EDEXCEL IGCSE / CERTIFICATE IN PHYSICS

Light Waves

Edexcel IGCSE Physics pages 107 to 117

October 4th 2012

 Edexcel Specification
Section 3: Waves
d) Light and sound
understand that light waves are transverse waves which can be reflected, refracted and
diffracted
use the law of reflection (the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection)
construct ray diagrams to illustrate the formation of a virtual image in a plane mirror
describe experiments to investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks,
semicircular blocks and triangular prisms
know and use the relationship: n = sin i / sin r
describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of glass, using a glass block
describe the role of total internal reflection in transmitting information along optical fibres and
in prisms
explain the meaning of critical angle c
know and use the relationship: n = 1 / sin c
 Reflection of light
• Reflection: When a light wave hits a
barrier or surface it turns back to the
medium it comes from. This is called
reflection.
 Law of Reflection
The angle of incidence (i)
is equal to the angle of incident ray
reflection (r)
angle of
incidence, i
normal
Note: Both angles are
measured with respect to the angle of
reflection, r mirror
‘normal’. This is a construction
line that is perpendicular to the
reflected ray
reflecting surface at the point
of incidence.
 The image formed by a plane mirror

object image

construction lines
normals (virtual light rays)

plane The image produced by the plane

mirror mirror is:
1. The same size as the object
2. The same distance behind the
mirror as the object is in front
3. Upright (the same way up as
the object)
4. Back-to-front compared with
the object (lateral inversion)
5. Virtual
 Virtual images
VIRTUAL images are
formed where light rays
only appear to come
from. A virtual image
cannot be cast onto a
screen.

The image formed by a

projector is known as a
REAL image because
light rays travel to it.
Choose appropriate words to fill in the gaps below:
The law of reflection states that the angle of __________
reflection is
always _______
equal to the angle of incidence.

Both angles are measured relative to the _________,

normal a line
that is at _______
ninety degrees to the reflecting surface at the
point of reflection.
A plane mirror forms a _______
virtual image which is unlike a
_____
real image in that it cannot be cast onto a screen. The
image in a plane mirror is also the same ______
size and the
same way up as the object.
WORD SELECTION:
normal virtual size reflection real equal ninety
Light Refraction
Refraction occurs when a wave
changes speed as it passes
from one region to another.
This speed change usually
causes the wave to change
direction.
Water waves slow down as they
pass over from a deeper to a
shallower region.
Light slows down as it passes
from air into glass, perspex or
water.
 Refraction experiment
Typical results:
angle of angle of deviation / °
incidence / ° refraction / °
0 0 0
15 10 5
30 19 11
45 28 17
60 35 25
75 40 35

No deviation occurs when the angle of incidence is zero.

Increasing the angle of incidence increases the deviation.
 Refraction of light at a plane surface
(a) Less to more optical dense transition (e.g. air to glass)

AIR GLASS

normal
angle of
angle of refraction
incidence

Light bends TOWARDS the normal.

The angle of refraction is LESS than the angle of incidence.
(b) More to less optical dense transition (e.g. water to air)

angle of
refraction
normal

angle of
incidence

WATER AIR

Light bends AWAY FROM the normal.

The angle of refraction is GREATER than the angle of incidence.
 Why a pool appears shallow

normals
observer

AIR
WATER

image

object at the
bottom of a pool
 Complete the paths of the RED light rays:
A
B

C E

F
 The refraction equation
When a light ray passes from one
medium to another:
i
n = sin i
sin r

where:
i is the angle of incidence in the
first medium r

r is the angle of refraction in the

second medium
n is a constant number called the
refractive index.
An experiment to find the refractive
index (n) of glass
1. Set up the equipment as shown in
the diagram opposite
2. For an initial angle of incidence, i
of 30º trace the path of the light
ray.
3. Measure the angle refraction, r.
4. Calculate the refractive index using
the formula: n = sin (i) / sin (r).
5. Repeat for a range of angles
between 10º and 80º.
6. Calculate the average value of n.
 Question 1
Calculate the refractive index when light passes
from air to glass if the angle of incidence is 30°
and the angle of refraction 19º.
n = sin i / sin r
= sin (30º) / sin (19º)
= 0.500 / 0.326
refractive index , n = 1.53
 Question 2
Calculate the angle of refraction when light passes
from air to perspex if the angle of incidence is 50°
and the refractive index, n = 1.50.
n = sin i / sin r
1.50 = sin (50º) / sin (r )
becomes: sin (r ) = sin (50º) / 1.50
= 0.766 / 1.50
sin (r ) = 0.511
angle of refraction = 30.7º
 Question 3
Calculate the angle of incidence when light passes
from air to water if the angle of refraction is 20°
and the refractive index, n = 1.33.
n = sin i / sin r
1.33 = sin (i) / sin 20º
becomes: sin (i) = 1.33 x sin (20º)
= 1.33 x 0.342
sin (i) = 0.455
angle of incidence = 27.1º
 Complete:
Answers
medium 1 medium 2 n i r

air water 1.33 50o 35.2o

glass air 0.67 30o 48.6o
water glass 1.13 59.8o 50o
air diamond 2.40 50o 18.6o
air unknown 1.53 50o 30o
 Dispersion
Dispersion occurs when a prism splits the
colours of white light into the spectrum.

