Light and Sound

In this unit:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Properties of light Reflection Colours Refraction Properties of sound Hearing

Part 1 Properties of Light

Light travels in straight lines:

Laser

Light travels VERY FAST around 300,000 kilometres per second.

At this speed it can go around the world 8 times in one second.

Light travels much faster than sound. For example:

1) Thunder and lightning start at the same time, but we will see the lightning first.

2) When a starting pistol is fired we see the smoke first and then hear the bang.

We see things because they reflect light into our eyes:

Homework

Luminous and non-luminous objects

A luminous object is one that produces light. A non-luminous object is one that reflects light.
Luminous objects Reflectors

Shadows
Shadows are places where light is blocked:

Rays of light

Properties of Light summary

1) Light travels in straight lines 2) Light travels much faster than sound 3) We see things because they reflect light into our eyes 4) Shadows are formed when light is blocked by an object

Part 2 - Reflection
Reflection from a mirror:
Normal
Incident ray Reflected ray

Angle of incidence

Angle of reflection

Mirror

The Law of Reflection

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
In other words, light gets reflected from a surface at ____ _____ angle it hits it.

The same !!!

Clear vs. Diffuse Reflection

Smooth, shiny surfaces have a clear reflection:

Rough, dull surfaces have a diffuse reflection.

Diffuse reflection is when

light is scattered in different directions

Using mirrors
Two examples:

2) A car headlight
1) A periscope

Colour
White light is not a single colour; it is made up of a mixture of the seven colours of the rainbow.
We can demonstrate this by splitting white light with a prism:

This is how rainbows are formed: sunlight is split up by raindrops.

The colours of the rainbow:

Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet

Adding colours
White light can be split up to make separate colours. These colours can be added together again. The primary colours of light are red, blue and green:

Adding blue and red makes magenta (purple) Adding red and green makes yellow

Adding blue and green makes cyan (light blue) Adding all three makes white again

Seeing colour
The colour an object appears depends on the colours of light it reflects.
For example, a red book only reflects red light:

White light

Only red light is reflected

(and red and blue, as purple is made up of red and blue):

A pair of purple trousers would reflect purple light

Purple light

A white hat would reflect all seven colours:

White light

Using coloured light

If we look at a coloured object in coloured light we see something different. For example, consider a football kit:

Shirt looks red White light Shorts look blue

In different colours of light this kit would look different:

Red light

Shirt looks red Shorts look black

Shirt looks black Blue light Shorts look blue

Some further examples:

Object Red socks Colour of light Red Blue Green Colour object seems to be Red Black Black

Red
Blue teddy Blue Green

Black

Red
Green camel Blue Green Red Magenta book Blue Green

Using filters
Filters can be used to block out different colours of light:

Red Filter

Magenta Filter

Investigating filters
Colour of filter
Red Green Blue

Colours that could be seen

Cyan
Magenta

Yellow

Red

Blue

Green

White

Yellow

Cyan

Magenta

Refraction
Refraction is when waves ____ __ or slow down due to travelling in a different _________. A medium is something that waves will travel through. When a pen is placed in water it looks like this:

In this case the light rays are slowed down by the water and are _____, causing the pen to look odd. The two mediums in this example are ______ and _______.

Words speed up, water, air, bent

Sound The basics

We hear things when they vibrate. If something vibrates with a high frequency (vibrates very ______) we say it has a _____ pitch.

If something vibrates with a low frequency (vibrates ______) we say it has a ____ pitch. The lowest frequency I could hear was

Words slowly, low, high, quickly

Drawing sounds
This sound wave has a _____ frequency:

This sound wave has a ___ _frequency:

Drawing sounds
This sound wave has a _____ amplitude (loud):

This sound wave has a _____ amplitude (quiet):

Hearing problems
Our hearing range can be damaged by several things: 1) Too much ear wax! 2) Damage to the auditory nerve 3) Illness or infections 4) Old age (not like Mr Richards)

Other sound effects

Like light, sound can be
1) Reflected sound reflections are called ______. 2) Refracted this is why you might sound strange if you try talking underwater

The Ear
Label your diagram with the following:
These bones are vibrated by the eardrum This tube carries the sound towards the eardrum This part is used to help us keep our balance This part picks up the vibrations

This part of the ear contains many small hairs with turn vibrations into an electrical signal
This part connects the ear to the mouth This part channels the sound towards the ear drum

The Ear