Light, Mirrors,

and Lenses
Light waves can be
absorbed, reflected, and
transmitted by matter.

SECTION 1
Properties of Light
Main Idea A source of light
gives off light rays that travel
outward in all directions.

SECTION 2
Reflection and Mirrors
Main Idea When a light
ray is reflected from a
surface, the angle of
incidence equals the
angle of reflection.

SECTION 3
Refraction and Lenses
Main Idea A light ray
changes direction when it
moves from one material
into another and changes
speed.

SECTION 4
Using Mirrors and Lenses
Main Idea Lenses and
mirrors are used to form
images of objects that Seeing the Light
cannot be seen with the
human eye. This lighthouse at Pigeon Point, California, produces beams of light
that can be seen for many miles. These intense light beams are
formed in the same way as a flashlight beam. The key ingredient is
a curved mirror that reflects the light from a bright source.
Science Journal Describe how you use mirrors and lenses during a typical day.

548
Chad Ehlers/Index Stock
 Start-Up Activities
Light, Mirrors, and Lenses
Make the following Foldable to
help you understand the prop-
Bending Light erties of and the relationship between light, mir-
rors, and lenses.
Everything you see results from light waves
entering your eyes. These light waves are
STEP 1 Fold a sheet of pape in half length-
either given off by objects, such as the Sun wise. Make the back edge about 5 cm
and lightbulbs, or reflected by objects, such longer than the front edge.
as trees, books, and people. Lenses and mir-
rors can cause light to change direction and
make objects seem larger or smaller.
STEP 2 Turn the paper so the
1. Place two paper cups next to each other fold is on the bottom.
and put a penny in the bottom of each cup. Then fold it into
2. Fill one of the cups with water and thirds.
observe how the penny looks.
STEP 3 Unfold and cut only the top layer
3. Looking straight down at the cups, slide along folds to make three tabs.
the cup with no water away from you just
until you can no longer see the penny.
4. Pour water into this cup and observe what
seems to happen to the penny.
5. Think Critically In your Science STEP 4 Label the Foldable as shown.
Journal, record your observations. Did Light, Mirrors, and Lenses
adding water make the cup look deeper
or shallower? Light Mirrors Lenses

Summarize in a Table As you read the chapter,

Preview this chapter’s content summarize the information you find about light,
and activities at mirrors, lenses.
ips.msscience.com

549
Chad Ehlers/Index Stock
 Learn It! Asking questions helps you to understand what
you read. As you read, think about the questions you’d like answered.
Often you can find the answer in the next paragraph or section. Learn to
ask good questions by asking who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Practice It! Read the following passage from Section 3.

Optical fibers are used most commonly in the

communications industry. For example, television
programs, computer information, and phone con-
versations can be coded into light signals. These
signals can then be sent from one place to another
using optical fibers. Because of total internal
reflection, signals cannot leak from one fiber to
another, causing interference. As a result, the sig-
nal is transmitted clearly.
— from page 566

Here are some questions you might ask about this paragraph:
• How are optical fibers used by the communications industry?
• What type of signals are sent through optical fibers?
• Why are signals transmitted clearly in optical fibers?

Apply It! As you read the

chapter, look for answers to lesson headings
that are in the form of questions.

550 A CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

 Test yourself. Create
questions and then
read to find answers
to your questions.
Use this to focus on the main ideas as you read the chapter.
Before you read the chapter, respond to the statements
below on your worksheet or on a numbered sheet of paper.
• Write an A if you agree with the statement.
• Write a D if you disagree with the statement.

After you read the chapter, look back to this page to see if you’ve
changed your mind about any of the statements.
• If any of your answers changed, explain why.
• Change any false statements into true statements.
• Use your revised statements as a study guide.

Before You Read Statement After You Read

A or D A or D
1 All objects give off light on their own.
2 You see an object when light rays travel from
your eyes to the object.
3 The color of an object depends on the wave-
lengths of the light waves reflected from the
object.
4 Light rays obey the law of reflection only if the
reflecting surface is very smooth.
5 Light waves travel at the same speed in all
Print out a worksheet materials.
of this page at
ips.msscience.com 6 A lens causes all light rays to pass through the
focal point of the lens.
7 The image formed by a lens depends on how far
the object is from the lens.
8 The purpose of the large concave mirror in a
reflecting telescope is to magnify objects.
9 A laser beam contains a single wavelength of
light.

550 B
 Properties of Light
What is light?
Drop a rock on the smooth surface of a pond and you’ll see
ripples spread outward from the spot where the rock struck. The
■ Describe the wave nature of
rock produced a wave much like the one in Figure 1. A wave is
light. a disturbance that carries energy through matter or space. The
■ Explain how light interacts with matter in this case is the water, and the energy originally comes
materials. from the impact of the rock. As the ripples spread out, they carry
■ Determine why objects appear
some of that energy.
to have color.
Light is another type of wave that carries energy. A source of
light such as the Sun or a lightbulb gives off light waves into
Everything you see comes from space, just as the rock hitting the pond causes waves to form in
information carried by light waves. the water. But while the water waves spread out only on the sur-
face of the pond, light waves spread out in all directions from
Review Vocabulary the light source. Figure 1 shows how light waves travel.
electromagnetic waves: waves Sometimes, however, it is easier to think of light in a differ-
created by vibrating electric ent way. A light ray is a narrow beam of light that travels in a
charges that can travel through
space or through matter straight line. You can think of a source of light as giving off, or
emitting, a countless number of light rays that are traveling
New Vocabulary away from the source in all directions.
•• light
medium
ray

Figure 1 Light moves

away in all directions
from a light source,
just as ripples spread
out on the surface
of water.

A source of light, such as a lightbulb, Ripples on the surface of a pond are produced by an
gives off light rays that travel away object hitting the water. The ripples spread out
from the light source in all directions. from the point of impact.

550 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

Dick Thomas/Visuals Unlimited
Light Travels Through Space There is, however, one
important difference between light waves and the water wave
ripples on a pond. If the pond dried up and had no water, rip-
ples could not form. Waves on a pond need a material—water—
in which to travel. The material through which a wave travels is Observing Colors
called a medium. Light is an electromagnetic wave and doesn’t in the Dark
need a medium in which to travel. Electromagnetic waves can Procedure
travel in a vacuum, as well as through materials such as air, 1. Get six pieces of paper
water, and glass. that are different colors
and about 10 cm
10 cm.
Light and Matter 2. Darken a room and wait
10 min for your eyes to
What can you see when you are in a closed room with no adjust to the darkness.
windows and the lights out? You can see nothing until you turn 3. Write on each paper what
on a light or open a door to let in light from outside the room. color you think the paper is.
4. Turn on the lights and see
Most objects around you do not give off light on their own. if your night vision cor-
They can be seen only if light waves from another source bounce rectly detected the colors.
off them and into your eyes, as shown in Figure 2. The process
Analysis
of light striking an object and bouncing off is called reflection. 1. If the room were perfectly
Right now, you can see these words because light emitted by a dark, what would you see?
source of light is reflecting from the page and into your eyes. Explain.
Not all the light rays reflected from the page strike your eyes. 2. Your eyes contain rod cells
Light rays striking the page are reflected in many directions, and and cone cells. Rod cells
only some of these rays enter your eyes. enable you to see in dim
light, but don’t detect
What must happen for you to see most objects? color. Cone cells enable
you to see color, but do not
work in dim light. Which
type of cell was working in
the darkened room?
Explain.

