SHS

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Quarter 2 – Module 5
Dispersion, Scattering,
Interference, and Diffraction
Electron as a Wave

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Science– SHS – Physical Science
Quarter 2 – Module 5: Dispersion, Scattering, Diffraction and Interference
Electron as a Wave

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Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad

Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Rea Angela F. Datoon

Editors/Reviewers: Jocelyn Navera

Brenly Mendoza
Kristina Nieves
Aster Malto
Jeanine B. Cristobal
Kenneth M. De la Fuente

Layout Artist: Jose P. Gamas Jr.

Language Editor: Diana Desuyo

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 Self-Learning Module for Senior High School Learners

LESSON
Dispersion, Scattering, Interference and Diffraction
Electron as a Wave

1. Cite experimental evidence showing that electrons can behave like

waves (S11/12PS-IVg-64)
2. Differentiate dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction
(S11/12PS-IVh-65)

 Differentiate dispersion, scattering, interference and

diffraction.
 Observe diffraction and interference fringes of light waves.
 Describe conditions necessary for an interference pattern to
form
 Cite experimental evidence showing that electrons can behave
like waves.

In the previous module, you learned about the wave – particle

duality of light. If light, which is known as a wave, behaves like
a particle, can an electron, which is known as a particle, behave
like a wave too?

In this module, you will learn about the

experimental evidence showing that electron can behave
like wave. However, for better understanding, we also
need to be familiar first with other properties of light like
diffraction and interference. Other phenomena like
dispersion and scattering of light waves are also included
in this module. Are you up for it? Then, be ready to learn
and accomplish the tasks ahead.

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 Directions: Identify what is asked or described in each item then write
the letter of the correct answer.

1. Diffraction of light means that

a. light is a transverse wave.
b. light is reflected from a film.
c. light bends as it enters a different medium.
d. light bends as it passes through a small opening.
2. The sun appears to be more reddish at sunset than at noon. Which of the
following phenomena is responsible for this effect?
a. dispersion b. interference c. reflection d. scattering

3. Which property of light produces bright and dark bands on a screen after light from
a source passes through two very narrow slits that are near each other?
a. dispersion b. interference c. polarization d. refraction

4. When sunlight falls on soap bubble, the band of colors seen is due to
a. dispersion. b. interference. c. pigments of soap. d. refraction.

5. Which of the following defines wave – particle duality?

a. Not only do waves like light behave as particles, but particles can also
behave as waves.
b. Waves can act like particles, but not the other way around.
c. Particles can act like waves, but not the other way around.
d. Particles always behave like waves, no matter the circumstances.

Hi! How did you find the test?

Please check your answers at the answer key section and
see how you did. Don’t worry if you got a low score, this
just means that there are more things that you can learn
from this module. So, hop on!

PRACTICAL WORK #1: Let’s Make a RAINBOW!

Materials:

 Strong sunlight/flashlight
 1 Glass prism/small mirror/glass/bottle half-filled with water
 1 White cardboard/paper (optional)
Procedure:
1. Place a piece of white paper on the ground under the sunlight.

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2. Put the prism on or above the paper. In the absence of prism, a bottle half – filled with
water or a transparent glass can be used as a substitute. (Please see Figure 1&2)
3. Rotate and move prism around until you see rainbow colors on the paper. Figure 1 show
sample result of this step.
4. If you do not have prism, use a small mirror, flashlight and water to make a rainbow on the
wall similar to the one shown in Figure 3 & 4.

Figure 1. Rainbow Prism. The white light from the

sun forms a rainbow. This shows dispersion.
Photo Source: Figure 2. Rainbow c
https://www.rookieparenting.com/make-your- glass wi
own-rainbow-science-experiment/ https://mariaisaac.w
pentap

Figure 4. Dispersion of light using mirror. Use a shallow pan

Figure 3. Rainbow on the wall. Small mirror and a glass
can be used to produced a rainbow on the wall. Photo
Source: https://www.rookieparenting.com/make-your-
own-rainbow-science-experiment/
with water and mirror to observe how white light is
dispered into rainbow colors. Photo Source:
https://www.physicscentral.com/experiment/physicsathom
e/rainbow.cfm

Guide Questions:

1. What property of light is exhibited by the rainbow activity?

2. Explain how rainbow is produced in the activity?

PRACTICAL WORK #2: Let there be LIGHT!

