Physical Science: Quarter 2 - Module 10 The Wave Nature of Light
Physical Science: Quarter 2 - Module 10 The Wave Nature of Light
Physical Science: Quarter 2 - Module 10 The Wave Nature of Light
Quarter 2 – Module 10
The Wave Nature of Light
Physical Science
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 10: The Wave Nature of Light
First Edition, 2020
Republic Act 8293, section 176 states that: No copyright shall subsist in any work of
the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office
wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such
agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties.
Borrowed materials (i.e., songs, stories, poems, pictures, photos, brand names,
trademarks, etc.) included in this module are owned by their respective copyright holders.
Every effort has been exerted to locate and seek permission to use these materials from their
respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors do not represent nor claim ownership
over them.
Welcome to the Physical Science for Grade 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)
Module on the Wave Nature of Light!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by educators both
from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping
the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum while overcoming
their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:
As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.
ii
For the learner:
Welcome to the Physical Science for Grade 11 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)
Module on the Wave Nature of Light!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.
What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.
iii
What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will
help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.
1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.
We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!
iv
What I Need to Know
This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction. The scope of this module permits
it to be used in many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the
diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.
The module has one lesson: Diffraction, Interference, Dispersion, and Scattering.
1
What I Know
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. What phenomenon occurs when colors of a rainbow are seen when light
passes through a glass prism?
a. Scattering of light
b. Diffraction of light
c. Dispersion of light
d. Reflection of light
2. Why is the spectrum of light separated into its components of color when
white light is directed to a prism?
a. The different colors in the white light bend away from the normal line
at different angles when entering prism ingestion.
b. The different colors in the white light bend towards the normal line at
different angles when entering prism.
c. The different colors in the white light bend away from the normal at
same speed to each other when entering prism.
d. The different colors in the white light bend towards the normal at
same speed to each other when entering prism
a. Indigo
b. Purple
c. Blue
d. Green
2
5. Why does scattering of light occur?
a. Light rays are blocked and reflected to all directions by the clouds or
particles in the air.
b. Light rays are passing through and refracted to all directions by the
clouds or particles in the air
c. Light rays are blocked and refracted to all directions by the clouds or
particles in the air
d. Light rays are passing through and are dispersed by raindrops acting
as multiple prisms.
a. Air particles
b. Solid particles
c. Liquid particles
d. Colloidal particles
a. Interference
b. Scattering
c. Diffraction
d. Dispersion
8. What principle is responsible for alternating light and dark bands when light
passes through two or more narrow slits?
a. Interference
b. Scattering
c. Diffraction
d. Dispersion
3
a. i only
b. ii only
c. both i and ii
d. neither i and ii
11. If your slits from the double slit experiment are further apart, the light waves
will:
a. two rocks are thrown at the same time into a body of water
b. the same song played on two speakers
c. two different light sources side by side
d. light reflected from a film of oil floating on water
a. i only
b. ii only
c. both i and ii
d. neither i and ii
14. Which of the following phenomena does NOT show a difference between the
wave theory and particle theory of light?
a. reflection
b. refraction
c. interference
d. diffraction
15. When light __________ interferes, the result is __________ light overall, and
when light __________ interferes, the result is __________ light overall.
a. constructively . . . brighter . . . destructively . . . less bright
b. destructively . . . brighter . . . constructively . . . less bright
c. subtractively . . . brighter . . . additionally . . . less bright
d. additionally . . . brighter . . . subtractively . . . less bright
4
Lesson
Diffraction, Interference,
1 Dispersion, and Scattering
What’s In
Electromagnetic Waves
Both light waves and radio waves are examples of electromagnetic waves,
meaning that they fall on the same electromagnetic spectrum as infrared
waves (the radiated heat you feel from a stove), ultraviolet waves (the radiation
that causes sunburns), and microwaves (the radiation that’s used to cook food
in a microwave).
Because these are all waves, they all have a wavelength that determines the
distance over which their amplitude changes. Radio waves can have
wavelengths as wide as your arms (and even longer!), while visible light waves
have wavelengths as small as a thousandth of the width of a human hair.
5
What’s New
1. Copy the table below on a separate sheet of paper which would serve as
your answer sheet. Given double slits (S1 and S2) in a barrier and rays
from a light source, what is your expected result that you would see in
your viewing screen? Draw it on your paper.
6
Activity 1.1. Visualizing Light as a Wave
Expectation Observed Result
7
What is It
8
Light Sources for Interference
Looking back to your double-slit experiment, you observed wave interference
when you used a single source of light, and as it passes the two slits it acts
as if there were two sources of radiation. This is what you call coherent
sources since they are maintaining a constant phase relationship (same
wavelength and frequency).
If two different sources are placed side by side, no interference effects can be
observed because the light are emitted independently. The emissions from the
sources do not maintain a constant phase relationship with each other over
time and are called incoherent sources.
