Quarter 4 – Module 2 Propagation of Light, Reflection and Refraction

ACTIVITY 1
I. Multiple Choice
Read each statement and choose the best answer by writing the letter of your choice.
1. What principle is responsible for light spreading as it passes through a narrow slit?
a. Refraction c. Diffraction
b. Polarization d. Interference
2. What principle is responsible for alternating light and dark bands when light passes through two or more narrow
slits?
1
a. Refraction c. Diffraction
b. Polarization d. Interference
3. Newton's idea that a light beam consists of tiny particles did NOT correctly predict
a. that light beams travel in straight lines.
b. that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.
c. the law of refraction.
d. that the speed of light in substances with high refractive indices is lower than that in air.
4. The dispersion of light when it passes through a prism shows that
a. the prism contains many narrow, equally spaced slits.
b. all wavelengths have the same speed in a material.
c. different wavelengths have different speeds in the material.
d. the index of refraction is the same for all wavelengths.
5. The principle which allows a rainbow to form is
a. refraction c. dispersion
b. polarization d. total internal reflection
6. Holograms may be viewed with
a. light from a laser. c. a spot light.
b. sunlight. d. All of the above.
7. Which of the following phenomena does NOT show a difference between the wave theory and particle theory of
light?
a. reflection c. interference
b. refraction d. diffraction
8. Which of the following effects occurs for transverse waves but not for longitudinal waves?
a. interference c. polarization
b. diffraction d. refraction
9. If all the labels have come off the sunglasses in the drug store, you could tell which ones were polarized by a.
feeling their surfaces.
b. scratching the lenses to see if they are plastic.
c. looking through two lenses and rotating one.
d. looking at the light from florescent lights.
10. What principle is responsible for the fact that certain sunglasses can reduce glare from reflected surfaces?
a. Refraction
b. Polarization
c. diffraction
d. total internal reflection

Activity 2. Search the Light!

Directions: Search the different terms related to propagation of light, reflection, refraction and relevant matters
pertaining to the light that act as a wave and a particle.
 P L H I N T E M E D W F W T V I
A I E I C H E S Q W E R A Y U N
R G H P R S D R G H H F V J K T
T H F R E Q U E N C Y I E E D E
I T R T F U I F F Z A R S D I R
C H J T L I S R L L I G H T S F
L S C X E F N A O R J K L Z P E
C V B N C Q W C O D E R T Y E R
E O P A T D U T D G H J K E R E
X C V B I M Q I W E R T Y R S N
G R O U O D O O K T O N A O I C
F G H J N L Z N C E B N M S O E
P O L A R I Z A T I O N N I N Y

I. Propagation of light refers to the manner in which an electromagnetic wave transfer it’s energy from one point to
another. Three main processes generally occur when light passes between boundaries from one medium to another.
• Transmission
• Reflection
• Refraction
The propagation of light, unlike many other familiar waves, does not need a medium in which to oscillate. Light
propagates in plasma and the free electrons are driven to oscillate, but the electrons generally impede the wave
oscillation rather than aid the process. It becomes impossible for light to travel through an unmagnetised plasma if
the frequency of the radiation is less than the plasma's natural oscillation frequency (Tallents, G.J., 2018).
The property of light travelling in a straight line is called as the rectilinear propagation of light.
A light source can be seen only if there is a straight-line path between the source and our eyes. Examples:
1. Sunrays entering a dark room through a small opening appear to travel in a straight line.
2. Light from torch, headlights of cars, etc. appears to travel in a straight line.
3. Light from a projector travels in a straight line in the form of light rays towards the screen.
4. Light emitted from a laser pointer appears to travel in a straight line.(Nolan, K.T.,2007)
You will understand the propagation of light with a simple experiment. Place a candle on a table and light it. Place three
cardboard sheets blocking your view of the candle. In these cardboard sheets make three pinholes at equal heights such
that the flame of the candle is visible through the cardboard sheets. Now view the flame through the holes, you’ll find it
visible. Now move one of the cardboard sheets and try to see the flame. Can you? On moving the cardboard sheet, you
will see that the flame is no longer visible. Now bring the sheets back in line. The flame is visible again.(Rectilinear
Propagation And Reflection Of Light,2021)

Source:https://www.google.com/search?q=rectilinear+propagation+of+light+images&hl=en&sxsrf=ALeKk01
II. Reflection occurs when a wave hits boundary between two media where the wave speeds differ, but the wave stays
in the original medium instead of passing into the second medium. The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.
The law of reflection states that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. The law of reflection is illustrated
in Figure 1.5, which also shows how the angle of incidence and angle of reflection are measured relative to the
perpendicular to the surface at the point where the light ray strikes.