Figure 2 Light waves are given

off by the lightbulb. Some of these
light waves hit the page and are
reflected. The student sees the page
when some of these reflected waves
enter the student’s eyes.

SECTION 1 Properties of Light 551

John Evans
An opaque object allows no light A translucent object allows some A transparent object allows almost
to pass through it. light to pass through it. all light to pass through it.

Figure 3 Materials are opaque,

translucent, or transparent, Opaque, Translucent, and Transparent When light
depending on how much light waves strike an object, some of the waves are absorbed by the
passes through them. object, some are reflected by it, and some might pass through it.
Infer which type of material What happens to light when it strikes the object depends on the
reflects the least amount of light. material that the object is made of.
All objects reflect and absorb some light waves. Materials
that let no light pass through them are opaque (oh PAYK). You
cannot see other objects through opaque materials. On the
other hand, you clearly can see other objects through materi-
als such as glass and clear plastic that allow nearly all the light
that strikes them to pass through. These materials are trans-
parent. A third type of material allows only some light to pass
Figure 4 A beam of white light through. Although objects behind these materials are visible,
passing through a prism is sepa- they are not clear. These materials, such as waxed paper and
rated into many colors. frosted glass, are translucent (trans LEW sent). Examples of
Describe the colors you see emerg- opaque, translucent, and transparent objects are shown in
ing from the prism. Figure 3.

Color
The light from the Sun might look white, but it
is a mixture of colors. Each different color of light
is a light wave with a different wavelength. Red
light waves have the longest wavelengths and vio-
let light waves have the shortest wavelengths. As
shown in Figure 4, white light is separated into
different colors when it passes through a prism.
The colors in white light range from red to violet.
When light waves from all these colors enter the
eye at the same time, the brain interprets the mix-
ture as being white.

552 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

(tl)Bob Woodward/The Stock Market/CORBIS, (tc)Ping Amranand/Pictor, (tr)SuperStock, (b)Runk/Schoenberger from Grant Heilman
 A pair of gym shoes and socks as seen The same shoes and socks photographed
under white light. through a red filter.

Why do objects have color? Why does grass look green or Figure 5 The color of an object
a rose look red? When a mixture of light waves strikes an object depends on the light waves it
that is not transparent, the object absorbs some of the light reflects.
waves. Some of the light waves that are not absorbed are Infer why the blue socks look black
when viewed under red light.
reflected. If an object reflects red waves and absorbs all the other
waves, it looks red. Similarly, if an object looks blue, it reflects
only blue light waves and absorbs all the others. An object that
reflects all the light waves that strike it looks white, while one
that reflects none of the light waves that strike it looks black.
Figure 5 shows gym shoes and socks as seen under white light
and as seen when viewed through a red filter that allows only red
light to pass through it.

Primary Light Colors How many colors exist? People often

say white light is made up of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and Figure 6 By mixing light from
the three primary colors—red,
violet light. This isn’t completely true, though. Many more colors
blue, and green—almost all of the
than this exist. In reality, most humans can distinguish thou-
visible colors can be made.
sands of colors, including some such as brown, pink, and purple,
that are not found among the colors of the rainbow.
Light of almost any color can be made by mixing
different amounts of red, green, and blue light. Red,
green, and blue are known as the primary colors.
Look at Figure 6. White light is produced where
beams of red, green, and blue light overlap. Yellow
light is produced where red and green light overlap.
You see the color yellow because of the way your
brain interprets the combination of the red and
green light striking your eye. This combination of
light waves looks the same as yellow light produced
by a prism, even though these light waves have only
a single wavelength.

SECTION 1 Properties of Light 553

Mark Thayer
 Primary Pigment Colors Materials like paint that are used
to change the color of other objects, such as the walls of a room
or an artist’s canvas, are called pigments. Mixing pigments
together forms colors in a different way than mixing colored
lights does.
Like all materials that appear to be colored, pigments absorb
some light waves and reflect others. The color of the pigment
you see is the color of the light waves that are reflected from it.
However, the primary pigment colors are not red, blue, and
green—they are yellow, magenta, and cyan. You can make
almost any color by mixing different amounts of these primary
Figure 7 The three primary pigment colors, as shown in Figure 7.
color pigments—yellow, Although primary pigment colors are not the same as the
magenta, and cyan—can form primary light colors, they are related. Each primary pigment
almost all the visible colors when color results when a pigment absorbs a primary light color. For
mixed together in various example, a yellow pigment absorbs blue light and it reflects red
amounts. and green light, which you see as yellow. A magenta pigment, on
the other hand, absorbs green light and reflects red and blue
light, which you see as magenta. Each of the primary pigment
colors is the same color as white light with one primary color
removed.

Summary Self Check

Light and Matter 1. Diagram the path followed by a light ray that enters
• Light is an electromagnetic wave that can
travel in a vacuum as well as through matter.
one of your eyes when you are reading at night in a
room.

• When light waves strike an object some light

waves might be absorbed by the object, some
2. Determine the colors that are reflected from an object
that appears black.
waves might be reflected from the object, and 3. Compare and contrast primary light colors and primary
some waves might pass through the object. pigment colors.
• Materials can be opaque, translucent, or
transparent, depending on how much light
4. Describe the difference between an opaque object and
a transparent object.
passes through the material. 5. Think Critically A white shirt is viewed through a filter
Color that allows only blue light to pass through the filter.

• Light waves with different wavelengths have

different colors.
What color will the shirt appear to be?

• White light is a combination of all the colors

ranging from red to violet. 6. Draw Conclusions A black plastic bowl and a white

• The color of an object is the color of the light

waves that it reflects.
plastic bowl are placed in sunlight. After 15 minutes,
the temperature of the black bowl is higher than the

• The primary light colors are red, green, and

blue. The primary pigment colors are yellow,
temperature of the white bowl. Which bowl absorbs
more light waves and which bowl reflects more light
waves?
magenta and cyan.

554 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses ips.msscience.com/self_check_quiz

 Reflection and Mirrors
The Law of Reflection
You’ve probably noticed your image on the surface of a pool
or lake. If the surface of the water was smooth, you could see
your face clearly. If the surface of the water was wavy, however, ■ Explain how light is reflected
your face might have seemed distorted. The image you saw was from rough and smooth surfaces.
the result of light reflecting from the surface and traveling to ■ Determine how mirrors form an
your eyes. How the light was reflected determined the sharpness image.
■ Describe how concave and con-
of the image you saw.
vex mirrors form an image.
When a light ray strikes a surface and is reflected, as in
Figure 8, the reflected ray obeys the law of reflection. Imagine
a line that is drawn perpendicular to the surface where the Mirrors can change the direction of
light ray strikes. This line is called the normal to the surface. light waves and enable you to see
The incoming ray and the normal form an angle called the images, such as your own face.
angle of incidence. The reflected light ray forms an angle with
the normal called the angle of reflection. According to the Review Vocabulary
law of reflection, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of normal: a line drawn perpendicu-
lar to a surface or line
reflection. This is true for any surface, no matter what material
it is made of. New Vocabulary
•• law of reflection
focal point
Reflection from Surfaces • focal length
Why can you see your reflection in some surfaces and not
others? Why does a piece of shiny metal make a good mirror, but
a piece of paper does not? The answers have to do with the
smoothness of each surface.

Mirror Figure 8 A light ray strikes a

surface and is reflected. The angle
Refl
ecte of incidence is always equal to the
d ra
y
Angle of angle of reflection. This is the law
reflection of reflection.
Normal
Angle of
incidence
ray
cident
In

SECTION 2 Reflection and Mirrors 555

Figure 9 A highly magnified Regular and Diffuse Reflection Even
view of the surface of a sheet of though the surface of the paper might seem
paper shows that the paper is smooth, it’s not as smooth as the surface of a
made of many cellulose wood mirror. Figure 9 shows how rough the surface
fibers that make the surface of a piece of paper looks when it is viewed
rough and uneven. under a microscope. The rough surface causes
light rays to be reflected from it in many direc-
tions, as shown in Figure 10. This uneven
reflection of light waves from a rough surface
is diffuse reflection. The smoother surfaces of
mirrors, as shown in Figure 10, reflect light
waves in a much more regular way. For example, parallel rays
remain parallel after they are reflected from a mirror. Reflection
from mirrors is known as regular reflection. Light waves that are
regularly reflected from a surface form the image you see in a
mirror or any other smooth surface. Whether a surface is
Magnification: 80
smooth or rough, every light ray that strikes it obeys the law of
reflection.

Why does a rough surface cause a diffuse

reflection?

Scattering of Light When diffuse reflection occurs, light

waves that were traveling in a single direction are reflected and
then travel in many different directions. Scattering occurs when
light waves traveling in one direction are made to travel in many
different directions. Scattering also can occur when light waves
strike small particles, such as dust. You may have seen dust par-
ticles floating in a beam of sunlight. When the light waves in the
sunbeam strike a dust particle, they are scattered in all direc-
tions. You see the dust particles as bright specks of light when
some of these scattered light waves enter your eye.
Figure 10 The roughness of a A
surface determines whether it
looks like a mirror.

A rough surface causes parallel

light rays to be reflected in
many different directions.

A smooth surface causes parallel

light rays to be reflected in a
single direction. This type of
surface looks like a mirror.

556 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

(l)Susumu Nishinaga/Science Photo Library/Photo Researchers, (r)Matt Meadows
 Image

Wall

Wall
Mirror Mirror
Light rays that bounce off a person strike the mirror. The light rays that are shown entering the person’s
Some these light rays are reflected into the person’s eye. eye seem to be coming from a person behind the mirror.

Reflection by Plane Mirrors Did you glance in the mirror Figure 11 A plane mirror forms
before leaving for school this morning? If you did, you probably an image by changing the direc-
looked at your reflection in a plane mirror. A plane mirror is a tion of light rays.
mirror with a flat reflecting surface. In a plane mirror, your Describe how you and your image
image looks much the same as it would in a photograph. in a plane mirror are different.
However, you and your image are facing in opposite directions.
This causes your left side and your right side to switch places on
your mirror image. Also, your image seems to be coming from
behind the mirror. How does a plane mirror form an image?

What is a plane mirror?

Figure 11 shows a person looking into a plane mirror. Light

waves from the Sun or another source of light strike each part of
the person. These light rays bounce off the person according to
the law of reflection, and some of them strike the mirror. The
rays that strike the mirror also are reflected according to the law
Light Waves and Photons
of reflection. Figure 11A shows the path traveled by a few of the When an object like a mar-
rays that have been reflected off the person and reflected back to ble or a basketball bounces
the person’s eye by the mirror. off a surface, it obeys the
law of reflection. Because
The Image in a Plane Mirror Why does the image you see light also obeys the law of
in a plane mirror seem to be behind the mirror? This is a result reflection, people once
thought that light must be a
of how your brain processes the light rays that enter your eyes. stream of particles. Today,
Although the light rays bounced off the mirror’s surface, your experiments have shown
brain interprets them as having followed the path shown by the that light can behave as
dashed lines in Figure 11B. In other words, your brain always though it were both a wave
assumes that light rays travel in straight lines without changing and a stream of energy bun-
direction. This makes the reflected light rays look as if they are dles called photons. Read
coming from behind the mirror, even though no source of light an article about photons
and write a description in
is there. The image also seems to be the same distance behind your Science Journal.
the mirror as the person is in front of the mirror.

SECTION 2 Reflection and Mirrors 557

 Concave and Convex Mirrors
Some mirrors are not flat. A concave mirror has a surface
that is curved inward, like the bowl of a spoon. Unlike plane
Topic: Concave Mirrors
Visit ips.msscience.com for Web
mirrors, concave mirrors cause light rays to come together, or
links to information about the converge. A convex mirror, on the other hand, has a surface that
concave mirrors used in telescopes. curves outward, like the back of a spoon. Convex mirrors cause
Activity Make a chart showing light waves to spread out, or diverge. These two types of mirrors
the five largest telescope mirrors form images that are different from the images that are formed
and where they are located. by plane mirrors. Examples of a concave and a convex mirror
are shown in Figure 12.

What’s the difference between a concave and

convex mirror?

Concave Mirrors The way in which a concave mirror forms

an image is shown in Figure 13. A straight line drawn perpendi-
cular to the center of a concave or convex mirror is called the
optical axis. Light rays that travel parallel to the optical axis and
strike the mirror are reflected so that they pass through a single
point on the optical axis called the focal point. The distance
along the optical axis from the center of the mirror to the focal
point is called the focal length.
The image formed by a concave mirror depends on the posi-
tion of the object relative to its focal point. If the object is far-
ther from the mirror than the focal point, the image appears to
be upside down, or inverted. The size of the image decreases as
the object is moved farther away from the mirror. If the object is
closer to the mirror than one focal length, the image is upright
and gets smaller as the object moves closer to the mirror.
A concave mirror can produce a focused beam of light if a
source of light is placed at the mirror’s focal point, as shown in
Figure 12 Convex and concave Figure 13. Flashlights and automobile headlights use concave
mirrors have curved surfaces. mirrors to produce directed beams of light.

A concave mirror A convex mirror has

has a surface that’s a surface that’s
curved inward. curved outward.

558 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

(l)Matt Meadows, (r)Paul Silverman/Fundamental Photographs
 VISUALIZING REFLECTIONS IN CONCAVE
MIRRORS
Figure 13
Focal
point

G
lance into a flat plane mirror and
you’ll see an upright image of your-
self. But look into a concave mirror, Optical axis
and you might see yourself larger than life,
right side up, or upside down—or not at
all! This is because the way a concave mir-
ror forms an image depends on the posi-
tion of an object in front of the mirror, as
shown here.
A concave mirror reflects all light rays traveling
parallel to the optical axis so that they pass through
the focal point.

Focal
point
Object
Focal point

Optical axis Optical axis

Inverted image

When an object, such as this flower, is When a source of light is placed at the focal point,
placed beyond the focal point, the mirror a beam of parallel light rays is formed. The concave
forms an image that is inverted. mirror in a flashlight, for example, creates a beam of
parallel light rays.

Upright image
Object

Optical axis
If the flower is between the focal
point and the mirror, the mirror
Focal point forms an upright, enlarged image.

SECTION 2 Reflection and Mirrors 559

(l)Digital Stock, (r)Joseph Palmieri/Pictor
Figure 14 A convex mirror is a mirror that curves outward. Convex Mirrors A convex
mirror has a reflecting surface
Student
that curves outward and causes
light rays to spread apart, or
diverge, as shown in Figure 14.
Like the image formed by plane
mirror, the image formed by a
Optical axis convex mirror seems to be
Optical axis Image
behind the mirror. Figure 14
shows that the image always is
Convex mirror upright and smaller than the
surface
object.
Convex mirrors often are
A convex mirror causes light rays that No matter how far an object is used as security mirrors in
are traveling parallel to the optical from a convex mirror, the image stores and as outside rearview
axis to spread apart after they are is always upright and smaller mirrors on cars and other
reflected. than the object. vehicles. You can see a larger
area reflected in a convex mir-
ror than in other mirrors.