Moreover, you need to have plane waves of light of a single wavelength for
interference to work, called monochromatic light.
Wave Interference
When two waves come close to one another, their effects add together. If the
crests, or highest parts of the waves, line up perfectly, then the crest of the
combined wave will be the sum of the heights of the two original crests.
Likewise, if the lowest parts of the waves (the troughs) line up just right, then
the combined trough will be the depth of the two original troughs combined.
This is known as constructive interference, in which two waves (of the same
wavelength) interact in such a way that they are aligned, leading to a new
wave that is bigger than the original wave.
9
However, if two waves are not perfectly aligned, then when the crest of one
wave comes along, it will be dragged down by the trough of the other wave.
The resulting, combined wave will have crests that are shorter than the crests
of either original wave, and troughs that are shallower than either of the
incoming waves. This is known as destructive interference.
In fact, if the two waves (with the same amplitude) are shifted by exactly half
a wavelength when they merge together, then the crest of one wave will match
up perfectly with the trough of the other wave, and they will cancel each other
out. The resulting combined wave will have no crests or troughs at all, and
will instead just look like a flat line, or no wave at all!
10
Double Slit Interference
Say you have a laser pointer. A laser is basically just a bunch of light waves
that all have the same wavelength and are all lined up with one another.
Suppose you place a card in front of the laser beam with two slits in it, such
that waves can only pass through two spots. You then measure the amount
of light that hits the wall on the other side of the room at various points.
11
For the experiment to work, the slits have to be tiny compared to the distance
from the card to the wall, but they have to be larger than a single wavelength
of the light. That means that if we choose a spot on the wall, two light waves
will be hitting it; one from the top slit and one from the bottom slit. As they
get close to the wall, and close to one another, they will start to interfere. We
know that the two waves were exactly the same when they got to the card, but
they won’t necessarily be the same when they reach the wall. Let’s choose a
spot on the wall to measure the two waves, say above the top slit.
The light coming from the bottom slit has to come much further than the light
from the top slit, so more wavelengths will be needed to travel the longer
distance. If we choose a different point on the wall, then we’ll get a different
number of wavelengths again for each path that the light takes from its slit to
the wall. The key is to compare the number of wavelengths it takes for each
light wave to travel from the slit to the wall. For constructive interference, the
difference in wavelengths will be an integer number of whole wavelengths. For
destructive interference it will be an integer number of whole wavelengths plus
a half wavelength.
Think of the point exactly between the two slits. The light waves will be
traveling the same distance, so they will be traveling the same number of
wavelengths. That means that there will always be constructive interference
at that spot, so we will always see a bright spot on the wall in the middle.
12
As you move away from the center point, the
two waves’ pathlengths (or total
distance travelled from the laser to the wall)
will get more and more different, until we
hit a point where they are the same plus a
half wavelength. At that point, one
of the waves will hit the wall with
a crest when the other hits with a
trough, so they will effectively cancel one
another out, resulting in a dark spot
there.
As we keep moving away from the center, the pathlengths will keep getting
different, until we get to the point where they are the same plus a whole
wavelength, so we’ll get constructive interference again, because the two
waves will meet at the same spot in their wavelength cycle. This will result in
another bright spot on the wall.
13
This pattern will keep alternating so that we get a pattern of light spots and
dark spots, both above and below our center bright spot.
If your slits are further apart, the light waves will be coming from spots that
are further apart. That means that their path lengths will be more different
from one another, giving bright spots that are closer together.
14
Notes to the Learner
If we compare single-slit diffraction to the double-slit
interference pattern, the spots are much larger and more spread
out. In particular, the center bright spot is much larger than it
would be for double slits with the same width.
We can view diffraction as light spreading out when it comes up
to a hole or other barrier and trying to get around that barrier.
In the process of spreading out, it interferes with itself to create
the pattern of light and dark spots that we call a diffraction
pattern.
Dispersion in Prisms
Visible light, also known as white light, consists of a collection of component
colors. These colors are often observed as light passes through a triangular
prism. Upon passage through the prism, the white light is separated into its
component colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet. The separation
of visible light into its different colors is known as dispersion.
15
Dispersed light in prisms can be seen as a rainbow with colors abbreviated as
ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).
Angle of Deviation
The amount of overall refraction caused by the passage of a light ray through
a prism is often expressed in terms of the angle of deviation (𝜃). The angle of
deviation is the angle made between the incident ray of light entering the first
face of the prism and the refracted ray that emerges from the second face of
the prism. Because of the different indices of refraction for the different
wavelengths of visible light, the angle of deviation varies with wavelength.
Colors of the visible light spectrum that have shorter wavelengths (BIV) will
deviated more from their original path than the colors with longer wavelengths
(ROY). The emergence of different colors of light from a triangular prism at
different angles leads an observer to see the component colors of visible light
separated from each other.