Figure 1.5 The law of reflection states that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence—θr=θi.θr=θi. The angles
are measured relative to the perpendicular to the surface at the point where the ray strikes the surface.
Source:(The Law of Reflection,2021)
Particle and a wave reflection
An excellent comparison of the wave and particle theories involves the differences that occur when light is reflected
from smooth, specular surface, such as a mirror. This interactive tutorial explores how particles and waves behave when
reflected from smooth surface.
Particles and waves should also behave differently when they encounter the edge of an object and form a shadow .
When light is passed through a narrow slit, the beam spreads and becomes wider than expected. This fundamentally
important observation lends a significant amount of credibility to the wave theory of light. Like waves in water, light
waves encountering the edge of an object appear to around the edge and into its geometric shadow, which is a region
that is directly illuminated by the light This behavior is analogous to waves that wrap around the end of a raft, instead of
reflecting away.
III. Refraction is the change of the propagation direction of
waves when they pass into a medium where bend they have a
different speed. It happens whenever the waves are
incident to the surface at an angle different to the normal to
not
beam.
water
 the surface. When moving to a medium where the waves slow down,
the wave direction moves towards the normal (Snell's Law).
(Molecular
Expressions Microscopy Primer: Physics of Light and Color - Light:
Particle or a Wave?, 2021)
Particle and Wave Refraction
When a beam of light travels between two media having different
refractive indices, the beam undergoes refraction, and changes
direction when it passes from the first medium into the second. This interactive tutorial explores how particles and
waves behave when refracted through a transparent surface.
Figure 1.7
https://www.olympuslifescience.com/en/microscope-resource/primer/lightandcolor/particleorwave/
To determine whether the light beam is composed of waves or particles, a model for each can be devised to explain the
phenomenon (Figure 1.7). According to Huygens' wave theory, a small portion of each angled wavefront should impact
the second medium before the rest of the front reaches the interface. This portion will start to move through the second
medium while the rest of the wave is still traveling in the first medium, but will move more slowly due to the higher
refractive index of the second medium. Because the wavefront is now traveling at two different speeds, it will bend into
the second medium, thus changing the angle of propagation. In contrast, particle theory has a rather difficult time
explaining why particles of light should change direction when they pass from one medium into another. Proponents of
the theory suggest that a special force, directed perpendicular to the interface, acts to change the speed of the particles
as they enter the second medium. The exact nature of this force was left to speculation, and no evidence has ever been
collected to prove the theory.
In the case for a particle nature for light is far stronger with regards to the reflection phenomenon than it is for
refraction. Light emitted by a source, whether near or far, arrives at the mirror surface as a stream of particles, which
bounce away or are reflected from the smooth surface. Because the particles are very tiny, a huge number are involved
in a propagating light beam, where they travel side by side very close together. Upon impacting the mirror, the particles
bounce from different points, so their order in the light beam is reversed upon reflection to produce a reversed image,
as demonstrated in Figure 2.(Waldman, G., 2002)
Huygens' theory of light refraction
Based on the concept of the wave-like nature of light, held that the velocity of light in any substance was inversely
proportion to its refractive index. In other words, Huygens postulated that the more light was "bent" or refracted by a
substance, the slower it would move while traversing across that substance. His followers concluded that if light were
composed of a stream of particles, then the opposite effect would occur because light entering a denser medium would
be attracted by molecules in the medium and experience an increase, rather than a decrease, in speed.
Huygens believed that ether vibrated in the same direction as light, and formed a wave itself as it carried the light
waves. In a later volume, Huygens' Principle, he ingeniously described how each point on a wave could produce its own
wavelets, which then add together to form a
wavefront.(https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/lightandcolor/particleorwave.html#:~:text=Huygens'%20the ory%20of
%20light%20refraction,proportion%20to%20its%20refractive%20index.&text=Light%20appeared%20to%2 0move
%20at,material%20through%20which%20it%20passed.)
Wave Theory of Light
Most of the time, light behaves as a wave and it is categorized as one of the electromagnetic waves because it is made
of both electric and magnetic fields. Electromagnetic fields perpendicularly oscillate to the direction of wave travel and
are perpendicular to each other. As a result of which, they are known as transverse waves. A few characteristics of light
are as follows:
• While dealing with light waves, we deal with the sine waveform. The period of the waveform is
one full 0 to 360-degree sweep.
• Light waves have two important characteristics known as wavelength and frequency.
• The distance between the peaks of the wave is known as the wavelength. In the case of a light
wave, the wavelengths are in the order of nanometers.
• Frequency is the number of waves that will cross past a point in a second.
• As proposed by Einstein, light is made of tiny packets of energy known as photons. The formula
devised by Planck determines the energy of a photon and it also shows that the energy is directly
proportional to the frequency of the light.
E=hf, where h is the Planck’s constant 6.63X10-34 Joule Second. (Retrieved from:
https://byjus.com/physics/wavetheory-of-light/).
Corpuscular Theory Definition
 The corpuscular theory states that light is made up of tiny particles called ‘corpuscles’ (little particles)
that always travel in a straight line.
 These particles (corpuscles) are perfectly elastic.
 The corpuscles are emitted from the luminous sources such as Sun, candle, electric lamp etc.
 The tiny particles (corpuscles) always travel in a straight line in all directions.
 Each particle (corpuscle) carries kinetic energy with it while moving.
 The corpuscles travel at high velocity.
 The corpuscles (light) would travel faster in the denser medium than in rarer medium. But later this is
proved wrong. We know that light travels faster in the rarer medium than in densermedium.
 When the particles (corpuscles) fall on the retina of the eye, they produce an image of the object or
sensation of vision.
  The corpuscles can be of different sizes. The different colors of light are due to the different sizes of the
corpuscles.
 Light is a form of energy that travels from one place to another place at high velocity. Various scientists
have attempted to explain the nature of light. However, the first scientific attempt to explain the nature of light
was made by Sir Isaac Newton.
 The corpuscular theory is the simplest theory of light in which light is assumed as the tiny particles called
‘corpuscles’. The corpuscular theory is often referred to as particle theory or Newton’s theory of light.
Corpuscular theory example
The corpuscular theory could be easily understood with a simple example  Take a rubber ball.
 Stand before a wall.
 Throw the ball in such a way that it hits the wall normally.