Summary Self Check

Reflection and Plane Mirrors 1. Describe the image formed by a concave mirror
• The law of reflection states that the angle of
incidence equals the angle of reflection.
when an object is less than one focal length from
the mirror.

• A regular reflection is produced by a smooth

surface, such as a mirror. A rough surface
2. Explain why concave mirrors are used in flashlights and
automobile headlights.
forms a diffuse reflection. 3. Describe If an object is more than one focal length
• Scattering occurs when light rays traveling in
one direction are made to travel in many
from a concave mirror, how does the image formed by
the mirror change as the object moves farther from the
directions. mirror?

• A plane mirror forms a image that is reversed

left to right and seems to be behind the mirror.
4. Determine which light rays striking a concave mirror
are reflected so that they pass through the focal point.
5. Think Critically After you wash and wax a car, you
Concave and Convex Mirrors can see your reflection in the car’s surface. Before you
• Concave mirrors curve inward and make light
rays converge.
washed and waxed the car, no reflection could be seen.
Explain.

• Images formed by a concave mirror can be

either upright or inverted and can vary from
larger to smaller than the object.
• Convex mirrors curve outward and make light
rays diverge.
6. Use a Spreadsheet Make a table using a spreadsheet
comparing the images formed by plane, concave, and
convex mirrors. Include in your table how the images
• Images formed by a convex mirror are always
upright and smaller than the object.
depend on the distance of the object from the mirror.

560 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses ips.msscience.com/self_check_quiz

 Reflection from
a Plane Mirror
A light ray strikes the surface of a plane mirror
and is reflected. Does a relationship exist
between the direction of the incoming light ray
and the direction of the reflected light ray?

Real-World Question
How does the angle of incidence compare with
the angle of reflection for a plane mirror?
Goals
■ Measure the angle of incidence and the
angle of reflection for a light ray reflected 4. Draw lines on the paper from the center
from a plane mirror. mark at angles of 30°, 45°, and 60° to line P.
5. Turn on the flashlight and place it so the
Materials beam is along the 60° line. This is the angle
flashlight small plane mirror, of incidence. Measure and record the angle
protractor at least 10 cm on a side that the reflected beam makes with line P.
metric ruler black construction paper This is the angle of reflection. If you cannot
scissors modeling clay see the reflected beam, slightly increase the
tape white unlined paper tilt of the mirror.
Safety Precautions 6. Repeat step 5 for the 30°, 45°, and P lines.

Conclude and Apply

Procedure Infer from your results the relationship
1. With the scissors, cut a slit in the construction between the angle of incidence and the angle
paper and tape it over the flashlight lens. of reflection.
2. Place the mirror at one end of the unlined
paper. Push the mirror into lumps of clay so
it stands vertically, and tilt the mirror so it
leans slightly toward the table.
3. Measure with the ruler to find the center Make a poster that shows your measured
of the bottom edge of the mirror, and angles of reflection for angles of incidence
mark it. Then use the protractor and the of 30°, 45°, and 60°. Write the relationship
ruler to draw a line on the paper perpendi- between the angles of incidence and
cular to the mirror from the mark. Label reflection at the bottom.
this line P.

LAB 561
Geoff Butler
 Refraction and Lenses
Bending of Light Rays
Objects that are in water can sometimes look strange. A pen-
cil in a glass of water sometimes looks as if it’s bent, or as if the
■ Determine why light rays
part of the pencil in air is shifted compared to the part in water.
refract. A penny that can’t be seen at the bottom of a cup suddenly
■ Explain how convex and concave appears as you add water to the cup. Illusions such as these are
lenses form images. due to the bending of light rays as they pass from one material
to another. What causes light rays to change direction?
Many of the images you see every The Speeds of Light The speed of light in empty space is
day in photographs, on TV, and in
movies are made using lenses. about 300 million m/s. Light passing through a material such as
air, water, or glass, however, travels more slowly than this. This
Review Vocabulary is because the atoms that make up the material interact with the
refraction: bending of a wave as light waves and slow them down. Figure 15 compares the speed
it changes speed, moving from of light in some different materials.
one medium to another

New Vocabulary
•• lens
convex lens Air
• concave lens
The speed of light through air is about 300 million m/s.

Water

Figure 15 Light travels at

different speeds in different The speed of light through water is about 227 million m/s.
materials.

Glass

The speed of light through glass is about 197 million m/s.

Diamond

The speed of light through diamond is about 125 million m/s.

562 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

The Refraction of Light Waves
Light rays from the part of a pencil that is under-
water travel through water, glass, and then air before
they reach your eye. The speed of light is different in
each of these mediums. What happens when a light
wave travels from one medium into another in which
its speed is different? If the wave is traveling at an
angle to the boundary between the two media, it
changes direction, or bends. This bending is due to
the change in speed the light wave undergoes as it
moves from one medium into the other. The bending
of light waves due to a change in speed is called
refraction. Figure 16 shows an example of refraction.
The greater the change in speed is, the more the light
wave bends, or refracts.

What causes light to bend? Figure 16 A light ray is bent as

Why does a change in speed cause the light wave to bend? it slows down traveling from air
Think about what happens to the wheels of a car as they move into water.
from pavement to mud at an angle, as in Figure 17. The wheels
slip a little in the mud and don’t move forward as fast as they do
on the pavement. The wheel that enters the mud first gets
slowed down a little, but the other wheel on that axle continues
at the original speed. The difference in speed between the two
wheels then causes the wheel axle to turn, so the car turns a
little. Light waves behave in the same way.
Imagine again a light wave traveling at an angle from air into Figure 17 An axle turns as
water. The first part of the wave to enter the water is slowed, just as the wheels cross the boundary
the car wheel that first hit the mud was slowed. The rest of the wave between pavement and mud.
keeps slowing down as it moves from the air into the water. As long Predict how the axle would turn
as one part of the light wave is moving faster than the rest of the if the wheels were going from mud
wave, the wave continues to bend. to pavement.

Convex and Concave Lenses

Do you like photographing your friends and
family? Have you ever watched a bird through
binoculars or peered at something tiny through a
magnifying glass? All of these activities involve
the use of lenses. A lens is a transparent object
with at least one curved side that causes light to
bend. The amount of bending can be controlled
by making the sides of the lenses more or less
curved. The more curved the sides of a lens are,
the more light will be bent after it enters the lens.

SECTION 3 Refraction and Lenses 563

Richard Megna/Fundamental Photographs
Figure 18 A convex Light rays that are
lens forms an image that Focal point parallel to the optical axis
depends on the distance are bent so they pass
from the object to the through the focal point.
Optical axis
lens.

Focal length

Image Object
Object
Optical axis Optical axis

Image

One focal length One focal length

Two focal lengths

If the object is closer to the lens
If the object is more than two focal lengths than one focal length, the image
from the lens, the image formed is smaller than formed is enlarged and upright.
the object and inverted.
Convex Lenses A lens that is thicker in the center than at the
edges is a convex lens. In a convex lens, light rays traveling par-
allel to the optical axis are bent so they pass through the focal
point, as shown in Figure 18A. The more curved the lens is, the
closer the focal point is to the lens, and so the shorter the focal
length of the lens is. Because convex lenses cause light waves to
meet, they also are called converging lenses.
The image formed by a convex lens is similar to the image
formed by a concave mirror. For both, the type of image
depends on how far the object is from the mirror or lens. Look
at Figure 18B. If the object is farther than two focal lengths from
the lens, the image seen through the lens is inverted and smaller
than the object.