This occurs because the refractive index of the

glass or perspex of the prism varies with the
colours of the spectrum that make up white
light.

Violet has the greatest refractive index and

therefore deviates the most.
Red has the lowest and deviates the least.

white
light
prism spectrum
Choose appropriate words to fill in the gaps below:
Refraction occurs when a wave changes ______
speed as it crosses
the boundary between two regions. The _________
direction of the
wave also usually changes.
Light rays deviate ________
towards the normal when they pass from
less dense air to more dense _________.
perspex The greater the
angle of incidence the greater is the _________.
deviation

Different ______
colours of light deviate by different amounts. Violet
deviates the _____.
most A prism can be used to split the colours
of white light into a spectrum. This is called _________.
dispersion

WORD SELECTION:
towards deviation most dispersion direction perspex speed colours
 Total internal reflection
critical angle
Total internal reflection
occurs when:

1.Light is incident on a
boundary between optically
more to less dense substance GLASS
(for example glass to air). AIR

2. The angle of incidence is NORMAL

greater than the critical angle,
Angle
Angle
Angle
of of
incidence
of
incidence
incidence
greater
equal
lessthan
to
c for the interface. thethe
critical
than
critical
theangle:
critical
angle: angle:
NORefraction
Refraction
Refraction atand
and
90º and
TOTAL
PARTIAL
PARTIAL
INTERNAL
reflection
reflection
REFLECTION
 Critical angle equation
critical angle
The critical angle is the angle
of incidence in the denser
medium that results in an
angle of refraction of 90º

n = 1 GLASS
sin c
AIR

where: NORMAL angle of

n is the refractive index of
refraction
the denser medium (glass in
the example opposite). = 90º
c is the critical angle.
 Question 1
Calculate the critical angle of glass to air if the
refractive index of glass is 1.5
n = 1 / sin c
= 1.0 / 1.5
= 0.67
critical angle for glass, c = 42°
 Question 2
Calculate the critical angle of water to air if the
refractive index of glass is 1.3
n = 1 / sin c
= 1.0 / 1.3
= 0.75
critical angle for water, c = 49°
 Question 3
Calculate the maximum refractive index of a medium if light
is to escape from it into water (refractive index = 1.3) at all
angles below 30°.
n = 1 / sin c
becomes:
sin c = 1 / n
sin 30° = 1.3 / n
0.5 = 1.3 / n
= 1.3 / 0.5
maximum refractive index, n = 2.6
 Uses of total internal reflection
1. Prismatic periscope

Glass and perspex both have critical

angles of about 42º.

In each prism the light strikes the glass-air

interface at an incidence angle of 45º

Total internal reflection therefore occurs

and the light ray is deviated by 90º in each
prism.
2. Reflectors

The reflector is made up of

many small perspex prisms
arranged so that light
undergoes total internal
reflection twice.

The overall result is that the

light is returned in the direction
from which it originally came.

The reflector will be seen to be

lit up from the point of view of
the light source for example
the driver of a car with its
headlights on.
A bicycle rear reflector
contains many tiny red
perspex prisms
3. Optical fibres

Optical fibre consists of two

concentric layers of different
types of glass, core and
cladding.
core cladding

Light entering the inner core

always strikes the boundary of
the two glasses at an angle
that is greater than the critical
angle.
 Optical fibre communication
Optical fibres can be used to transmit
information using visible light or infra-red
radiation. The light cannot escape from the
fibre, it is continually reflected internally by
the fibre.

Compared with microwaves and radio

waves optical fibres:
 can carry far more information due to the
higher frequency of light and infra-red.
 are more secure because the signals stay
within the fibres.

The fastest broadband uses optical fibres.

 The Endoscope
The medical endoscope contains two bundles of fibres. One
set of fibres transmits light into a body cavity and the other
is used to return an image for observation.
 Online Simulations
Law of Reflection - NTNU - features a movable plane mirror
Reflection in a plane mirror - eChalk
Lateral inversion demo showing law of reflection - