VARIOUS LIGHT PHENOMENA

for Physical Science/ Grade 11

Quarter 4 / Week 5

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2 NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

1
 FOREWORD

This self-learning kit will serve as a guide in describing the

atmospheric optical phenomena or the interaction of charged
particles from the sun (the solar wind) with certain atmospheric
gases. It will be your aid as you learn new ideas and enrich your
existing knowledge about the various light phenomena.

This is especially designed for the needs of the senior high

school students who are enrolled in Physical Science. It is
constructed based on the MELCs- Most Essential Learning
Competencies made by the Department of Education (DepEd).
This is a useful tool to maximize students learning experiences and
enhance their skills by performing certain activity and in observing
the formation of various light phenomena through daily
experiences.

Take care of this kit, have fun and enjoy learning.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

2
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson the learners are expected to:
K- discuss the various light phenomena;
S- describe the various light phenomena; and
A- show awareness of the different light phenomena
by relating it to life experiences.

LEARNING COMPETENCY
Explain various light phenomena such as:
A. Your reflection on the concave and convex sides of a spoon looks
different
B. Mirages
C. Light from a red laser passes more easily though red cellophane
than green cellophane
D. Clothing of certain colors appear different in artificial light and in
sunlight
E. Haloes, sundogs, primary rainbows, secondary rainbows
and supernumerary bows.
F. Why clouds are usually white and rainclouds dark
G. Why the sky is blue and sunsets are reddish
(S11/12PS-lvh-66)

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

3
 I. WHAT HAPPENED
Try this!

PRE-TEST

A. Arrange the jumbled letters to form a correct word. Write the

correct words that you form in your notebook.

Jumbled Letters Correct Word

1. CAVENOC
2. XEVCON
3. WONBRIA
4. RAMIGE
5. ALSER
6. LOAH
7. RENCETERFINE
8. LANGE
9. SPRIM
10. STESNU Keep going!

B. Matching Type: Match Column A with Column B. Write the letter of

the correct answer in your notebook.

A B
1. It is known as diverging mirror.
A. Convex
2. It is the other term for converging mirror.
3. The deceptive appearance of a distant B. Concave
object. C. Halo
4. It projects all wavelengths the eyes can
D. Mirage
perceive.
5. The various circles/arcs of light around the E. Sun moon
sun or caused by refraction of light. F. Sundog

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

4
 II. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW

Have you ever looked at yourself in the

mirror and imagined that there is a
whole other world on the other side of
the glass with another version of you?
Did you know that there is a whole
“virtual” world on the other side of a
mirror?

Various Light Phenomena

❖ Concave and Convex Mirrors

A mirror is a surface that reflects a clear image. Images can

be of two types: real image and virtual image. An image that can
be formed on the screen is known as a real image and the one
which cannot be formed on the screen is known as a virtual
image. These images are formed when light falls on a mirror from
the object and is reflected by the mirror on the screen.

There can be two types of mirror: plane mirror and curved or

spherical mirror. The image formed by a plane mirror is always a
virtual image as it cannot be obtained on a screen. If a curved
mirror is a part of a sphere then it is known as a spherical mirror.
Spherical mirrors are the mirrors having curved surfaces that are
painted on one of the sides. The image formed by the spherical
mirror can be either real or virtual. There are two types of spherical
mirrors.

Spherical mirrors in which inward surfaces are painted are

known as convex mirrors, while the spherical mirrors in which
outward surfaces are painted are known as concave mirrors.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

5
 Figure 1: Types of Spherical Mirror
Source: https://byjus.com/physics/concave-convex-mirrors/

Concave Mirror
If a hollow sphere is cut into parts and the outer surface of
the cut part is painted, then it becomes a mirror with its inner
surface as the reflecting surface.

This kind of mirror is known as a concave mirror. Light

converges at a point when it strikes and reflects back from the
reflecting surface of the concave mirror. Hence, it is also known as
a converging mirror. When the concave mirror is placed very
close to the object, a magnified and virtual image is obtained.
However, if we increase the distance between the object and the
mirror then the size of the image reduces and a real image is
formed. So, the image formed by the concave mirror can be small
or large and it can also be real or virtual.