How does the focal length of a convex lens

change if the lens becomes more curved?

If the object is closer to the lens than one focal length, then
the image formed is right-side up and larger than the object, as
shown in Figure 18C. A magnifying glass forms an image in this
way. As long as the magnifying glass is less than one focal length
from the object, you can make the image appear larger by mov-
ing the magnifying glass away from the object.

564 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

Concave Lenses A lens that is thicker at the edges
than in the middle is a concave lens. A concave lens
also is called a diverging lens. Figure 19 shows how
light rays traveling parallel to the optical axis are bent
after passing through a concave lens.
A concave lens causes light rays to diverge, so light Optical axis
rays are not brought to a focus. The type of image that
is formed by a concave lens is similar to one that is
formed by a convex mirror. The image is upright and
smaller than the object.

Total Internal Reflection

When you look at a glass window, you sometimes can see Figure 19 A concave lens
your reflection. You see a reflection because some of the light causes light rays traveling parallel
waves reflected from you are reflected back to your eyes when to the optical axis to diverge.
they strike the window. This is an example of a partial reflec-
tion—only some of the light waves striking the window are
reflected. However, sometimes all the light waves that strike the
boundary between two transparent materials can be reflected.
This process is called total internal reflection.

The Critical Angle To see how total internal reflection

occurs, look at Figure 20. Light travels faster in air than in water,
and the refracted beam is bent away from the normal. As the
angle between the incident beam and the normal increases, the
refracted beam bends closer to the air-water boundary. At the
same time, more of the light energy striking the boundary is
reflected and less light energy passes into the air.
If a light beam in water strikes the boundary so that the
angle with the normal is greater than an angle called the critical
angle, total internal reflection occurs. Then all the light waves Figure 20 When a light beam
are reflected at the air-water boundary, just as if a mirror were passes from one medium to
there. The size of the critical angle depends on the two materi- another, some of its energy is
als involved. For light passing from water to air, the critical angle reflected (red) and some is
is about 48 degrees. refracted (blue).

As the incident beam makes a larger At the critical

Air Normal angle with the normal, less light energy angle, all the
is refracted, and more is reflected. light is reflected.
Refracted
beam

Incident Reflected
beam beam

Water

SECTION 3 Refraction and Lenses 565

 Optical Fibers Optical fibers are thin, flexible, transparent
fibers. An optical fiber is like a light pipe. Even if the fiber is bent,
light that enters one end of the fiber comes out the other end.
Total internal reflection makes light transmission in
optical fibers possible. A thin fiber of glass or plastic is cov-
Cladding
ered with another material called cladding in which light
Plastic fiber travels faster. When light strikes the boundary between the
fiber and the cladding, total internal reflection can occur. In
Light ray
this way, the beam bounces along inside the fiber as shown in
Figure 21.
Optical fibers are used most commonly in the communica-
tions industry. For example, television programs, computer
Figure 21 An optical fiber is information, and phone conversations can be coded into light
made of materials that cause total
signals. These signals then can be sent from one place to another
internal reflection to occur. A light
using optical fibers. Because of total internal reflection, signals
beam can travel for many kilome-
can’t leak from one fiber to another and interfere with others.
ters through an optical fiber and
As a result, the signal is transmitted clearly. One optical fiber
lose almost no energy.
the thickness of a human hair can carry thousands of phone
conversations.

Summary Self Check

The Refraction of Light 1. Compare the image formed by a concave lens and the

• Light travels at different speeds in different

materials.
image formed by a convex mirror.
2. Explain whether you would use a convex lens or a

• Refraction occurs when light changes speed

as it travels from one material into another.
concave lens to magnify an object.
3. Describe the image formed by convex lens if an object
is less than one focal length from the lens.
Convex and Concave Lenses
4. Describe how light rays traveling parallel to the optical
• A lens is a transparent object with at least one
curved side that causes light to bend.
axis are bent after they pass through a convex lens.
5. Infer If the speed of light were the same in all materi-
• A convex lens is thicker in the center than at
the edges and causes light waves to converge.
als, would a lens cause light rays to bend?
6. Think Critically A light wave is bent more when it
• A concave lens is thinner in the center than at
the edges and causes light waves to diverge.
travels from air to glass than when it travels from air to
water. Is the speed of light greater in water or in glass?
Explain.
Total Internal Reflection
• Total internal reflection occurs at the bound-
ary between two transparent materials when
light is completely reflected.
7. Calculate Time If light travels at 300,000 km/s and
• Optical fibers use total internal reflection to
transmit information over long distances with
Earth is 150 million km from the Sun, how long does it
take light to travel form the Sun to Earth?
light waves.

566 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses ips.msscience.com/self_check_quiz

 Using Mirrors and Lenses
Microscopes
For almost 500 years, lenses have been used to observe
objects that are too small to be seen with the unaided eye. The
first microscopes were simple and magnified less than 100 ■ Explain how microscopes
times. Today, a compound microscope like the one in Figure 22 magnify objects.
uses a combination of lenses to magnify objects by as much as ■ Explain how telescopes make
2,500 times. distant objects visible.
■ Describe how a camera works.
Figure 22 also shows how a microscope forms an image. An
object, such as an insect or a drop of water from a pond, is
placed close to a convex lens called the objective lens. This lens
Microscopes and telescopes are used
produces an enlarged image inside the microscope tube. The to view parts of the universe that
light rays from that image then pass through a second convex can’t be seen with the unaided eye.
lens called the eyepiece lens. This lens further magnifies the
image formed by the objective lens. By using two lenses, a much Review Vocabulary
larger image is formed than a single lens can produce. retina: region on the inner sur-
face of the back of the eye that
contains light-sensitive cells

New Vocabulary
Figure 22 A compound microscope •• refracting telescope
reflecting telescope
uses lenses to magnify objects.

A compound microscope
often has more than one
objective lens—each
providing a different
magnification. A light
underneath the objective
lens makes the image
bright enough to see
Eyepiece lens
clearly.

The objective lens

Image formed
by objective lens in a compound
microscope forms
an enlarged
image, which is
then magnified by
the eyepiece lens.
Objective lens

Object 567
David Young-Wolff/PhotoEdit, Inc.
 Telescopes
Just as microscopes are used to magnify very small objects,
telescopes are used to examine objects that are very far away.
The first telescopes were made at about the same time as the first
Forming an Image microscopes. Much of what is known about the Moon, the solar
with a Lens system, and the distant universe has come from images and
Procedure other information gathered by telescopes.
1. Fill a glass test tube with
water and seal it with a
stopper. Refracting Telescopes The simplest refracting telescopes
2. Write your name on a use two convex lenses to form an image of a distant object. Just
10-cm
10-cm card. as in a compound microscope, light passes through an objective
Lay the test tube on the lens that forms an image. That image is then magnified by an
card and observe the eyepiece, as shown in Figure 23.
appearance of your name. An important difference between a telescope and a micro-
3. Hold the test tube about
scope is the size of the objective lens. The main purpose of a
1 cm above the card and
observe the appearance telescope is not to magnify an image. A telescope’s main purpose
of your name through is to gather as much light as possible from distant objects. The
it again. larger an objective lens is, the more light can enter it. This makes
4. Observe what happens to images of faraway objects look brighter and more detailed when
your name as you slowly they are magnified by the eyepiece. With a large enough objec-
move the test tube away tive lens, it’s possible to see stars and galaxies that are many
from the card.
trillions of kilometers away. Figure 23 also shows the largest
Analysis refracting telescope ever made.
1. Is the water-filled test tube
a concave or a convex lens? How does a telescope’s objective lens enable
2. Compare the images distant objects to be seen?
formed when the test tube
was close to the card and
far from the card.