(The Tyndall Effect Activity)
Materials:

 Flashlight
 300 mL Water
 3 drinking glasses
 2 tablespoons of milk
 2 tablespoon of flour

Procedure:

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 1. Pour 100 mL water in each glass. If there are no measuring devices, you can
estimate the amount of water in each glass provided that the amount of water will be the
same.
2. Label the glasses using the following
Figure 3. The flashlight can be utilized as a light source in
guide: demonstrating Tyndall Effect. Photo source:
Glass A: Water only https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-tyndall-effect-
Glass B: Water with milk 605756#:~:text=Shining%20a%20flashlight%20beam%20into,particles
Glass C: Flour and Water %20on%20the%20light%20beam.
3. Use the flashlight to observe the
scattering of light. Please refer to Figure 3.

Guide Questions:
1. Differentiate your observation of how light reacts with the three set-ups.
2. Which glass(es) shows Tyndall Effect? Recall that Tyndall Effect is the scattering
of light by particles in colloid or suspension.
3. Explain why Tyndall Effect can be observed in your answer in number 2.

PRACTICAL WORK #3: SIMPLE EXPERIMENT on DIFFRACTION and

INTERFERENCE of LIGHT WAVES (Activity was adopted from Practical Work in High
School Physics: Activities for Students by UP NISMED)

Materials:
 Strong white light source (fluorescent or incandescent bulb at home)
 Single slit
 Double slits (slit separation d= 0.10mm, 0.15mm, 0.20mm, 0.25mm, slit width a= 0.05mm)
Note: Single and double slit can be made from a piece of used cardboard

Procedure:
1. Look through a single slit close to your eye. Describe and
draw what you see.
2. Hold two single slits about 30 cm apart, as shown in Fig. 4.
This slit should be aligned and parallel. Look through a
single slit under bright white light (fluorescent light or a
straight filament lamp). Draw what you see.
Figure 4. The experimental set-up using two
3. Hold a single slit with one hand. Hold a single slit. Photo source: UPNISMED: Practical
double slit (d=0.1mm) with the other hand, Work in High School Physics page 82

bring it close to the eye and look through this

at about 30 cm away from the single slit as shown in Figure 5.
The slits should be aligned and parallel.

Describe and draw what Figure 5. Set-up with a single slit and a double slit. you see. Compare your
Photo source: UPNISMED: Practical Work in High
observation with what School Physics page 82 you observed in Step 2.
Repeat Step 3 using the other double slits
(d=0.15mm, d=0.20 mm, d=0.25mm) one at a time. Draw what you observed for each
double slit.

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Guide Questions:
1. Describe what happens to the white light in Steps 1 and 2 when a single slit and two
single slits are used. What property of waves is being demonstrated in this procedure?
2. Describe what happens to white light in Step 3 when a single slit and a double slit are
used. What property of waves is manifested in this set – up? What is the important
characteristic of the light source for it to exhibit this property of waves?
3. Compare the interference fringes formed in the different double slits.
4. Predict what will happen to the diffraction and interference pattern when the width of the
single slit were increased.

The rainbow activity shows dispersion. Dispersion happens when light is

refracted when it passes through another medium.
Dispersion of light is the splitting of white light into rainbow
colors due to the refractive index of the medium and the
wavelength of the light. If the light entering the prism is not a
single color then the beam that will appear also has different
colors arranged in a definite order. This is because the light
of different colors have varying speeds in different medium
except air. The speed of light in a transparent medium
decreases as the wavelength of light decreases.
Sir Isaac Newton, while studying the image of a
heavenly body formed due to refraction of white light by a
lens, found that the image is colored at its edges. He thought
that the colored image is due to
Fig. 6. Sir Isaac Newton work with white light led to some defect in the lens. He then
the discovery of the visible spectrum of light which
influenced the development of the color wheel. repeated the experiment with a
Photo source: https://munsell.com/color-blog/sir-
isaac-newton-color-wheel/
carefully polished lens, but the
image was still colored. Newton
then thought that the fault is not in the lens, but there is something in the nature of white
light itself due to which the image is colored at its edges. To investigate it further, he
performed another experiment with a prism.

Newton observed white light from sun to enter a dark room through a small
aperture in a window. He placed a glass prism in the path of light rays. The light coming
out of the prism was received on a white screen which registered a colored patch like
rainbow that was called spectrum.

The second practical work activity exhibits Tyndall Effect. The Tyndall effect is
the scattering of light which can be observed as a light beam passes through a colloid.
The suspended particles in the colloid makes the beam visible. This was first described
by 19th-century physicist John Tyndall.

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 Scattering of light is the phenomenon in which light rays get diverged from its
straight path after hitting an obstacle like dust or gas molecules, water vapors and other
particles suspended in a medium. Scattering of light
is responsible for some phenomena such as Tyndall
effect and the red sunrise and sunset.

