knew about light, you may have incl
uded some of the ways
0 incidence
• angle of
that light interacts with objects. In Grade
4 you learned that
objects can be classified as transparent
reflection (let light pass through}
or opaque (don't let lpass throug). In
this section you'll
• refraction examine in more detail what happens whe
n light interacts with
• Laws of opaque objects that are reflective in natu
re, and also with
Refraction transparent objects.

Question: Reflection E 7x f ,. eau * L23

There are many instances where a reflecti

on can be observed in
everyday life, for example, your face in a bath
room mirror. What
are other examples of where you might encoun
ter your reflection
over the course of a day? Give two or three
examples.

-w" m irrors , S' ci o ©l ZUf 07 ,04x0 /'J'

C^JSM^^iG (Vll/'6''0!^s

In order to explain how light reflects, scientists

OJ Law of Reflection. You'll explore this law in the
have created the
following
pages.
24 Module 4, Lesson 3 Grade 8 Science

C
How Does Light Reflect?*
How does a ball bounce back to you after you throw it against a
-.wall? It depends how you throw it. If you throw the ball straight,
it will bounce back straight. If you throw it at an angle, it will
bounce back at an angle.
Light, you know, can bounce. "Bounced" light is reflected light.
We can predict how reflected light will behave. Just follow the
explanation.
A single beam of light is called a light ray. Light is made up of
many, many light rays. But let us look at one light ray. .

incident \ / reflected
ray ^I ray

mirror

This is a single light ray. It is hitting a flat mirror at an angle.

Then it is bouncing off. It is reflecting.
The ray that hits the mirror is called the incident ray.
The ray that bounces off the mirror is called the reflected ray.
Now let's draw a line that makes a right angle (90_degrees)
where the incident ray hits the mirror. This line is called the
normal.

mirror

• The angle between the incident ray and the normal is called
the angle of incidence.
• The angle between the reflected ray and the normal is called
the angle of reflection.
The Law of Reflection states that "the angle of incidence is
equal to the an lie of_reflection."
In the example on this page, the angle of incidence is 30 degrees.
The angle of reflection, then, is also 30 degrees.
C
From Physics Workshop 3: Understanding Light and Sound by Seymour
Rosen. © by Globe Fearon, an imprint of Pearson Learning Group, a division
of Pearson Education; Inc. Used by permission
 Grade 8 Science Module 4, Lesson 3
25

O Practice: How Does Light Reflect?

Two reflecting rays are shown in Figures A and B. Identify the

parts shown by number. Choose from the following:
incident ray normal
reflected ray angle of incidence
angle of reflection
Write your answers next to the correct numbers.

n Figure A Figure B

1.an (e of re f kc f w,i 6. CF (A 67 /e. 0 P 1,01 c>tcle G^

lo t
2. re-fl ° ( 7. cCe^ t (la
&h (e- P 11-T
3. Op l/IGlte4tte 8. aA'^t3 of re 1-/ ( o/)
4. 1^1CAek .t ray 9. AoPA4a
5. (4pf',►lal 10. Ne,^(eC ' ('0.U
11. State the Law of Reflection. an o fe- 0f
C Gt LL s to 91, e. c4i /L of f I e G (06^ .
12. Which of the angles above are equal? (Use numbers.)
a. In Figure A, 1 and 3 are equal.
b. In Figure B, and g are equal.

Refraction

You've seen that light travels in straight lines and that it can be
reflected off of surfaces. There is also something else that light
can do-it can bend! This bending is called refraction. The - f
pd, o p erfy S following pages will describe how refraction works through
P' °^ Z G
different substances.
 26 Module 4, Lesson 3 Grade 8 Science
C
What is Refraction?*
Light travels in straight lines. But light rays can also "bend."
They can change direction.
-cF-) You have seen that light changes direction when it is reflected.
T l^ c y/ i-n o
Light also changes direction when it passes at an angle from one
medium into another medium. This bending is called refraction.
C,PFecfs; Refraction causes us to see objects at positions different from tej,a I t V (-
L
their actual positions. You may have experienced refraction. Did fl^,'^^`e\c I I 0 dl
you ever reach into a fish tank to pick up a rock? Was the rock
exactly where you thought it was?
How can refraction be explained? ^Gz els

Light travels at different speeds through different mediums.

