Physics Test 1 – Optics

Topic List

The following is a list of key skills and knowledge that are examinable on Test 1:

- Convert between standard and scientific notation

- Convert between units of measurement
- Round measurements (e.g. to the nearest tenth, thousandth, hundredth, etc.)
- Define light
- Describe differences between emission, transmission, reflection, and absorption
- Describe differences between transparent, translucent, and opaque materials
- Describe differences between luminous and non-luminous objects
- Describe the passage of light through the eye (Distinguish between real and virtual images)
- Identify and describe different types of reflection (based on surface)
- Apply the Law of Reflection to calculate angle of incidence or angle of reflection
- Apply the Law of Reflection to sketch examples of reflected light
- Describe the path of light between mediums of different refractive index
- Label a ray diagram demonstrating refraction
- Explain the cause of refraction
- Analyze the formula for the refractive index of a material
- Identify types of lenses Describe real-world applications of concave and convex lenses
- Analyze the focal length of lenses through sketching ray diagrams
- Basic understanding of the concept of total internal reflection as a special case of refraction
above the critical angle
 - Convert between standard and scientific notation

How to

Step 1: Move the decimal, or place a decimal, to create a number between 1 and 10. This will be the
coefficient.

Step 2: Count the number of places you moved the decimal. This will be the exponent. If you moved the
decimal to the right, the exponent will be negative. If you moved it to the left, the exponent will be
positive.

Step 3: Write out the coefficient from step 1 multiplied by 10 raised to the exponent from step 2.

Definition

Standard Form: A way to represent numbers using 0s as place holders to show the magnitude (size)
of the number

Scientific Notation: A way to represent a value as a number multiplied by a power of ten. It is often
used for very large or very small numbers. Scientific notation is always found in the following
format:

c ×10p where 1≤ c <10

Now let's look at two examples. In the first example, we have a very large number we are converting
into scientific notation. In the second, we have a very small number.

Example Problem 1- Convert Standard Form to Scientific Notation

Write 134,000,000 in scientific notation.

Step 1: Place a decimal between the 1 and the 3 to create a number between 1 and 10. The
coefficient will be 1.34.

Step 2: The decimal moved 8 places to the left, so the exponent will be 8.

Step 3: When we put these values into scientific notation we get: 1.34×108.
Example Problem 2- Convert A Decimal in Standard Form to Scientific Notation

Write 0.0046 In scientific notation.

Step 1: Place a decimal point between the 4 and the 6 to get a coefficient of

4.6.

Step 2: The decimal was moved 3 places to the right, so the exponent will be

-3.

Step 3: Putting these into scientific notation, we get:

4.6×10-3.
- Convert between units of measurements