The refracting
telescope at the
Yerkes Observatory in
Wisconsin has the
largest objective lens
Objective in the world. It has a
lens diameter of about 1 m.
Figure 23 Refracting
telescopes use a large
objective lens to gather light
from distant objects.

A refracting telescope is made

from an objective lens and an
eyepiece. The objective lens
forms an image that is magnified Eyepiece
by the eyepiece. lens

568 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

0
Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS
Figure 24 Reflecting telescopes
gather light by using a concave
mirror.

Eyepiece lenses

Plane mirror
The Keck telescope in Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, is the largest reflecting
telescope in the world.
Light entering the telescope tube
is reflected by a concave mirror
onto the secondary mirror. An eye-
piece is used to magnify the image
formed by the concave mirror.
Concave mirror

Reflecting Telescopes Refracting telescopes have size lim-

itations. One problem is that the objective lens can be supported
only around its edges. If the lens is extremely large, it cannot be The First Telescopes
supported enough to keep the glass from sagging slightly under A Dutch eyeglass maker,
its own weight. This causes the image that the lens forms to Hans Lippershey, con-
become distorted. structed a refracting tele-
scope in 1608 that had a
Reflecting telescopes can be made much larger than refract-
magnification of 3. In 1609
ing telescopes. Reflecting telescopes have a concave mirror Galileo built a refracting
instead of a concave objective lens to gather the light from dis- telescope with a magnifi-
tant objects. As shown in Figure 24, the large concave mirror cation of 20. By 1668, the
focuses light onto a secondary mirror that directs it to the eye- first reflecting telescope
piece, which magnifies the image. was built by Isaac Newton
Because only the one reflecting surface on the mirror needs that had a metal concave
mirror with a diameter of
to be made carefully and kept clean, telescope mirrors are less about 5 cm. More than a
expensive to make and maintain than lenses of a similar size. century later, William
Also, mirrors can be supported not only at their edges but also Herschel built the first
on their backsides. They can be made much larger without sag- large reflecting telescopes
ging under their own weight. The Keck telescope in Hawaii, with mirrors as large as
shown in Figure 24, is the largest reflecting telescope in the 50 cm. Research the his-
tory of the telescope and
world. Its large concave mirror is 10 m in diameter, and is made
make a timeline showing
of 36 six-sided segments. Each segment is 1.8 m in size and the important events.
segments are pieced together to form the mirror.

SECTION 4 Using Mirrors and Lenses 569

Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS
 Diaphragm Cameras
Shutter You probably see photographs
Image taken by cameras almost every day. A
typical camera uses a convex lens to
form an image on a section of film,
just as your eye’s lens focuses an
image on your retina. The convex
Film
lens has a short focal length, so it
Object Lens forms an image that is smaller than
the object and inverted on the film.
Look at the camera shown in
Figure 25. When the shutter is open,
the convex lens focuses an image on a
Figure 25 A camera uses a piece of film that is sensitive to light. Light-sensitive film con-
convex lens to form an image on a
tains chemicals that undergo chemical reactions when light hits
piece of light-sensitive film. The
it. The brighter parts of the image affect the film more than the
image formed by a camera lens is
darker parts do.
smaller than the object and is What type of lens does a camera use?
inverted.
If too much light strikes the film, the image formed on the
film is overexposed and looks washed out. On the other hand, if
too little light reaches the film, the photograph might be too
dark. To control how much light reaches the film, many cameras
have a device called a diaphragm. The diaphragm is opened to
let more light onto the film and closed to reduce the amount of
light that strikes the film.

Lasers
Perhaps you’ve seen the narrow, intense beams of laser light
used in a laser light show. Intense laser beams are also used for
Topic: Lasers
different kinds of surgery. Why can laser beams be so intense?
Visit ips.msscience.com for Web
links to information about uses for One reason is that a laser beam doesn’t spread out as much as
lasers. ordinary light as it travels.
Activity Make a table listing dif-
ferent types of lasers and how they Spreading Light Beams Suppose you shine a flashlight on
are used. a wall in a darkened room. The size of the spot of light on the
wall depends on the distance between the flashlight and the wall.
As the flashlight moves farther from the wall, the spot of light
gets larger. This is because the beam of light produced by the
flashlight spreads out as it travels. As a result, the energy carried
by the light beam is spread over an increasingly larger area as the
distance from the flashlight gets larger. As the energy is spread
over a larger area, the energy becomes less concentrated and the
intensity of the beam decreases.

570 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

Using Laser Light Laser light is different Figure 26 Laser light is different from the light
from the light produced by the flashlight in produced by a lightbulb.
several ways, as shown in Figure 26. One dif-
ference is that in a beam of laser light, the
crests and troughs of the light waves overlap,
so the waves are in phase.
Because a laser beam doesn’t spread out as
much as ordinary light, a large amount of The light from a bulb contains waves with many differ-
energy can be applied to a very small area. ent wavelengths that are out of phase and traveling in
This property enables lasers to be used for different directions.
cutting and welding materials and as a
replacement for scalpels in surgery. Less
intense laser light is used for such applica-
tions as reading and writing to CDs or in
grocery store bar-code readers. Surveyors and
builders use lasers to measure distances,
angles, and heights. Laser beams also are used The light from a laser contains waves with only one
to transmit information through space or wavelength that are in phase and traveling in the
through optical fibers. same direction.

Summary Self Check

Microscopes, Telescopes, and Cameras 1. Explain why the concave mirror of a reflecting tele-
• A compound microscope uses an objective
lens and an eyepiece lens to form an enlarged
scope can be made much larger than the objective lens
of a refracting telescope.
image of an object. 2. Describe how a beam of laser light is different than the
• A refracting telescope contains a large objec-
tive lens to gather light and a smaller eye-
beam of light produced by a flashlight.
3. Explain why the objective lens of a refracting telescope
piece lens to magnify the image. is much larger than the objective lens of a compound
• A reflecting telescope uses a large concave
mirror to gather light and an eyepiece lens to
microscope.
4. Infer how the image produced by a compound micro-
magnify the image. scope would be different if the eyepiece lens were
• The image formed by a telescope becomes
brighter and more detailed as the size of the
removed from the microscope.
5. Think Critically Explain why the intensity of the light
objective lens or concave mirror increases. in a flashlight beam decreases as the flashlight moves
• A camera uses a convex lens to form an image
on light-sensitive film.
farther away.

