Grade 6 light

Luminous objects
The objects which emit light by their own. Examples: - Sun, flame of a burning candle.
Non-luminous objects
The objects which cannot emit light on their own. These objects reflect light from luminous bodies.
Examples: - Moon, Earth.
How we see things

• Light from a source like the Sun, falls on the object.

• The object reflects light in all possible directions.
• The reflected light from the object reaches our eyes.
• Our brain receives the information from the eyes making
us see the object
IMPORTANT PROPERTIES OF LIGHT

• Light travels in a straight line.

• The speed of light is faster than sound. Light travels at a speed of 3 x 10 8 m/s in air.
• Light can travel to vacuum; it does not need medium to travel.
• Reflection of light
• Refraction of light
• Dispersion of light
MATERIALS CAN BE CLASSIFIED BASED ON THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT THEY TRANSMIT.
TRANSPARENT OBJECTS.

• Transparent objects allow most of the light to transmit (pass through) them.
• A very small amount of light is reflected or absorbed.
• Any object can be seen through a transparent
material.
• Materials like air, water, and clear glass are
transparent.

TRANSLUCENT OBJECTS
• Those objects through which light can pass partially
are called translucent objects.
• It allows some light to transmit but scatter it, some
light is also reflected or absorbed.
• Any object, seen through a translucent material,
appears fuzzy or blurred.
• e.g. tracing paper, waxed paper, frosted glass and some plastics.
OPAQUE OBJECTS

• The object which does not allow the light to

transmit through are called opaque objects.
• Opaque materials either reflect or absorb any
incident light.
• For example, wood, stone, and metals are opaque to visible light.
Shadow
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object.
It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it.
Reflection of Light
It is the process of bouncing back light rays when it strikes the smooth and shiny reflecting surface.
According to the laws of reflection
• The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane
• The angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
Normal: A perpendicular drawn to the reflecting surface at
point O (known as the point of incidence).
Incident Ray: A ray of light that falls on the reflecting surface
from a light source or an object.
Reflected Ray: A ray of light that arises from the reflecting
surface after reflection from it.
Angle of Incidence: The angle between the incident ray and
normal to the point of incidence on the reflecting surface. It
is denoted by ∠i.
Angle of Reflection: The angle between the reflected ray and
the normal to the point of incidence on the reflecting
surface. It is denoted by ∠r.
TYPES OF REFLECTION
REGULAR/SPECULAR REFLECTION
It is the reflection of light ray, when they meet (fall on) a smooth (uniform) and
shining reflecting surface, where the incident light rays are reflected in one
direction.
Examples: a plane mirror, a thin sheet of aluminium (foil), and a stainless-steel
sheet.
IRREGULAR/DIFFUSE REFLECTION
It is the reflection of light when they meet (fall on) a rough (non-uniform)
reflecting surface, where the incident light rays are reflected in different angles,
Examples: a leaf of a tree, a piece of paper, a piece of leather, and a piece of
wool.
REFRACTION

• It is the bending of a light wave when it passes from one medium to another.
• The bending is caused due to the differences in density between the two substances.
• Change of speed results in change in direction
• When light moves from rarer to denser medium, speed decreases and the rays are bent towards
the normal.
• When a light ray passes from a denser to a rarer medium, speed increases and it bends away from
the normal.
REFRACTION IN WATER

• When you look at an object in water from above, it appears

shallower than it actually is.
• This is because the light rays bend as they move from the water to
the air, and your eyes trace them back as straight lines.
Following are the two conditions of total internal reflection:
The light ray moves from a denser medium to a rarer medium.
The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.
The angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is 90 degrees is called as the critical angle.

COLOUR
Dispersion

• The splitting of a ray of white light into its constituent colours is called dispersion
• White light consists of seven different colours.
• This means white light is a mixture of every other colour,
• The visible spectrum is arranged by wavelength:
Red → Orange → Yellow → Green → Blue → Indigo → Violet
 Why does Dispersion Happen?
It is due to the change of speed of light of different wavelengths due to a change in density of a medium.
RED LOWEST ENERGY LONGER WAVELENGTH BEND LESS
VIOLET HIGHEST ENERGY SHORTER WAVELENGTH BEND MORE
MAKING COLOURS
1. White Light
White light is made up of all the colors of the visible spectrum.
When passed through a prism, white light splits into its component colors (red, orange, yellow, green,
blue, indigo, violet) – known as the spectrum of light.
2. Primary Colors of Light
The primary colors of light are red, green, and blue.
Combining these in different ways creates other colors:
Red + Green = Yellow; Green + Blue = Cyan; Blue + Red = Magenta; All three = White light
3. Absorption and Reflection
Objects appear colored because they absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others.
Example: A red apple absorbs all colors except red, which is reflected.
4. Transmission of Colors
Transparent and translucent objects can transmit certain colors while absorbing others.
Example: A green glass transmits green light but absorbs other colors.
5. Filters
Colored filters only allow specific wavelengths (colors) of light to pass through and block the rest.
Example: A blue filter transmits blue light and absorbs others.

