CPO Science

Foundations of Physics

Unit 6, Chapter 17
 Unit 6: Light and Optics
Chapter 17 Light and Color

 17.1 Reflection and Refraction

 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
 17.3 Optical Systems
 Chapter 17 Objectives
1. Describe the functions of convex and concave lenses, a
prism, and a flat mirror.
2. Describe how light rays form an image.
3. Calculate the angles of reflection and refraction for a single
light ray.
4. Draw the ray diagram for a lens and a mirror showing the
object and image.
5. Explain how a fiber-optic circuit acts like a pipe for light.
6. Describe the difference between a real image and a virtual
image and give an example of each.
 Chapter 17 Vocabulary Terms
 lens  index of refraction  magnifying glass
 mirror  focal point  spherical
 prism  focal length aberration
 optics  optical axis  reflection
 geometric optics  light ray  diffraction
 specular reflection  magnification  telescope
 diffuse  critical angle  focus
 converging  Snell’s law  total internal
 diverging  real image
reflection
 law of reflection  virtual image
 resolution
 normal line  chromatic
 pixel image
 ray diagram aberration
  refraction
 focal plane
magnification
 object  fiber optics  thin lens formula
 dispersion
 17.1 Reflection and Refraction
 Key Question:
How do we describe the
reflection and refraction
of light?

*Students read Section 17.1

AFTER Investigation 17.1
 17.1 Reflection and Refraction
 The overall study of how light behaves is called optics.
 The branch of optics that focuses on the creation of images is
called geometric optics, because it is based on relationships
between angles and lines that describe light rays.
 17.1 Reflection and Refraction
 A lens is an optical device
that is used to bend light in a
specific way.
 A converging lens bends light
so that the light rays come
together to a point.
 A diverging lens bends light
so it spreads light apart
instead of coming together.
 17.1 Reflection and Refraction
 Mirrors reflect light and allow us to see ourselves.
 A prism is another optical device that can cause light to change
directions.
 A prism is a solid piece of glass with flat polished surfaces.
 17.1 Reflection

 Images appear in mirrors

because of how light is reflected
by mirrors.
 The incident ray follows the
light falling onto the mirror.
 The reflected ray follows the
light bouncing off the mirror.
 17.1 Reflection
 In specular reflection each incident ray bounces off in a
single direction.
 A surface that is not shiny creates diffuse reflection.
 In diffuse reflection, a single ray of light scatters into many
directions.
 Law of Reflection
The incident ray
strikes the mirror.
The reflected ray
bounces off.

The angle of
incidence equals
the angle of
reflection.
 17.1 Law of reflection

30o 30o

 A light ray is incident on a plane mirror with a 30 degree

angle of incidence.
 Sketch the incident and reflected rays and determine the
angle of reflection.
 17.1 Refraction
 Light rays may bend as they
cross a boundary from one
material to another, like from
air to water.
 This bending of light rays is
known as refraction.
 The light rays from the straw
are refracted (or bent) when
they cross from water back
into air before reaching your
eyes.
 17.1 Refraction
When a ray of light crosses from one material to another, the
amount it bends depends on the difference in index of
refraction between the two materials.
 17.1 Index of refraction
The ability of a material to bend rays of light is described by the
index of refraction (n).
 17.1 Snell's law of refraction
 Snell’s law is the relationship between the angles of
incidence and refraction and the index of refraction of both
materials.
Angle of refraction
Angle of incidence
(degrees)
(degrees)

ni sin i= nr sin r

Index of
refraction of Index of
incident material refraction of
refractive
material
17.1 Calculate the angle of refraction

 A ray of light traveling

through air is incident on a
smooth surface of water at
an angle of 30° to the
normal.
 Calculate the angle of
refraction for the ray as it
enters the water.
 17.1 Dispersion and prisms

 When white light passes through a glass prism, blue is

bent more than red.
 Colors between blue and red are bent proportional to
their position in the spectrum.
17.1 Dispersion and prisms

 The variation in refractive

index with color is called
dispersion.
 A rainbow is an example of
dispersion in nature.
 Tiny rain droplets act as
prisms separating the colors
in the white light rays from
the sun.
 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images

Key Question:
How does a lens or mirror
form an image?

*Students read Section 17.2

AFTER Investigation 17.2
 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
We see a world of images created on the retina of the
eye by the lens in the front of the eye.
 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images

 Objects are real physical

things that give off or
reflect light rays.
 Images are “pictures” of
objects that are formed in
space where light rays
meet.
 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
 The most common image we see every day is our own
reflection in a mirror.
 The image in a mirror is called a virtual image because the
light rays do not actually come together.
 The virtual image in a flat
mirror is created by the eye
and brain.
 17.2 Mirrors, Lenses, and Images
 Light rays that enter a converging lens parallel to its axis bend
to meet at a point called the focal point.
 The distance from the center of the lens to the focal point is
called the focal length.
 The optical axis usually goes through the center of the lens.
 17.2 The image formed by a lens
 A lens can form a virtual image just as a mirror does.
 Rays from the same point on an object are bent by the lens so
that they appear to come from a much larger object.
 17.2 The image formed by a lens
 A converging lens can also form a real image.
 In a real image, light rays from the object actually come back
together.
 17.2 Drawing ray diagrams
 A ray diagram is the best way to understand what type of
image is formed by a lens, and whether the image is
magnified or inverted.
 These three rays follow the rules for how light rays are bent
by the lens:
1. A light ray passing through the center of the lens is not
deflected at all (A).
2. A light ray parallel to the axis passes through the far focal
point (B).
3. A light ray passing through the near focal point emerges
parallel to the axis (C).
 17.3 Optical Systems

Key Question:
How are the properties of
images determine?

*Students read Section 17.3

AFTER Investigation 17.3
 17.3 Optical Systems
 An optical system is a collection of mirrors, lenses, prisms, or
other optical elements that performs a useful function with
light.
 Characteristics of optical systems are:
— The location, type, and magnification of the image.
— The amount of light that is collected.
— The accuracy of the image in terms of sharpness, color, and
distortion.
— The ability to change the image, like a telephoto lens on a
camera.
— The ability to record the image on film or electronically.
 17.3 The sharpness of an image
 Defects in the image are called aberrations and can
come from several sources.

— Chromatic aberration is caused by dispersion, when

different colors focus at different distances from the lens.
 17.3 The sharpness of an image
— Spherical aberration causes a blurry image because
light rays farther from the axis focus to a different
point than rays near the axis.
 17.3 The sharpness of an image

— Diffraction causes a point on an object to focus as a

series of concentric rings around a bright spot.
 17.3 Thin lens formula
 The thin lens formula is a mathematical way to do ray
diagrams with algebra instead of drawing lines on graph paper.

1 +1 =1
do di df
Object
distance focal
(cm) length (cm)
Image distance
(cm)
 17.3 Use the thin lens formula

 Calculate the location of the image if the object is 6 cm in

front of a converging lens with a focal length of 4 cm.
 17.3 Image relay
 A technique known as image relay is used to analyze an
optical system made of two or more lenses.
Application: The Telescope