Light travels at about 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) per 9 (a s s
second in air. But light slows down in other substances. In
water, for example, light slows down to about 225,000 kilometers
(140,000 miles) per second.
The speed at which light travels through a medium depends
upon the density of that medium. Density has to do with how C
closely packed the molecules of a substance are. The more closely
packed the molecules are, the more dense the substance is.
Different substances have different densities. For example,
water is more dense than air.
The following are the Laws of Refraction. They explain how
light bends.
a) Light that moves at an angle from
a less dense medium to a more
dense mediums bends toward the
normal.

b) Light that moves at an angle from

a more dense medium to a less
dense medium bends away from
the normal.

normal air
c) Light that moves s traight on from
(less dense)
one medium to another does not
water
be d. It is not refracted ght ray
i, more dense)

From Physics Workshop 3: Understanding Light and Sound by Seymour

Rosen. © by Globe Fearon, an imprint of Pearson Learning Group, a division
of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission.
 Grade 8 Science Module 4, Lesson 3
27

0 Practice: What is Refraction?

1. From your own experience,
you know that glass is
light ray ----------------
- normal 944t € - dense than air.
more, less

2.In Figure A, I1i ht is passing

glass
from a, IN 0 Itts's .
glass to air, air o glass
Figure A

3. The light is hitting the glass

at an ang , straight on
4. The light c bending. It i S being refracted.
is, is not is, is not
5. Why isn't the light being refracted?
s^ rs h ttf« Me- q /a rr £tAet(r 1 f o^
6. Write the part of the Law of Refraction that explains why
this is appenin .
ES S'1 f! / an er

0 .hpdde ze 4r hot ,t P,a ed

Look at Figures B through G. In each, light is being refracted.
The dotted line in colour is the normal. Is the light being
refracted toward the normal or away from the normal? Complete
the sentence under each figure.

Figure B
Figure C

7. Li ht is being refracted 8. Li ht is being refracted

T_Q u r G the normal. _ ^ L V& the normal.
toward, away from toward, away from

I- j j
v Figure D Figure E

9. Light is bei g he 'a 10. Ligh

wM a s'-A e nv_. -rac
e- :Raj
28 Module 4, Lesson 3 Grade 8 Science

C
Now, answer with complete sentences.

P
Questions: What's Happening?
Look at Figures H and I. Answer the questions with each.

1. a. In Figure H, light is
passing from /

mass
Q l e, to
glass to air,
q
it
if
to glass 0
b. Glass is Off' e- dense
more, less
Figure x than air.
2. The light is hitting the glass ' apt n
at an angle, stra' ht on

3. The light /S bending. It is being refracted.

is, is not is, is not

4. The light is being refracted 7' WU / R the normal.

toward, away from

5. Write the part of the Law of Refraction that explains why

this is happening.
^r a are a
/less "d, um a de
S^-
be,^ia.c ^'wa t ie !t^lry^1a.^
6. a. In Figure I, light is
air passing fro

_ass
rs alb
Mass to air, air to glass 0
b. Air is lesS - dense
. ig r, ! than
more, less
Feiw. 7 [a-SS`
 Grade 8 Science Module 4, Lesson 3

0
29

a air
n a7. The
4 light is'1
hitting the gL=w Q .
at an angle, straight 6n
8. The light lS bending. It 11 being refracted.
is, is not is, is not
9. The light is being refracted _ wa ^014 the normal.
towar d , away from
10. Write the part of the Law of Refraction that explains why
,4
this
_5 is happening.
Ll /na (/ &S cr a m /e Aran? a /j'lde'L°
deAl,re- m¢ l um to es- f- C1' oj-e /12&C[l u a
^m^is d cvq 7 `iaema

Questions: Refraction and Change of Position

Study Figure J. Answer the questions.