Light Scattering
16
Scattering of light is the phenomenon in which light rays get deviated from
its straight path on striking an obstacle like dust or gas molecules, water
vapors etc. Scattering of light gives rise to many spectacular phenomena such
as Tyndall effect and the “red hues of sunrise and sunset”.
Tyndall effect is the phenomenon of scattering of light by colloidal particles.
It is used to identify a true and a colloidal solution. We get to see Tyndall effect
in our surroundings very often, some of the examples are:
1. When a beam of sunlight enters the dark room through small hole or
window then its path become visible due to scattering of light by the
dust particles present in the room.
2. When a beam of light is projected on a screen from a projector in the
cinema hall, it becomes visible.
3. When sunlight passes through the canopy of a dense forest it gets
scattered by tiny water droplets.
17
Rayleigh scattering can be considered to be elastic scattering since the photon
energies of the scattered photons is not changed. An in-depth discussion on
this scattering and its relevance in our atmosphere can be found in the next
module.
What’s More
18
Activity 1.2. Increasing the Number of Slits
Single Slit Double Slits Seven (7) Slits
Explanation
3. Young’s double slit experiment breaks a single light beam into two sources.
Would the same pattern be obtained for two independent sources of light,
such as the headlights of a distant car? Explain.
19
1. Constructive interference occurs if the amplitudes of the waves combine and
form a bigger amplitude.
2. Destructive interference occurs if the waves are out of phase such that one
wave traveled an extra distance father, because the waves are not aligned.
3. Coherent sources occur when emissions come from a single light source,
having a constant phase relationship.
4. Incoherent sources occur when emissions from the sources do not maintain
a constant phase relationship with each other over time.
5. Monochromatic light means the light source consists of a single wavelength
only.
6. Diffraction is the spreading of light when it comes up to a hole or other
barrier.
7. Dispersion is the separation of visible light into its different colors.
8. Angle of deviation is the amount of overall refraction caused by the passage
of a light ray through a prism.
9. Scattering of light is the phenomenon in which light rays get deviated from
its straight path on striking an obstacle.
10. Tyndall effect is the phenomenon of scattering of light by colloidal particles.
11. Rayleigh scattering refers to the scattering of light off of the molecules of the
air
What I Can Do
Laser beams are directional, very intense, and narrow (only about 0.5 mm in
diameter). These properties lead to a number of applications in industry and
medicine. The following are just a few examples:
20
6. Holograms take advantage of the wave properties of light, as opposed to
traditional photography which is based on geometric optics. A
holographic image is produced by constructive and destructive
interference of a split laser beam.
7. One of the advantages of using a laser as a surgical tool is that it is
accompanied by very little bleeding.
8. Laser eye surgery has improved the vision of many people, without the
need for corrective lenses. A laser beam is used to change the shape of
the lens of the eye, thus changing its focal length.
Assessment
Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.
1. What phenomena occurs when colors of a rainbow are seen when light
passes through a glass prism?
a. Scattering of light
b. Diffraction of light
c. Dispersion of light
d. Reflection of light
a. The different colors in the white light bend away from the
normal line at different angles when entering prism ingestion.
b. The different colors in the white light bend towards the normal
line at different angles when entering prism.
c. The different colors in the white light bend away from the
normal at same speed to each other when entering prism.
d. The different colors in the white light bend towards the normal
at same speed to each other when entering prism
21
d. Pool seems shallower
a. Indigo
b. Purple
c. Blue
d. Green
a. Air particles
b. Solid particles
c. Liquid particles
d. Colloidal particles
a. Interference
b. Scattering
c. Diffraction
d. Dispersion
a. Interference
b. Scattering
c. Diffraction
d. Dispersion
22
9. Two light sources are said to be coherent if they:
a. i only
b. ii only
c. both i and ii
d. neither i and ii
11. If your slits from the double slit experiment are further apart, the
light waves will:
a. two rocks are thrown at the same time into a body of water
b. the same song played on two speakers
c. two different light sources side by side
d. light reflected from a film of oil floating on water
23
i. Plane waves of light of a single wavelength are needed for
interference to work.
ii. Diffraction can occur using different light sources
a. i only
b. ii only
c. both i and ii
d. neither i and ii
a. reflection
b. refraction
c. interference
d. diffraction
15. When light __________ interferes, the result is __________ light overall,
and when light __________ interferes, the result is __________ light
overall.
24
25
What I Know Assessment
1. C 1. C
2. A 2. A
3. C 3. C
4. B 4. B
5. B 5. B
6. D 6. D
7. C 7. C
8. A 8. A
9. B 9. B
10.C 10.C
11.A 11.A
12.C 12.C
13.A 13.A
14.A 14.A
15.A 15.A
Answer Key
References
26
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:
27