An object reflects light that matches colour of the object and it absorbs all other colours of
light.
CAMERA AND EYES
Human Eye Parts and Their Functions
1. Cornea: The transparent, curved front part of the eye that focuses light onto the retina.
2. Iris: The colored part of the eye that adjusts the size of the pupil.
3. Pupil: The black opening in the center of the iris that controls the amount of light entering the eye
▪ In bright light, it constricts (becomes smaller) to reduce the amount of light entering,
protecting the retina from damage.
▪ In dim light, it dilates (becomes larger) to allow more light to enter, improving vision in
low-light conditions.
4. Lens: A flexible, transparent structure that changes shape to focus light onto the retina.
▪ The shape of the lens changes (becomes thinner or thicker) depending on the distance of
the object
 ▪ For distant objects, the lens becomes thin.
▪ For near objects, the lens becomes thicker.
5. Retina: A light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye where the image(inverted) is formed.
▪ The photoreceptor cells such as rods and cones in the retina detect light:
▪ Rods are mainly around the edge of the retina and sensitive to dim light.
▪ Cones are mainly found in centre of the retina and they are sensitive to bright light and
colour. Detect colors (red, green, blue)
6. Optic Nerve: Sends the image signals (IMPULSES) from the retina to
the brain for interpretation.
Camera Parts and Their Functions

1. Lens: Focuses light onto the camera sensor to form a clear image.
2. Aperture: Controls the amount of light entering the camera (like a hole
that widens or narrows).
3. Shutter: Opens and closes to allow light in for a specific amount of time
(controls exposure).
4. Sensor (or Film): Captures the light to create an image. In digital cameras,
this is the electronic sensor.
5. Viewfinder/Screen: Displays the image that the lens focuses on.
6. Memory Card: Stores the captured images.

PINHOLE CAMERA

• It consists of a box or cylinder painted black inside, a small pinhole at one end, and a translucent
screen (like wax paper) at the other end.
• Light from an object passes through the pinhole and creates an inverted (upside-down) and real
image on the screen.
• The size of the image depends on
(i) size of the pinhole (ii) distance between object and camera
• Smaller pinhole: Sharper but dimmer image (less light enters).
• Larger pinhole: Brighter but blurrier image (more light enters
and scatters).
• Closer objects: Larger image on the screen.
• Farther objects: Smaller image on the screen.

IMAGE FORMED BY A PLANE MIRROR

• A plane mirror is a flat surface that produce an erect (up right) and virtual image of a real object in
which left and right are reversed (laterally inverted).
• Light rays from an object strikes the surface of plane mirror.
• The rays are reflected on the mirror and appear to come from behind the mirror.
• Our eye-mind system extrapolates that the reflected rays are drawn from the image.
• A virtual image is an image formed by light rays that only appear to come from a particular
location, but do not actually converge there.

CHARACTERISTICS OF IMAGE FORMED BY A PLANE MIRROR

• Image is virtual and erect.
• Image is formed behind the mirror.
• Image formed is of same size.
• The image formed is at the same distance behind the mirror as the objects is in front of it.
• Image formed is laterally inverted.

LENSES
A lens is a transparent optical device with at least one curved surface that cause light rays to refracts
(bends) to form an image.
Lenses can be made from glass or plastic and come in two basic types:
1. Convex Lenses (Converging Lenses)
2. Concave Lenses (Diverging Lenses)

• Focal point – The point where the rays meet.

• Focal length – The focal length is the distance between the center of the lens and the focal point.
CONVEX LENS

• A convex lens is thicker in the middle and thinner at

the edges. It is also known as a converging lens
because it converges (focuses) light rays that are
parallel to its optical axis.
• Convex lenses are used in a variety of optical devices
such as magnifying glasses, eyeglasses for
farsightedness, cameras, and microscopes.
• Convex lenses can form real, inverted images and
smaller than the object when the object is beyond the focal point.
• Convex lenses can form virtual, upright, and magnified images when the object is closer than
the focal point.
• The thicker is the lens, the less focal length.