REFLECTION AND
REFRACTION OF
LIGHT
Mr. Jerome Morales, LPT
Mr. John Kenneth Bugal, LPT
GRADE 10 PHYSICS TEACHERS
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this discussion, the students should
be able to:
• Define the law of reflection
• Define refraction and its effects
• Explain how the refractive index of materials
affect the speed of light
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WHAT IS THE SONG SANG BY MULAN IN THIS
SCENE?
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REFLECTION
OF
LIGHT
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3D LIGHT
Light travels in all directions. Light
occupies the 3D space where it is in
outward from the source.
Wavefronts – represent the
2D motion of waves on a
plane
Rays – outward-pointing
arrows that represent the
radial motion of waves
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LIGHT AS WAVEFRONTS AND RAYS
Light radiates spherically giving rise to spherical waves. As
these waves move further, they become more and more flat
(two dimensional) and the rays become more and more
parallel.
These rays and planar
waves idealization are
useful in representing
light for theoretical
analysis.
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LIGHT AS RAYS
Finally, we usually simplify our
representation of light beams even
further by omitting the wave front and
plotting only one, or a few, rays.
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THE LAW OF REFLECTION
𝜽𝒊 = 𝜽𝒓
Where:
𝜃! - angle of incidence
𝜃" - angle of reflection
Relative to the normal, these two
angles must be equal according
to the law of reflection.
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THE LAW OF REFLECTION
TERMINOLOGIES:
Normal – imaginary line
perpendicular to the
reflecting surface
Incident Ray – light emitted
from a source
Reflected Ray – light
bounced from the material
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THE LAW OF REFLECTION
TERMINOLOGIES:
Point of Incidence – specific
point where the incident
light hits the reflective
surface
Reflective Surface – shiny
material; plane
perpendicular to the normal
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THE LAW OF REFLECTION
REMEMBER!!!!!
Incident Ray, Reflected Ray,
and the Normal Line should
all lie within the same plane
as clearly shown in the figure
on the left.
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
Based on the picture, how
can you differentiate
specular and diffuse
reflection?
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
Reflection in smooth surfaces is called specular reflection.
This is technically defined as an occurrence when light rays
are reflected in the same (or uniform) direction.
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
Reflection in rough surfaces is called diffuse reflection.
This is technically defined as an occurrence when light rays
are reflected in many directions.
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TYPES OF REFLECTION
When the road is wet, the
road creates a smooth
surface for light to reflect
off of. Hence, the existence
of specular reflection which
creates an intense glare.
The opposite happens when
the road is dry. Hence, no
glare.
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OPTICAL
MEDIUMS
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OPAQUE MATERIALS
An opaque object is something that allows no light through it.
Concrete, wood, and metal (unpolished) are some examples
of opaque materials.
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TRANSPARENT MATERIALS
The object or material which allows light to pass through
completely.
CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSPARENT
MATERIALS:
- We can see clearly through them
- No shadow formation
- Images formed are never blurred
- Light scattering is negligible
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TRANLUCENT MATERIALS
A translucent material is an
object that you are not able to
clearly see through because
only some light can pass
through. The light that passes
through is scattered.
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REFRACTION
OF LIGHT
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QUESTION
From your prior
knowledge, how is
refraction defined?
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HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?
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REFRACTION ANALOGY
Suppose you have a
marching band
traveling in grass with
a speed of v1 and is
displaced by v1△t
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REFRACTION ANALOGY
This same marching band
crosses a boundary from
grass to another surface
(mud).
If the speed is reduced to
v2, then it will only be
displaced by v2△t
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REFRACTION ANALOGY
The sudden change in speed as the marchers
enter a new medium causes the bending of
light or the changing of direction.
What do we call the
change in velocity?
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REFRACTION AS A FORM OF ACCELERATION
The sudden change in speed as the marchers
enter a new medium causes the bending of
light or the changing of direction.
ACCELERATION
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REFRACTION AS A FORM OF ACCELERATION
This analogy can be applied in refraction.
In refraction,
𝒗𝟏 ≠ 𝒗𝟐
Velocity of light in the first material is never
equal to the velocity in the other material
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REFRACTION GEOMETRY
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REFRACTION GEOMETRY
From the geometry of the
figure, the green and brown
triangles share a common
side, AB. Therefore,
v1△t v2△t
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟏 = and 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟐 =
𝑨𝑩 𝑨𝑩
In your notebooks, simplify
the equation.