Practical work number three in this module

utilized single and double slits. As you look at the
light through one slit you observe thin vertical white
and dark bands. The bending of light after passing
through the opening is the responsible for this
observation. The bending of light as it passes Figure 7. Sunset in Oas, Albay. The colors we see in the
sky are due to scattering of light.
through an obstruction such as a small slit is called Photo Source: Ms. Antonette Perdigon.
diffraction. When slit becomes narrow, diffraction
patterns are more visible. Moreover, when you use double slits, you can observe that
light passing through the slits interfere. Interference of light occurs when two
beams of light lay over another.

The double-slit experiment was first performed in 1800s by the English

scientist Thomas Young to explain whether light is a particle or a wave. Using
sunlight diffracted with a small slit, Young projected the light rays from the slit into
another screen with two slits placed side by side. Light passing through the pair of
slits was then allowed to fall into another screen.
The following are
the conditions for
the interference of
light to be
observable:
1. The
sources must be
coherent. This
means that sources
must maintain a
constant phase with
each other. Lasers
are advisable to
achieve this
conditions.
2. The
sources must be
monochromatic or a
single wavelength.
Utilizing sources
with the same frequency will satisfy this
condition. Figure 8. The double slit experiment by Thomas Young.
Photo source: mysearch.org.uk
3. The principle of superposition must apply.
This means that light waves passing
through each other must not be disturbed and that they travel at the same
medium at the same time.

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 Having all these conditions, Young continued with his experiment and found out
that when light came out from two slits and arrive at a point on the screen, they either
combine constructively or destructively. Bright lights appear on the screen when they are
combined constructively and dark lines appear on the screen when they combine
destructively.

Young observed that when the size of the slits was reduced and brought closer,
distinct bands of color separated by dark regions was produced. This is known as

Figure 9. Interference of light using two slits. Photo source: Project EASE: Nature and Property of Light, page 25.

interference patterns which is only possible if light were acting like a wave.

In 1905, Albert Einstein proved that light is consist of discrete particles which he
called "photons." The double-slit experiment conducted using single photons showed
an interference pattern also despite of the premise that single particle shot toward the
screen should not be able to interfere with itself. This showed that light sometimes
behaves as a wave and sometimes behaves as a particle. This is known as the wave-
particle duality.

In 1924, a French physicist, Louis de Broglie (pronounced “de broy”) proposed

that if light is dualistic in nature, matter should also exhibit this duality trait. He said that
electron can also exhibit a similar wave – particle duality. This means that electrons
should show the properties of waves like diffraction. His bold ideas were verified by a
diffraction experiment with electrons in 1927 with Clinton J. Davisson and Lester H.
Germer from the United States by shooting electron particles onto a crystal of nickel.

In the same year, George P. Thomson from Scotland conducted an experiment

by firing electrons towards thin metal foil which gave him the same result as Davisson
and Germer. As a historical note, the wave – particle duality of electrons was
demonstrated by father and son tandem. George P. Thomson is the son of JJ Thomson
who won Nobel Prize in 1906 for discovering electron. The father showed that electron is
a particle while the son proved that it is a wave.

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 PART A. PHYSICS in DAILY LIFE
Directions: Learning is more fun when applied on a daily basis. Let
us apply what you have learned in this module. Determine the
phenomena responsible for the following:
1. CD reflecting rainbow colors
2. Tyndall Effect
3. Holograms
4. Different colors when fuel mixes with water
5. Sun appears red during sunset
6. Bending of light at the corner of the door
7. Blue Sky
8. Formation of rainbow
9. Colors in soap bubbles
10. Security system in museum

PART B. SCIENTIST ON PARADE

Directions: Prepare a poster which illustrates or describes the role of the
scientists listed below in the establishment of the concept of electron behaving like a
wave. Output must be compiled in your portfolio but if laptop is available, then you may
present a 7-slide power point presentation. Also, reflect on the lives of these scientists
and relate what you liked in the life story of the scientists and what attributes did they
possess that are worthy to emulate. You are given about 1 to 2 weeks to work on the
project. Your output will be graded using the rubric on the next page.

