LIGHT LABLEARNER

Science Investigations

Term: Spectrometer
- Definition: A device scientists use to find out exactly how much light is absorbed or transmitted by a liquid.
Function of Spectrometer
- Purpose: Calculates the difference between the beginning and ending amounts of light.
- Result Interpretation: Reports the difference as transmittance or absorbance.
Transmittance
- Definition: A value between 0 and 100%.
- 100% Transmittance: All light released is transmitted through the liquid.
- Less than 100% Transmittance: Some light is absorbed by the liquid.
Absorbance
- Definition: A value between 0 to 2.0.
- 2.0 Absorbance: All light is absorbed by the liquid.
- Between 0 and 2.0 Absorbance: Indicates that some light is absorbed by the liquid.
Concentration Curve
- Definition: A graph of data from samples with known amounts of a substance.
- Usage: Used to determine the amount of a substance in an unknown sample.
- Data Source: Created with absorbance data.

Law of Reflection
- Definition: States that the angle at which light hits an object is equal to the angle at which light is reflected.
Angles
- Angle of Incidence: The angle at which light hits an object.
- Angle of Reflection: The angle at which light is reflected off of an object.

Absorbance Spectrum
- Definition: Shows how different wavelengths of light are absorbed by a substance.
Transparent Materials
- Example: Window glass is transparent to all wavelengths; red glass of a traffic light is transparent to only certain wavelengths.
Opaque Objects
- Example: Using red, blue, and red filters. Each filter ONLY allows a particular wavelength of light to pass through it.

Refraction of Light
- Definition: Occurs whenever light travels from one medium to another.
Light Waves in Different Mediums
- Observation: Light waves are bent as they move