Optics Test Review: Light Production and Reflection

medium

The substance through which light travels.

electromagnetic spectrum

The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation.

opaque

A material that does not allow light to pass through.

transparent

A material that allows light to pass through without scattering.

real image vs. virtual image

A real image can be projected on a screen, while a virtual image cannot.

radiation

The emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles.

visible light

The portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye.

Light ray

A straight line that represents the path of light.

translucent

A material that allows some light to pass through but scatters it.

plane

A flat surface where light can reflect.

electromagnetic wave

A wave of electromagnetic radiation that travels through space.

Luminous vs non-luminous

Luminous objects emit their own light, while non-luminous objects do not.

Incident ray

The ray of light that strikes a surface.

converge vs. diverge

Converge means to come together, while diverge means to spread apart.

normal

An imaginary line perpendicular to the surface at the point of incidence.

perpendicular

At an angle of 90 degrees to a given line or surface.

focus

The point where light rays converge or appear to diverge.

reflected ray

The ray of light that bounces off a surface.

angle of incidence

The angle between the incident ray and the normal.

angle of reflection

The angle between the reflected ray and the normal.

Specular vs diffuse reflection

Specular reflection occurs on smooth surfaces, while diffuse reflection occurs on rough surfaces.

Concave vs convex

Concave lenses curve inward, while convex lenses curve outward.

centre of curvature

The center of the sphere from which a mirror is made.

principal axis

The line that passes through the center of curvature and the focus of a lens or mirror.

vertex

The point where the principal axis meets the mirror or lens.

refraction

The bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.

angle of refraction

The angle between the refracted ray and the normal.

Index of refraction

A measure of how much the speed of light is reduced in a medium compared to vacuum.

Critical angle

The angle of incidence that results in total internal reflection.

Total internal reflection

The complete reflection of light back into a medium when it hits the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle.

converging vs diverging lens

Converging lenses bring light rays together, while diverging lenses spread them apart.

emergent ray

The ray of light that exits a lens or medium.

optical centre

The point in a lens where light rays pass through without bending.

principal focus

The point where parallel rays of light converge after passing through a lens.

secondary principal focus

The point where diverging rays appear to originate after passing through a lens.

Converging and Diverging lens features

Diagrams and terminology that describe the characteristics of converging and diverging lenses.

Imaging rules for converging lenses and diverging lenses

The principles that govern how images are formed by different types of lenses.

Locating images in a converging lens and a diverging lens using the ray diagram method

A technique to determine the position and characteristics of images formed by lenses.

Describing the characteristics of an image using SALT

SALT stands for Size, Attitude, Location, and Type of the image.

Solving problems using the 2 lens equations

Using the thin lens equation and magnification to find image characteristics.