1. Max Planck
2. Albert Einstein
3. Louis de Broglie
4. Thomas Young
5. Clinton J. Davisson
6. Lester H. Germer
7. George P. Thomson

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 EXCEEDS MEETS NEEDS NOT
CRITERIA EXPECTATIONS EXPECTATIONS IMPROVEMENT VISIBLE
(10 pts) (8 points) (6 points) (No points)
2-3 details are
3-4 unique details or
provided 1-2 details are Incomplete
examples
information clearly provided; some information;
provided; content is
relates to information irrelevant
Information complete;
topic; diagrams (if provided is not ideas or
all information clearly
present) relate closely related to examples
relates to
to topic and add to topic included
topic
clarity
Clear organizational Information generally
method organized; 2-3 gaps or out
chosen suits work; the content flows of sequence
Information
content nicely; the information
is presented
Organization flows in a clear pattern; reader has no difficulty cause viewer or
out of
reader following reader to re-read
sequence
is able to concentrate the information despite numerous times
on the a minor for clarity
information error or two
An occasional grammar Many minor Major and
or minor errors in
3 or fewer minor grammar or grammar and
spelling error may spelling
grammar or spelling;
result from errors; messy; information
spelling errors; mostly
risk-taking; materials inconsistent care attached
aesthetically pleasing,
Presentation are in without
some attaching materials attention to
organized and glued
messy parts; evident or drawing or pleasing effect;
down;
care of writing care of the care of project
presenting a polished, not evident
project project is
pleasing (edges rolled,
inconsistent etc.)
result
Images or
Images or layout layout copied
Images or layouts use a reproduce from
Images or layout show
common common patterns, others or
original
Creativity ideas; reader is surprised,
pattern which get and give standard or
intended viewer/reader what so
interested and pleased
audience interested he/she is sketchy that
accustomed to intent can’t be
determined

Congratulations on finishing the

supplementary learning module! You have just had an
amazing learning journey and for sure, you will have
the same in the succeeding modules.

This time, share to the class your final insights

by completing the following sentence prompts.

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 To strengthen what you have learned in this module, perform
the following additional task.
SCIENCE in DAILY LIFE (PHYSICS Photo Concepts)

Directions: Select one daily life application from the ten items given in the “Apply
What You Have Learned”. Observe/prepare a set-up at home and capture a photo with a
caption of your own reflection or most essential science lesson you learned from this
module.

The following terms used in this module are defined as follows:

Diffraction – the bending of light as it passes through an obstruction

such as a small slit.
Dispersion - the splitting of white light into its constituent colors due to the refractive
index of the surface and the wavelength of the light.
Interference of light – property of light that occurs when two beams of light
superimposed with one another.
Photon – a particle of light defined as a discrete bundle (or quantum) of electromagnetic (or
light) energy.
Scattering of light - the phenomenon in which light rays get deviated from its straight
path on striking an obstacle like dust or gas molecules, water vapors and other particles
suspended in a medium.
Wave – Particle duality – the exhibition of both wave-like and particle-like properties by a
single entity.

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 Directions: Identify what is asked or described in each item
then write the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following statements is NOT true about the dispersion of sunlight by a
prism?
a. The color most bent is red.
b. White light consists of waves of varying length.
c. Different wavelengths travel with different speed.
d. Different wavelengths correspond to different colors.

2. After a rainstorm, a rainbow may appear in the sky. Which statement explains this
observation?
a. Raindrops act as prisms separating sunlight into colors.
b. The white clouds are actually prisms composed of different colors.
c. The colors of the rainbow come from raindrops in the atmosphere.
d. When the sunlight is reflected by the ground towards the clouds, it separates into
different colors.
3. What do you call the bending of light around the corners of objects?
a. diffraction b. dispersion c. reflection d. refraction
4. Which property of light produces bright and dark bands on a screen after light from a
source passes through two very narrow slits that are near each other?
a. dispersion b. interference c. polarization d. refraction
5. When sunlight falls on soap bubble, the band of colors seen is due to
a. dispersion. b. interference. c. pigments of soap. d. refraction.
6. What do you call the separation of light into its component colors?
a. dispersion b. polarization c. reflection d. refraction
7. Which of the following is NOT a condition for an interference pattern to form?
a. Presence of strong sunlight since it is the main source of energy.
b. The light source must be coherent.
c. The principle of superposition must apply.
d. The source must be monochromatic.
8. An electron microscope can see finer structures than ordinary microscopes because
a. electrons are very tiny particles.
b. the energy of the electrons is relatively low.
c. the electrons have a relatively small de Broglie wavelength.
d. the electrons have a relatively large de Broglie wavelength.

9. Why don’t ordinary objects like bowling balls readily exhibit a wave nature?
a. Only objects at the atomic scale in principle can behave as waves.
b. Bowling balls normally have an extremely short de Broglie wavelength.
c. Bowling balls normally have an extremely long de Broglie wavelength.
d. Bowling balls are usually electrically neutral.