Convex Mirror
If the other cut part of the hollow sphere is painted from
inside, then its outer surface becomes the reflecting surface. This
kind of mirror is known as a convex mirror. A convex mirror is also
known as a diverging mirror as this mirror diverges light when they
strike on its reflecting surface. Virtual, erect, and diminished

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

6
 images are always formed with convex mirrors, irrespective of the
distance between the object and the mirror. Apart from other
applications, the convex mirror is mostly used as a rearview mirror
in vehicles.

Key Points:
• The image formed by a plane mirror is erect. It is virtual and is of
the same size as the object. The image is at the same distance
behind the mirror as the object is in front of it.
• In an image formed by a mirror, the left side of the object is seen
on the right side in the image, and right side of the object appears
to be on the left side in the image.
• A concave mirror can form a real and inverted image. When the
object is placed very close to the mirror, the image formed is
virtual, erect and magnified.

Figure 2: Image formation on a spoon surface

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/in-in-class-12th-physics-india/in-in-ray-optics-and-optical-
instruments/in-in-reflection-and-curved-mirrors/a/objects-in-the-mirror-are-actually-images-in-the-mirror

❖ Mirages
Mirages are optical illusions that have fooled many thirsty
explorers.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

7
 Figure 3: Mirage formation
http://www.planet-science.com/categories/under-11s/our-world/2012/01/what-is-a-
mirage.aspx

How do mirages form?

Normally, light waves from the sun travel straight through the
atmosphere to your eye. But, light travels at different speeds
through hot air and cold air.

Mirages happen when the ground is very hot and the air is cool.
The hot ground warms a layer of air just above the ground.

When the light moves through the cold air and into the layer of
hot air it is refracted (bent).

A layer of very warm air near the ground refracts the light from the
sky nearly into a U-shaped bend. Our brain thinks the light has
travelled in a straight line.

Our brain doesn't see the image as bent light from the sky.
Instead, our brain thinks the light must have come from something
on the ground.
Mirage in optics is the deceptive appearance of a distant object
or objects caused by the bending of light rays (refraction) in layers
of air of varying density.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

8
Figure 4. The normal path of light rays carrying a direct image is shown by the black line.
Under the right atmospheric conditions, the light rays may dip into a layer of hot air and then
bend upward (red line) so that to an observer they appear to come from the ground.

Souce: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Under certain conditions, such as over a stretch of pavement

or desert air heated by intense sunshine, the air rapidly cools with
elevation and therefore increases in density and refractive power.
Sunlight reflected downward from the upper portion of an
object—for example, the top of a camel in the desert—will be
directed through the cool air in the normal way. Although the light
would not be seen ordinarily because of the angle, it curves
upward after it enters the rarefied hot air near the ground, thus
being refracted to the observer’s eye as though it originated
below the heated surface. A direct image of the camel is seen
also because some of the reflected rays enter the eye in a straight
line without being refracted. The double image seems to be that
of the camel and its upside-down reflection in water. When the
sky is the object of the mirage, the land is mistaken for a lake or
sheet of water.

Figure 5. The normal path of light rays carrying a direct image is shown by the black
line. Under the right atmospheric conditions, the light rays may dip into a layer of hot air and
then bend upward (red line) so that to an observer they appear to come from the ground.

Source: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

9
❖ Light from a red laser passes more easily through red cellophane

When the red cellophane, a transparent material, covers the

flashlight the light from the flashlight appears red because the
cellophane absorbs all wavelengths of white light that comes
from the flashlight except for the red wavelength. This
wavelength is transmitted through the cellophane making the
light appear red. The white paper also appears red because the
color white is a reflection of all wavelengths of light together and
therefore is able to reflect the red light transmitted onto it. The
red light is able to completely cover the white paper because no
other wavelengths of light are visible in the darkened room. The
red dots cannot be seen because they are reflecting the same
wavelength of light that is being transmitted onto them. Since the
red light is the only light in the room, when it hits the red dots on
the white paper the only wavelength of light that is reflected
back is red. There is no contrast between two different colors
caused by multiple wavelengths of light so the colors cannot be
distinguished from one another.

