Light

Grade 9 Science

What is light?
A kind of energy called "electromagnetic
(EM) radiation"
There are other kinds of EM radiation too
(radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, etc.),
but light is the part WE can see, the part
that makes the rainbow.

Properties of Light
- Notes
Light is a type of energy.
Light travels away from the source as waves of
energy.
Light travels in straight lines.
Light waves can travel through a vacuum
(where there is no matter), for example, outer
space.

Light travels fast and straight

About 186,000 miles per second [300,000 kilometers
per second], so light from the sun takes about 8
minutes to go 93 million miles [149 million
kilometers] to earth.
If you could DRIVE to the sun at 100 km/h, it would
take you 177 years to get there! In one second, light
can go around the earth 7 times!

Properties of Light - Notes

Light waves travel very fast at 300 000

kilometres per second in the vacuum of
space.
Waves going at this speed are said to be
travelling at the speed of light.

Sources of Light - Notes

Objects which give off their own
light are called light sources.
Question 1: Name five different
light sources.

Sources of Light
Question 2: Which of the following
are light sources?

The Sun
The moon
Light bulbs
A rainbow
Glow-worms

Flames

Sources of Light
We can see other objects which are not
light sources because light rays from
sources bounce off them in all directions.

The moon is not a

light source but we
see it because it
reflects light.

Shadows - Notes
A stream of light waves travelling in a
particular direction is called a light ray.
Shadows are formed when objects block
light rays.
If all light rays are blocked, a sharp
shadow area is formed called an umbra,
then a partial shadow forms around the
outside of the umbra. This is called a
penumbra.

Shadows

Making images - Notes

Light can form an image of an object.
An image is a view of an object at a place
other than where the object is.

Images
Virtual Images
1. Cannot be cast
on a screen
2. Always upright

Example: Mirror

Real Images
1. Can be cast on
a screen
2. The image is
always inverted
Example : Slide
Projector or
Camera

Properties of Matter - Notes

Objects may be:
-

transparent (let all light pass through)

translucent (let some light pass through)

opaque (let no light through)

Give an example of an object that is:

a)

transparent

b) translucent
c)

opaque

Light Rays
Light rays can be:
-

absorbed by an object

reflected off an object

refracted (pass through an object but

change direction)

Revision Questions:
Opaque

Substances such as metals that

completely block light, allowing no light
to pass through.

Refraction

Light rays usually bend on the border of

an object as they pass through.

Transparent

Substances such as window glass which

can be looked through because light
passes through them.

Reflection

Bounce off the surface.

Translucent

Substances such as paper lunch wrap that

let light through but cannot be seen
through clearly.

Reflection - Notes
Images can be formed when a light is
reflected off a surface.
Smooth surfaces, like shiny metals,
still water or mirrors, will reflect
light in a regular way to form clearly
visible images.
If the surface of an object is irregular,
like concrete or paper, then light
rays will bounce off in different
directions and no clear image will be
formed.

Reflection
A plane mirror is a flat reflective surface. It
reflects an image.
The image formed is always the same size as the
object.

Reflection - Notes
The image is as far behind the mirror as the
object is in front.
The image is the right way up (erect) but
laterally inverted.

Reflection - Notes

First Law of Reflection

The incident ray and reflected ray always lie in
the same plane (flat surface).
Second Law of Reflection
The angle of reflection always equals the angle
of incidence.

Glossary
Laterally inverted - the left and right sides are
swapped over.
Normal an imaginary line at right angles to the
point where the incident ray hits the mirror.
Angle of incidence the angle between the
incident ray and the normal.
Angle of reflection the angle between the
reflected ray and the normal.

Glossary
Plane mirror a mirror that has a
completely flat surface
Reflection occurs when light rays
bounce off the surface of an object
Medium a substance that will allow
light to travel through it

Glossary
Lateral inversion the left and right sides of
the image are swapped over
Refraction a change in direction and speed
of light waves entering a new medium
Prism a triangular block of glass that can
change the direction of light by 90 o or 180o
Visible spectrum that part of the
electromagnetic spectrum that we can see
Dispersion the separating of white light into
its component colours

Uses of light
Well, some important, useful things depend on
being able to produce, control, and/or detect light
in special ways:

Your eyes
Eyeglasses and contact lenses
Lenses for TV, movie, and photographic cameras
Photocopiers and fax machines
Binoculars and telescopes
Microscopes and magnifiers
Projectors (overhead, movie, slide, TV)
CD players
Supermarket product code laser scanners
Weather and spy satellites
Medical systems (to look inside the body)
Solar energy systems

...and many more