Properties of Light

Reflection implies the rebounding of light as it hits a reflecting surface without absorbing it.
 The law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
 Real images appear in front of mirrors. These can be projected on screen. Virtual images
appear behind mirrors. These images cannot be projected on a screen.
 Reflected rays in a convex mirror or converging mirror meet at the principal focus; reflected rays in
a diverging mirror meet at the virtual focus.
 Convex mirror forms images that are always virtual, upright and smaller than the object.

Refraction can be understood as the phenomenon of light, wherein the wave is diverted when it
passes diagonally through the interface between two media of different densities. It refers to the shift
in direction and speed of the beam of light because of the change in transmission medium.

 Light rays are refracted when they pass at an angle from one medium to another. The bending of
light is due to the change in its speed as it passes from one medium to another.
 The angle of incidence is greater than the angle of refraction when light passes from a less dense
to a denser medium.
 Light travel Faster in a less dense than a denser medium.
 Lens can correct eye problems:
o Nearsightedness or myopia is a vision defect by too long eyeballs. It is the inability of the
eye to focus on distant objects. Person can see nearby objects but not far objects. A
concave lens is used to correct short-sightedness (myopia)
o Farsightedness or hyperopia is a vision defect cause by too short eyeballs. It is the
inability of the eye to focus on nearby objects. Person can see far objects but not near
objects. A convex lens is used to correct farsightedness.

Types of Reflection

1. Specular reflection- occurs in smooth

surfaces like mirrors, causes light rays to
reflect at the same angle as they hit the
surface.

2. Diffuse reflection, which occurs in

rougher surfaces, scatters light rays in
different directions.
Geometric Optics

Images can be formed either by reflection or Refraction of light. The image formation can be illustrated by ray
diagrams in geometric optics and can also be proven mathematically using the mirror or lens equation and
magnification.

Some of the important quantities/ Terms needed in the image formation by lens or mirror:

 Object distance (p)- distance of the object from the mirror/ lens
 Image distance( q)- distance of the image from the mirror/ lens
 Focal Length (f) – half of the radius of the curvature (R) of the reflecting or the refracting surfaces; the
distance between the center of the mirror/ lens to the focal point ( F).
 Focal point ( F)- The point where the incident parallel rays come to a focus after the reflection or
refraction.
 Principal axis- Straight line perpendicular to the flat or curved reflecting or refracting surfaces
 Magnification (M)- tells whether the image formed is maximize, diminish or same size as the object.
 Image size (h’)- size of the image
 Object size (h)- size of the object
Real images are usually inverted while virtual images are erect.

 Real image is formed when light rays pass through or diverge from the image point and can be
displayed on screen.
 Virtual Image- do not pass through the image point but only appear to diverge from that point and
cannot be displayed on the screen
 Upright image is an image formed in upright/ vertical position
 Inverted image is an image formed which turns upside-down.
Images can also be diminished, maximize or same size as the object.

 Reduced image- is the image formed that is smaller than the object
 Enlarged image- is the image formed that is larger than the object.
 Same size image- is the image formed that is similar to the size of the object.
Mirror- is a highly reflective surface made of glass or polished metal that reflect light without diffusing it so that
it will give back a clear image of anything placed in front of it.

2 Kinds of mirror

1. Plane Mirror- is a flat reflecting surface with very large radius of curvature. An image formed by a plane
mirror is always virtual, upright and same size as the object

Formula in solving for the number of images formed in mirror:

360
N= –1
Ѳ
2. Spherical Mirror

A. Convex ( Diverging mirror)- has reflecting surface on the outer surface of the sphere. It has a wider
view and is always produces an image which is virtual, erect and diminished.

B. Concave ( converging mirror)- has reflecting surface on the inner surface of the sphere

RAY DIAGRAM---A ray diagram is a representation of the possible paths light

can take to get from one place to another.
LENS

A spherical lens is a curved piece of glass or some other transparent material that can refract light. It may be
concave (diverging) and convex (converging).
A concave lens is thinner at the center than at the edges while a convex lens is thicker at the middle than at
the edges.

Ray diagrams are used to describe the location, size and kind of image formed. A lens has two surfaces
therefore it has two focal points, F and F’, and the center of the lens, V between them. The focal points have
the same distance from the midpoint of the lens O. The distance between the lens’ midpoint and its focal point
is called the focal length. A lens has an imaginary point referred to as 2F that is twice as far from the center of
the lens as the focal point is.