❖ Clothes viewed under artificial light in a shop appear to have a

slightly different color when viewed outside. Why does this
happen?

The possible wavelengths reflected by a material are first

determined by the wavelengths falling on it, then by the
wavelengths not absorbed by the material.
Interior lights have varied wavelengths. Fluorescents are
different than incandescents, are different than sodiums, and are
different than the Sun.
The sun projects all wavelengths our eyes can perceive. A
material exposed to sunlight will reflect all wavelengths, minus
those absorbed, that our eyes are able to view. Any other light
source, like an indoor source, may not include all wavelengths,
NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

10
 colors, and therefore they cannot be reflected. As a result, the
appearance of the material is limited to the color of the light
falling upon it and then reflected.

Figure 6: Varying colors of an object due to limited color of light

https://www.quora.com/Clothes-viewed-under-artificial-light-in-a-shop-appear-to-
have-a-slightly-different-color-when-viewed-outside-Why-does-this-happen

❖ Haloes, sundogs, primary and secondary rainbows and

supernumerary bows

Figure 7: Halo

https://msu.edu/~murrayl3/Coursework/LightPaper.pdf, Lauren Murray SME 301, Section 3

Halo is the term for various circles or arcs of light around the
sun or Moon, caused by refraction of light as it moves through ice
crystals in the atmosphere. If colors are present the reddish tones
are at the inner part of the rings. Halos are large - in the most
common halo, the angle between the centre and the ring is 22
degrees (approximately the angle defined by the span of a hand
at arm's length, as in this example), but other even larger halos are
also possible.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

11
 Figure 8: Sundog
https://msu.edu/~murrayl3/Coursework/LightPaper.pdf, Lauren Murray SME 301, Section 3

Sundog (mock Sun, or parahelion), is type of halo consisting of a

pair of bright spots to the left and right of the Sun.

❖ Primary and Secondary Rainbows

Secondary Rainbows are fainter than a primary rainbow.

A secondary rainbow appears outside of a primary rainbow and
develops when light entering a raindrop undergoes two
internal reflections instead of just one (as is the case with a primary
rainbow). The intensity of light is reduced even further by the
second reflection, so secondary rainbows are not as bright as
primary rainbows. Alternatively: fewer light rays go through the
four-step sequence than the three-step sequence.

Figure 9: Primary and Secndary Rainbow

Photograph by: Olthoff

The color scheme of the secondary rainbow is opposite of

the primary rainbow. Violet light from the higher drop enters the

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

12
observer's eye, while red light from the same drop is incident
elsewhere.

Figure 10: Formation of Secondary Rainbow Diagram

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/wtr/rnbw/scnd.rxml

Simultaneously, red light from the lower drop enters the observer's
eye and violet light is not seen. This is why the colors of a
secondary rainbow change from violet on the top to red on the
bottom.

Figure 11: Supernumerary Rainbow

https://www.weatherscapes.com/album.php?cat=optics&subcat=rainbow_supernumeraries

A set of interference rainbows just inside the primary

rainbow. Supernumerary bows occur when raindrops
responsible for the main rainbow are much uniform in size.
Slightly different ray paths through a raindrop yield slightly
different path lengths and slightly larger exit angle. As a
result, there is constructive and destructive interference of
each color in the spectrum as a function of ray exit angle,
and a set of bows become visible inside the primary
rainbow. Usually, there are some variations in size of
raindrops, and the supernumeraries are washed out
NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

13
 altogether. There is almost always some washing out of
colors, and the bows show much green and red in them,
and not the other colors in the spectrum.

❖ Why do Rain Clouds get Darker?

When the sky gets darker, it’s a sign to get our umbrellas and
rain coats ready for a heavy rain coming. But do you know why it
gets darker?
Rain clouds are usually a darker shade of gray because the
light doesn't scatter to the base that it appears gray as you look
from the ground.

How are clouds formed?

Clouds are formed when radiant energy from the sun heats
the water, the water molecules gets excited and continuous
absorption of energy results to evaporation.