10. In the Davisson - Germer experiment in 1927, a beam of electrons was scattered off a
crystal of nickel. The intensity of the scattered beam varied with the angle of scattering,
and analysis of these results lead to confirmation of
a. the wave nature of electrons. b. the Rutherford model of the nucleus.
c. the Bohr model of the atom. d. the particle nature of light.

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TRY THIS
1. D 2. D 3. B 4. B 5. A

DO THIS
PRACTICAL WORK #1: Let’s Make a RAINBOW!
1. Dispersion and refraction
2. The dispersion of colors in the materials used like prism, bottled filled with water,
mirror or glass occurs because of the refractive index of the material. When light
enters the material, the difference in the refractive index of air and the material
causes light to bend. The angle of bending is different for different wavelengths of
light. As the white light moves through the different faces of the prism or materials
used, the different colors bend different amounts and in doing so spread out a
rainbow.
PRACTICAL WORK #2: Let there be LIGHT! (The Tyndall Effect Activity)
1. The light beam is not visible in glass A filled with water only while in glass B and
C, filled with milk and flour with water respectively, the light beam can be seen.
2. Tyndall effect can be seen in glasses B and C.
3. The presence of particles scattered in glasses B and C allows us to see the beam
of light.

EXPLORE
PRACTICAL WORK #3: SIMPLE EXPERIMENT on DIFFRACTION and INTERFERENCE
of LIGHT WAVES
1. White light can pass through the slit. The property being demonstrated is diffraction.
2. White light passing through the slit interfere. This exhibit interference of light. Light source
must be coherent and monochromatic.
3. When the size of the slits were reduced and brought them closer together, the light
passing through the slits and onto the screen produced distinct bands of color separated by
dark regions.
4. When the width of the single slit was increased, the pattern might not be visible.
APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
PART A: PHYSICS IN DAILY LIFE
1. Diffraction. When light strikes the CDs, varied colors can be seen due to the change
in the refractive index of the medium. The medium varied from air to CD. The surface
of CD/DVD acts like a diffraction grating also.
2. Scattering of light. The particles suspended in a colloid showed the direction of the
light path of light. It can reveal how light was scattered.
3. Diffraction. Hologram works by splitting beam of coherent light.
4. Interference. Fuel mixed with water can register colors in our eyes through
constructive interference. This phenomena is also referred as Thin film interference.
5. Scattering of Light. At sunset, the light travels longer distances with more air and dust
in the atmosphere. Thus, most of the blue light is absorbed before it reaches you.
Therefore, red light which has a longer wavelength is the most predominant color left
when the light from the sun reaches the eye. Hence, the sunset appears red
6. Diffraction. Light can diffract even through small slits or hole. Slight opening of the
door can show the bending of light.

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 7. Scattering of Light. During noontime, most of the blue light of shorter wavelength in
sunlight is scattered and reflected to earth, so the sky looks blue.
8. Dispersion. This phenomenon is the same as the prism activity in this module.
Rainbow is formed when white light dispersed into its constituent colors.
9. Interference. Soap bubbles form rainbow colors due to constructive interference. This
phenomena is the same as the fuel mixed with water.
10. Scattering of Light. Photoelectric alarm system in museum employs light beam and
photoelectric sensors. The particles are scattered and reflects lights in the
photosensitive cell which causes alarm. This is similar to the Tyndall effect activity.

PART B. PARADE OF SCIENTISTS (Answers may vary)

ASSESS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

1. A 6. A
2. A 7. A
3. A 8. D
4. B 9. B
5. B 10. A

Chebrolu, Srayanth et.al. 2019. "brilliant.org." brilliant.org. Accessed August 9, 2020.

https://brilliant.org/wiki/dispersion-and-scattering-of-light/.

Kumar, Abhay. 2019. "student-baba.com." Accessed August 11, 2020. https://www.student-

baba.com/2019/07/Applications-and-examples-of-diffraction-of-light-in-real-life.html.

Munsell, Albert. 2018. "Munsell.com." Accessed August 12, 2020. https://munsell.com/color-

blog/sir-isaac-newton-color-wheel.

Nalda, Nora F. et.al. 2002. Practical Work in High School Physics: Activities for Students.
Quezon city: National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development
University of the Philippines .

Patalinghug, Wyona C. et.al. 2016. Teaching Guide for Senior High School:General
Chemistry 1. Quezon City: Commission on Higher Education.

2016. "wikimedia.org." wikimedia.org. May 11. Accessed August 12, 2020.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Dispersionprism.jpg.

Young, Hugh D and Freedman, Roger A. 2020. University Physics with Modern Physics
Fifteenth Edition in SI Units. Pearson International.

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