Figure J

The fish is actually at C. But to the boy, the fish appears to be at

D.
1. The boy sees the fish because li - ht is travelling
fk^ /fit /0 11he l
from the boy's eyes to the fish, from the fish o the boy'; eyes

2. The fish is 126 o4l^ c (

giving off it own lig , reflecting light
3. The light is moving from waZf '
water to air, air to water
4. The light from the fish is being refracted !26-V ffOf"
the normal. toward, way from
30 Module 4, Lesson 3 Grade 8 Science

0
5. The boy sees the fish in line with the refracted light. The
refracted light is 13 -.
A, B
6. a. The boy sees the fish ^u GV than it really is.
further away, closer

b. The boy also sees the fish h t;74 __

r in the water
hia er, lower
than it really is.

7. Refraction dO @S seem to change the position of an object.

does, does not

Natural Light Phenomena

Several natural phenomena are created by the reflection and/or
refraction oflight. These include everything from our blue sky to
sunsets, sundogs, rainbows, mirages, and perhaps the most
impressive-northern lights. The following articles describe some
of these phenomena. Read the articles and complete the questions
that appear after them.
Rainbow*
Ina rainbow, raindrops in the air act as tiny prisms. Light enters c
the drop, reflects off the side of the drop and exits, and in the
process is broken into a spectrum just like it is in a triangular re ^Paof (o'7 4-
glass prism. Like this: C4 is pet s(otj
White light from sun Raindrops

c
`Reprinted from <httn.. \v w.hows tuffwworks.com/question41.htm >
IL

Grade 8 Science Module 4, Lesson 3 31

The angle between the ray of light coming in and the red ray
coming out of the drops is 42 degrees for red, and 40 degrees for
violet. You can see in this diagram that the angles cause
different colours from different drops to reach your e-e, forming
a circular rim of colour in the sky-a rainbow! In a double
rainbow, the second bow is produced because droplets can have
two reflections internally and get the same effect. The droplets
have to be the right size to get two reflections to work.

Why Is the Sky Blue?

Here is something interesting to think about. When you look at
the sky at night it is black, with the stars and the moon forming
points of light on that black background. So why is it that,
during the day, the sky does not remain black with the sun
acting as another point of light? Why does the daytime sky turn
a bright blue and the stars disappear?
The first thing to recognize is that the sun is an extremely bright
source of light-much brighter than the moon. The second thing
to recognize is that the atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the
v atmosphere have an effect on the sunlight that passes through
them. There is a physical phenomenon called "Rayleigh
scattering" that causes light to scatter when it passes through
particles that have a diameter 1/10th of that of the wavelength
(colour) of the light. Sunlight is made up of all different colours
of light, but because of the elements in the atmosphere, the
ci I SpO_ V'S(D fk, colour blue is scattered much more efficiently than other colours.
So when you look at the sky on a clear day, you can see the sun
as a bright disk. The blueness you see everywhere else is all of
the atoms in the atmosphere scattering blue light toward you
(but not scattering red light, yellow light, green light, etc., nearly
as well).

Sundogs*
Explanation: What if you woke up one morning and saw more
than one sun in the sky? Most probably, you would be seeing
sundogs, extra images of the sun created by falling ice crystals in
the earth's atmosphere. As water freezes in the atmosphere,
small, flat, six-sided, ice crystals might be formed. As these
crystals flutter to the ground, much time is spent with their
0
*Reprinted from <http://antwrp.gsfe.nasa.gov/apo(i/ap990823.html
>
 I

32 Module 4, Lesson 3 Grade 8 Science

faces flat, parallel to the ground. An observer may pass through

the same plane as many of the falling ice crystals near sunrise or
sunset. During this alignment, each crystal can act like a
miniature lens, refracting sunlight into our view and creating
parhelia, the technical term for sundogs.

Questions: Natural Light Phenomena

1. Which phenomenon is created by the refraction of light and

what medium causes the refraction?

:2^ '
Ice- C'O!^!j s &h

2. Which phenomenon is created by the reflection of light and

off what material is light being reflected?
c

3. Were any phenomena created through any combination of

reflection, dispersion, and/or refraction? IfIr so, which?

1L GC ^,1" f / d 111` a eC^'^ Gt/

c t aC J rii •
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