Figure 12: Cloud Formation Diagram

https://www.livescience.com/39069-why-are-rain-clouds-dark.html
When do clouds get darker?
As the sun continuously gives off energy, clouds get thicker and
denser as it gathers more water droplets and ice crystals.
Water droplets in the clouds naturally absorbed the light
without giving it off fully, therefore making it look darker in the
ground level. Light travels as waves of different lengths giving its
own unique color depending on its wavelength. Clouds are white
because their water droplets or ice crystals are large enough to

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

14
 scatter the light of the seven wavelengths (red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo, and violet), combining to produce visible
white light.
Rain clouds are gray instead of white because of their
thickness, or height — the thicker it gets, the less light it scatters,
consequently, less light penetrates all the way through. The larger
the water droplets get, the more it is efficient at absorbing light,
rather than scattering it. This explains why rain clouds get darker
shade of grey.

❖ Why is the sky blue? Why are sunsets red?

Take a look at light through a prism and notice all the

different colors that you can see. Light that looks white to our eyes
is actually made up of many different colors.
Each color can be thought of as a light wave with a different
wavelength (or size). Within the small range of wavelengths (or
colors) that we can see with our eyes, the shorter waves are blue
and the longer ones are red. Colors such as green, yellow, and
orange lie in between the blue and red ends of the visible
spectrum.
When light comes from the sun, all these light waves of
different wavelengths travel through empty space. When they
reach Earth’s atmosphere, the light waves can interact with
particles in the air like dust, water droplets, and ice crystals.
Because of the extremely small size of visible light waves (less than
one millionth of a meter), these light waves also interact the tiny
gas molecules that make up the air itself. The light waves bounce
off these particles just like you might bounce and get jostled in a
busy hallway. As the light waves bounce in lots of different
directions, we say they have been scattered.
How light waves get scattered depends strongly on the size
of the particle compared with the wavelength of the light.
Particles that are small compared with the light wavelength
NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

15
scatter blue light more strongly than red light. Because of this, the
tiny gas molecules that make up our Earth’s atmosphere (mostly
oxygen and nitrogen) scatter the blue portion of sunlight in all
directions, creating an effect that we see as a blue sky.

Blue Sky
Within the visible range of light, red light waves are scattered
the least by atmospheric gas molecules. So at sunrise and sunset,
when the sunlight travels a long path through the atmosphere to
reach our eyes, the blue light has been mostly removed, leaving
mostly red and yellow light remaining. The result is that the sunlight
takes on an orange or red cast, which we can see reflected from
clouds or other objects as a colorful sunset (or sunrise).

Sunset
Small particles of dust and pollution in the air can contribute
to (and sometimes even enhance) these colors, but the primary
cause of a blue sky and orange/red sunsets or sunrises is scattering
by the gas molecules that make up our atmosphere. Large
particles of pollution or dust scatter light in a way that changes
much less for different colors. The result is that a dusty or polluted
sky is usually more grayish white than blue.
Similarly, cloud droplets (typically 10 millionths to 100
millionths of a meter) are much larger than visible light waves, so
they scatter light without much color variation. This is why light
scattered by clouds takes on the same color as the incoming light.
For example, clouds will appear white or gray at midday and
orange or red at sunrise or sunset. In this way, clouds act as a
screen on which nature’s colors are painted. This is why sunsets or
sunrises are so much prettier when some clouds are available to
show us the colors.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

16
 POST ACTIVITY:
Explore more!

Activity 1: Observing Light Properties

Materials needed:
aluminum foil (if available)
mirror
tissue paper
cardboard
notebook page
flashlight

Directions:
1. First, predict whether light will be absorbed, reflected, or
transmitted.
2. Guess what color you expect the resultant light to be when a
flashlight is directed towards the surface of every material.
3. Write your guessed answers for Directions 1 & 2 in the 2nd column
of the table.
4. Test your hypotheses by directing the flashlight towards the
surface of every material listed in the table.
5. Write your observations in terms of color of light produced and the
light phenomenon (whether absorbed, reflected, or transmitted)in
the 3rd column of the table.