6. Calculate Image Size The size of an image is related

Laser Light to the magnification of an optical instrument by the
• Light from a laser contains light waves that
are in phase, have only one wavelength, and
following formula:
Image size  magnification
object size
travel in the same direction.
A blood cell has a diameter of 0.001 cm. How large is
• Because laser light does not spread out much
as it travels the energy it carries can be
the image formed by a microscope with a magnifica-
tion of 1,000?
applied over a very small area.

ips.msscience.com/self_check_quiz SECTION 4 Using Mirrors and Lenses 571

 Image Formation
by a Convex Lens
Goals Real-World Question
■ Measure the image The type of image formed by a convex lens, also called a converging
distance as the object lens, is related to the distance of the object from the lens. This dis-
distance changes. tance is called the object distance. The location of the image also is
■ Observe the type of related to the distance of the object from the lens. The distance from
image formed as the the lens to the image is called the image distance. How are the image
object distance distance and object distance related for a convex lens?
changes.
Possible Materials Procedure
convex lens 1. Design a data Convex Lens Data
modeling clay table to record
your data. Make Ob
meterstick ge Type
Dista
flashlight three columns
masking tape in your table
20-cm square piece of —one column Do not write in this book.
cardboard with a white for the object dis-
surface tance, another for
the image dis-
Safety Precautions tance, and the third for the type of image.
2. Use the modeling clay to make the lens stand upright on the lab table.
3. Form the letter F on the glass surface of the flashlight with
masking tape.
4. Turn on the flashlight and place it 1 m
from the lens. Position the flashlight so
the flashlight beam is shining through
the lens.
5. Record the distance from the flash-
light to the lens in the object distance
column in your data table.
6. Hold the cardboard vertically upright on
the other side of the lens, and move it
back and forth until a sharp image of the
letter F is obtained.

572 CHAPTER 19 Light, Mirrors, and Lenses

Geoff Butler
7. Measure the distance of the card from the lens using the meterstick, and
record this distance in the Image Distance column in your data table.
8. Record in the third column of your data table whether the image is upright or
inverted, and smaller or larger.
9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 for object distances of 0.50 m and 0.25 m and record
your data in your data table.

Analyze Your Data

1. Describe any observed relationship between the object distance, and the
image type.
2. Identify the variables involved in determining the image type for a
convex lens.

Conclude and Apply

1. Explain how the image distance changed
as the object distance decreased.
2. Identify how the image changed as the object Demonstrate this lab to a third-grade class
distance decreased. and explain how it works. For more help,
3. Predict what would happen to the size of the refer to the Science Skill Handbook.
image if the flashlight were much farther away
than 1 m.

LAB 573
Geoff Butler
 SOMETIMES
GREAT
DISCOVERIES
HAPPEN BY
ACCIDENT!

Eyeglasses
Inventor
Unknown

“I
t is not yet twenty years since the art
This Italian engraving from the 1600s
of making spectacles, one of the most shows some different types of glasses.
useful arts on Earth, was discovered.
I, myself, have seen and conversed with the glasses cost roughly $200, which is compara-
man who made them first.” ble to thousands of dollars today. By the mid-
This quote from an Italian monk dates 1800s, improvements in manufacturing
back to 1306 and is one of the first historical techniques made eyeglasses much less
records to refer to eyeglasses. Unfortunately, expensive to make, and thus this important
the monk, Giordano, never actually named invention became widely available to people
the man he met. Thus, the inventor of eye- of all walks of life.
glasses remains unknown.
The mystery exists, in part, because dif-
ferent cultures in different places used some How Eyeglasses Work
type of magnifying tool to improve their Eyeglasses are used to correct farsighted-
vision. For example, a rock-crystal lens, made ness and nearsightedness, as well as other
by early Assyrians who lived 3,500 years ago vision problems. The eye focuses light rays to
in what is now Iraq, may have been used to form an image on a region called the retina
improve vision. About 2,000 years ago, the on the back of the eye. Farsighted people
Roman writer Seneca looked through a glass have difficulty seeing things close up because
globe of water to make the letters appear big- light rays from nearby objects do not con-
ger in the books he read. By the tenth cen- verge enough to form an image on the retina.
tury, glasses had been invented in China, but This problem can be corrected by using con-
they were used to keep away bad luck, not to vex lenses that cause light rays to converge
improve vision. before they enter the eye. Nearsighted peo-
In the mid 1400s in Europe, eyeglasses ple have problems seeing distant objects
began to appear in paintings of scholars, because light rays from far-away objects are
clergy, and the upper classes—eyeglasses focused in front of the retina. Concave lenses
were so expensive that only the rich could that cause light rays to diverge are used to
afford them. In the early 1700s, for example, correct this vision problem.

Research In many parts of the world, people have

no vision care, and eye diseases and poor vision go
untreated. Research the work of groups that bring eye For more information, visit
care to people. ips.msscience.com/oops

The Stapleton Collection/Bridgeman Art Library

 Properties of Light change speed in traveling from one
medium to another.
1. Light waves can be absorbed, reflected, or
transmitted when they strike an object. 2. A convex lens causes light waves to con-
verge, and a concave lens causes light waves
2. The color of an object depends on the to diverge.
wavelengths of light reflected by the
object.
Using Mirrors and Lenses
Reflection and Mirrors 1. A compound microscope uses a convex
objective lens to form an enlarged image
1. Light reflected from the surface of an object that is further enlarged by an eyepiece.
obeys the law of reflection—the angle of
incidence equals the angle of reflection. 2. A refracting telescope uses a large objective
lens and an eyepiece lens to form an image
2. Concave mirrors cause light waves to con- of a distant object.
verge, or meet. Convex mirrors cause light
waves to diverge, or spread apart. 3. A reflecting telescope uses a large concave
mirror that gathers light and an eyepiece
lens to form an image of a distant object.
Refraction and Lenses
4. Cameras use a convex lens to form an
1. Light waves bend, or refract, when they image on light-sensitive film.

Copy and complete the following concept map.

Light

is an is reflected by is refracted by

that can that can that can

travel in be be

ips.msscience.com/interactive_tutor CHAPTER STUDY GUIDE 575

 10. If an object reflects red and green light,
what color does the object appear to be?
concave lens p. 565 lens p. 563 A) yellow C) green
convex lens p. 564 light ray p. 550 B) red D) purple
focal length p. 558 medium p. 551
focal point p. 558 reflecting telescope p. 569 11. If an object absorbs all the light that hits
law of reflection p. 555 refracting telescope p. 568 it, what color is it?
A) white C) black
Complete each statement using a word or words B) blue D) green
from the vocabulary list above. 12. What type of image is formed by a plane
1. A _____ is the material in which a light mirror?
wave travels. A) upright C) magnified
2. A narrow beam of light that travels in a B) inverted D) all of these
straight line is a _____. 13. How is the angle of incidence related to
3. The _____ is the distance from a lens or a the angle of reflection?
mirror to the focal point. A) It’s greater. C) It’s the same.
B) It’s smaller. D) It’s not focused.
4. Light rays traveling parallel to the optical
axis of a convex lens are bent so they pass 14. Which of the following can be used to
through the _____. magnify objects?
5. A transparent object with at least one A) a concave lens C) a convex mirror
curved surface that causes light waves to B) a convex lens D) all of these
bend is a _____. 15. Which of the following describes the light
6. A _____ is thicker in the center than it is at waves that make up laser light?
the edges. A) same wavelength
7. A _____ uses a large concave mirror to B) same direction
gather light from distant objects. C) in phase
D) all of these

16. What is an object that reflects some light

and transmits some light called?
A) colored C) opaque
Choose the word or phrase that best answers the
B) diffuse D) translucent
question.
8. Light waves travel the fastest through which 17. What is the main purpose of the objective
of the following? lens or concave mirror in a telescope?
A) air C) water A) invert images C) gather light
B) diamond D) a vacuum B) reduce images D) magnify images
9. Which of the following determines the 18. Which of the following types of mirror
color of light? can form an image larger than the object?
A) a prism C) its wavelength A) convex C) plane
B) its refraction D) its incidence B) concave D) all of these