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REFRACTION GEOMETRY
Eliminating the common factor ∆𝑡/𝐴𝐵 yields:
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟐
=
𝒗𝟏 𝒗𝟐
This proves that the direction of propagation is
directly related to the speed of propagation.
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INDEX OF REFRACTION
Light’s speed is dependent on what material it travels
through.
In vacuum, we know that light travels at 3.0x10 m/s.
8
However, in water, light travels slower by a factor of
1.33. This value n is called the index of refraction.
𝒄 Where:
𝒏" n – index of refraction; c – speed of light in vacuum
𝒗 v – is speed of light in the material
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REFRACTIVE INDICES OF MATERIALS
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MECHANICS OF LIGHT
SAMPLE PROBLEM
How long does it take for light to travel 2.50 m in
water?
It takes about 1.11 X 10
s for light to
-8
travel 2.50 meters in water
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SIMPLIFYING EQUATIONS
Consider the refractive index formula into this
equation:
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟐
=
𝒗𝟏 𝒗𝟐
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SIMPLIFYING EQUATIONS
This should yield:
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟐
=
(𝒄/𝒏𝟏 ) (𝒄/𝒏𝟐 )
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SIMPLIFYING EQUATIONS
Simplify this further and you will get:
𝒏𝟏 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟏 = 𝒏𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝜽𝟐
THE SNELL’S LAW
The product of the refractive index of the first medium and
the sine of the angle of incidence is equal to the product of
the refractive index of the second medium and the sine of
the angle of refraction.
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SAMPLE PROBLEM
A beam of light in air enters (a) water (n = 1.33) or (b)
diamond (n = 2.42) at an angle of 60.0º relative to
the normal. Find the angle of refraction for each case.
Diamond
? ?
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SAMPLE PROBLEM
Diamond
21.0º
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QUESTION
What happens to the angle of
refraction as the refractive
index increase?
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SAMPLE PROBLEM
Diamond
21.0º
nair = 1.33 ndiamond = 2.42
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REFRACTIVE INDEX AND ANGLE OF REFRACTION
As the index of refraction increases,
the angle of refraction decreases.
The Angle of Refraction gets closer
to the normal line
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CONDITIONS FOR REFRACTION
NOTE THAT SNELL’S LAW ONLY APPLIES TO LIGHT
BEAMS (OR RAYS) THAT ARE INCIDENT TO ANOTHER
MEDIUM WITH A MEASURABLE ANGLE WITH RESPECT
TO THE NORMAL LINE.
THIS LAW DO NOT APPLY TO RAYS
THAT IS EXACTLY AT ZERO DEGREES
WITH RESPECT TO THE NORMAL.
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OPTICAL DENSITY
Refers to how much a material can slow down light.
OPTICALLY RARER MEDIUM
It is a medium where the speed of light is more. Air is an
optically rarer medium than glass and water.
OPTICALLY DENSER MEDIUM
It is a medium where the speed of light is less. Glass is an
optically denser medium than water and air.
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OPTICAL DENSITY
This means that when the refractive index is higher,
the material is basically more optically dense.
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PRACTICE
PROBLEMS
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PRACTICE PROBLEM #1
A light beam in air hits a sheet of crown glass at an
angle of 30 degrees. At what angle is the light
beam refracted?
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PRACTICE PROBLEM #2
A ray of light has an angle of incidence of 30
degrees on a block of unknown material and an
angle of refraction of 20 degrees.
What is the refractive index of this
material?
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PRACTICE PROBLEM #3
What is the speed of light in chloroform (n = 1.51)?
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PRACTICE PROBLEM #4
Could an index of refraction ever be less than 1?
What would this imply about the speed of light in
that medium?
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PRACTICE PROBLEM #5
A beam of light passes from water into polyethylene
with n = 1.50. if the angle of incidence is 57.5
degrees, what is the angle of refraction in this
material?
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this discussion, the students should
be able to:
• Define the law of reflection
• Define refraction and its effects
• Explain how the refractive index of materials
affect the speed of light
Copyright © 2022 Saint Jude Catholic School, Manila