Item Prediction Results

aluminum foil
mirror
finger
cheek
leg
tissue paper
cardboard
notebook paper

Note: Copy and answer the table in your notebook.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

17
III. WHAT I HAVE LEARNED

POST TEST

A. Identification
Identify the given statement below and write your answers in
the notebook.

1. What is known as the diverging mirror as this mirror

diverges light when they strike on its reflecting surface?
____________
2. It is known as a converging mirror as light converges at a
point when it strikes and reflects from the reflecting
surface. ________________
3. It is the deceptive appearance of a distant object.
______________
4. _____ projects all wavelengths the eyes can perceive.
5. The various circles or arcs of light around the sun or moon,
caused by refraction of light is __________.
6. What type of halo is consists of a pair of bright spots to the
left and right of the sun?
7. What occurs when raindrops responsible for the main
rainbow are much uniform in size? ____________
8. What is formed when radiant energy from the sun heats
the water, then condensation forms after evaporation?
9. Which light wave has shorter wavelengths? _____________
10. Which light wave has longer wavelength?
______________

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

18
References

Concave Mirrors And Convex Mirrors - Image Formation, Ray Diagram.

BYJUS.https://byjus.com/physics/concave-convex-mirrors/

Dictionary.com. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. Accessed December

29, 2008. (Source of vocabulary definitions, with some
adaptation).

Murray, Lauren SME 301, Section 3

https://msu.edu/~murrayl3/Coursework/LightPaper.pdf,

Ray- Optics and Optical Instruments

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/in-in-class-12th-physics-
india/in-in-ray-optics-and-optical-instruments/in-in-reflection-and-
curved-mirrors/a/objects-in-the-mirror-are-actually-images-in-the-
mirror

Secondary Rainbows:fainter than a primary rainbow.Published 2022.

ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/wtr/rnbw/sc
nd.rxml

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

19
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF NEGROS ORIENTAL

SENEN PRISCILLO P. PAULIN, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent

JOELYZA M. ARCILLA EdD

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

MARCELO K. PALISPIS EdD

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

NILITA L. RAGAY EdD

OIC - Assistant Schools Division Superintendent / CID Chief

ROSELA R. ABIERA
Education Program Supervisor – (LRMS)

ARNOLD R. JUNGCO
PSDS – Division Science Coordinator

MARICEL S. RASID
Librarian II (LRMDS)

ELMAR L. CABRERA
PDO II (LRMDS)

JOAN Y. BUBULI
Writer
Noelyn Siapno
Lay – Out Artists
________________________________
ALPHA QA TEAM
LIEZEL A. AGOR
EUFRATES G. ANSOK
JOAN Y. BUBULI
MA. OFELIA BUSCATO
LIELIN A. DE LA ZERNA
DEXTER D. PAIRA

BETA QA TEAM
LIEZEL A. AGOR - BESAS
JOAN Y. BUBULI - VALENCIA
LIELIN A. DE LA ZERNA
PETER PAUL A. PATRON
THOMAS JOGIE U. TOLEDO
DISCLAIMER

The information, activities and assessments used in this material are designed to provide
accessible learning modality to the teachers and learners of the Division of Negros Oriental. The
contents of this module are carefully researched, chosen, and evaluated to comply with the set
learning competencies. The writers and evaluator were clearly instructed to give credits to
information and illustrations used to substantiate this material. All content is subject to copyright
and may not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent from the division.

NegOr_Q4_PhySci11_SLKWeek5_v2

20
 SYNOPSIS
This Self-Learning Kit deals with the description
of various light phenomena. Students will then
develop their senses to observe the
different optical phenomena. They will then
identify how the interaction of light from the
Sun or the Moon with certain components of
the atmosphere which results to optical
phenomena.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JOAN YUN BUBULI, Ed.D. is currently teaching Sumaliring

High School, Senior High Dept. of Sumaliring, Siaton, Negros
Oriental. She teaches Earth & Life Science, Physical Science
and General Biology. She obtained her Bachelor of
Secondary Education major in General Science at
Foundation University-Dumaguete City. She took up Master
of Arts in Education major in General Science and also her
Post graduate studies in Doctor of Education major in
Administration at the same institution.