576 CHAPTER REVIEW ips.msscience.com/vocabulary_puzzlemaker

19. Diagram Suppose you can see a person’s eyes 26. Oral Presentation Investigate the types of
in a mirror. Draw a diagram to determine mirrors used in fun houses. Explain how
whether or not that person can see you. these mirrors are formed, and why they
20. Determine A singer is wearing a blue outfit. produce distorted images. Demonstrate
What color spotlights could be used to your findings to your class.
make the outfit appear to be black? 27. Reverse Writing Images are reversed left to
21. Form a hypothesis to explain why sometimes right in a plane mirror. Write a note to a
you can see two images of yourself friend that can be read only in a plane
reflected from a window at night. mirror.
22. Explain why a rough surface, such as a road, 28. Design an experiment to determine the focal
becomes shiny in appearance and a better length of a convex lens. Write a report
reflector when it is wet. describing your experiment, including a
23. Infer An optical fiber is made of a material diagram.
that forms the fiber and a different mate-
rial that forms the outer covering. For total
internal reflection to occur, how does the
Use the graph below to answer questions 29 and 30.
speed of light in the fiber compare with
the speed of light in the outer covering? 50
Use the table below to answer question 24.
Image Distance (cm)

40
Magnification by a Convex Lens
30
Object Distance gnification
25 4.00 20

30 2.00 10
40 1.00 10 20 30 40 50
Object Distance (cm)
60 0.50
100 0.25 29. Image Position The graph shows how the
distance of an image from a convex
24. Use a Table In the table above, the object lens is related to the distance of the
distance is the distance of the object from object from the lens. How does the
the lens. The magnification is the image position of the image change as the
size divided by the object size. If the focal object gets closer to the lens?
length of the lens is 20 cm, how does the 30. Magnification The magnification of
size of the image change as the object gets the image equals the image distance
farther from the focal point? divided by the object distance. At what
25. Calculate What is the ratio of the distance object distance does the magnification
at which the magnification equals 1.00 to equal 2?
the focal length of the lens?

ips.msscience.com/chapter_review CHAPTER REVIEW 577

Record your answers on the answer sheet 6. What does a refracting telescope use to
provided by your teacher or on a sheet of paper. form an image of a distant object?
1. Which of the following describes an object A. two convex lenses
that allows no light to pass through it? B. a concave mirror and a plane mirror
A. transparent C. opaque C. two concave lenses
B. translucent D. diffuse D. two concave mirrors

2. Which statement is always true about the 7. Through which of the following does light
image formed by a concave lens? travel the slowest?
A. It is upside down and larger than the A. air C. water
object. B. diamond D. vacuum
B. It is upside down and smaller than the
object. 8. What is the bending of a light wave due to
C. It is upright and larger than the object. a change in speed?
D. It is upright and smaller than the object. A. reflection C. refraction
B. diffraction D. transmission
Use the figure below to answer questions 3 and 4.
Use the figure below to answer questions 9 and 10.

Image

3. Which of the following describes the

process occurring in the upper panel of the Mirror Wall
figure?
A. refraction 9. If the girl is standing 1 m from the mirror,
B. diffuse reflection where will her image seem to be located?
C. regular reflection A. 2 m behind the mirror
D. total internal reflection B. 1 m behind the mirror
4. The surface in the lower panel of the figure C. 2 m in front of the mirror
would be like which of the following? D. 1 m in front of the mirror
A. a mirror C. a sheet of paper 10. Which of the following describes the
B. waxed paper D. a painted wall image of the girl formed by the plane
5. Why does a leaf look green? mirror?
A. It reflects green light. A. It will be upside down.
B. It absorbs green light. B. It will be in front of the mirror.
C. It reflects all colors of light. C. It will be larger than the girl.
D. It reflects all colors except green. D. It will be reversed left to right.

578 STANDARDIZED TEST PRACTICE

Record your answers on the answer sheet Record your answers on a sheet of paper.
provided by your teacher or on a sheet of paper. 18. Explain why you can see the reflection of
11. Light travels slower in diamond than in trees in the water of a lake on a calm day,
air. Explain whether total internal reflec- but not a very windy day.
tion could occur for a light wave traveling 19. Describe how total internal reflection
in the diamond toward the diamond’s enables optical fibers to transmit light
surface. over long distances.
Use the figure below to answer question 12.
20. What happens when a source of light is
placed at the focal point of a concave mir-
ror? Give an example.
Use the illustration below to answer question 21.

Focal point
Optical axis
Optical axis

Focal length

12. Identify the type of mirror shown in the 21. Describe how the position of the focal
figure and describe the image this mirror point changes as the lens becomes flatter
forms. and less curved.
13. Under white light the paper of this page 22. Compare the images formed by a concave
looks white and the print looks black. mirror when an object is between the
What color would the paper and the print focal point and the mirror and when an
appear to be under red light? object is beyond the focal point.
14. A light ray strikes a plane mirror such that 23. Explain why increasing the size of the
the angle of incidence is 30°. What is the concave mirror in a reflecting telescope
angle between the light ray and the surface improves the images formed.
of the mirror?
15. Contrast the light beam from a flashlight
and a laser light beam. Organize Your Main Points For essay questions, spend a few
16. An actor on stage is wearing a magenta minutes listing and organizing the main points that you plan to
outfit. Explain what color the outfit would discuss. Make sure to do all of this work on your scratch paper,
appear in red light, in blue light, and in not your answer sheet.
green light. Question 19 Organize your discussion points by first listing
17. To use a convex lens as a magnifying lens, what you know about optical fibers and total internal reflection.
where must the object be located?

ips.msscience.com/standardized_test STANDARDIZED TEST PRACTICE 579

 How Are
Cone-bearing
Trees &
Static Electricity
Connected?

580
(inset)Layne Kennedy/CORBIS, (bkgd)Richard Pasley/Stock Boston/PictureQuest
W hen the bark of a cone-bearing tree is broken it secretes resin, which hardens and seals
the tree’s wound.The resin of some ancient trees fossilized over time, forming a golden,
gemlike substance called amber.The ancient Greeks prized amber highly, not only for its
beauty, but also because they believed it had magical qualities.They had noticed that when
amber was rubbed with wool or fur, small bits of straw or ash would stick to it. Because of
amber’s color and its unusual properties, some believed that amber was solidified sunshine.
The Greek name for amber was elektron which means “substance of the Sun.”
By the seventeenth century, the behavior of amber had sparked the curiosity of a number of
scientists, and an explanation of amber’s behavior finally emerged.When amber is rubbed by
wool or fur, static electricity is produced.Today, a device called a Van de Graaff generator, like
the one shown below, can produce static electricity involving millions of volts, and has been
used to explore the nature of matter in atom-smashing experiments.

Visit ips.msscience.com/unit_project to find project ideas and resources.

Projects include:
• History Design a creative bookmark depicting a variety of aspects of Ben
Franklin’s contributions to science and his country.
• Career Discover how magnetic-resonance imaging is used in the medical
field and how it compares to traditional X rays.
• Model Design an electrifying review game demonstrating your new
understanding of electricity and magnetism.
Hybrid Vehicles explores new vehicles being produced by car
manufacturers. Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of
hybrid vehicles. (inset)Mark Burnett, (bkgd)Richard Pasley/Stock Boston/PictureQuest