Source: Physics and Radio Electrics: A Journey of Ideas:https;//www.physics-and-radioelectronics.com/blog/corpuscular-

theory-light/

Activity 3. Identification.
Based on the found terms in activity 1. Identify the meaning of the terms below. Write your answer in your physical
science notebook.
_________________1. Newton proposed this theory that treats light as being composed of tiny particles.
_________________2. Proposed by Huygens, this theory describes light as waves that spread out from the source that
generates the light.
_________________3. This occurs when a wave hits boundary between two media where the wave speeds differ, but
the wave stays in the original medium instead of passing into the second medium.
_________________4. It is the change of the propagation direction of waves when they pass into a medium where they
have a different speed.
_________________5. A scientist concluded that light travels in a manner similar to waves in the ocean.
_________________6. It is based on the concept of the wave-like nature of light, held that the velocity of light in any
substance was inversely proportion to its refractive index.
_________________7.It refers to the manner in which an electromagnetic wave transfer it’s energy from one point to
another.
_________________8. It is known as the distance between the peaks of the wave.
_________________9.As proposed by Einstein, light is made of tiny packets of energy known as what?
_________________10. Light is made up of tiny particles called?

Activity 4. Just Show the Signs.

Below are statements relative to wave model and the particle model of light. Identify which of the following statements
are true by putting a check mark (/) in the remarks and if false put a cross mark (X).
Description and Statement Remarks
1. The smallest piece of light is called a electron.
2. The wave model of light pictures light travelling as a wave.
3. Light is a form of energy that travels from one place to another place at high velocity.
4. Newton's corpuscular theory stated that light consisted of particles that travelled in straight lines.

5. Electromagnetic radiation behaves like waves of energy most of the time, but sometimes it behaves
like particles.
6. The particle theory also suggests that if the surface is very rough, the particles bounce away at a
variety of angles, scattering the light.
7. The corpuscular theory states that light is made up of tiny particles called ‘corpuscles’ (little
particles) that always travel in a straight line.
8. When light passes through a small opening, the waves spread out. If the wavelength is short, the
waves spread out very little, whereas longer wavelengths spread out more.
9. A photon contains a flexible energy, flexible momentum, a flexible spin, and can be measured to
have a single fixed location in space.
10. Light has photons, which are particles and light also has a wave-like properties

Activity 5: Familiarizing colors!

 Direction/s: Familiarized that colors in relation to its wavelength, frequency and photon energy. Then answer the
guide questions below. Just Write your answer on the physical science notebook.

Color Wavelength Frequency Photon energy

380–450 nm 670–790 THz 2.75–3.26 eV

Violet

450–485 nm 620–670 THz 2.56–2.75 eV

Blue

485–500 nm 600–620 THz 2.48–2.56 eV

Cyan
500–565 nm 530–600 THz 2.19–2.48 eV
Green
565–590 nm 510–530 THz 2.10–2.19 eV
Yellow
590–625 nm 480–510 THz 1.98–2.10 eV
Orange
625–700 nm 400–480 THz 1.65–1.98 eV
Red
Source:Thomas J. Bruno, 2016
Guide Questions:
1. How does the photon concept and the fact that the energy of a photon that is directly proportional to its
frequency be used to explain why a red light is used in photographic dark rooms?
2. Why Cannot other colors be used in a photographic dark room other than red?
3. Why is red light so dark?
4. Does blue light cause aging?
5. Is red light bad for you? Why?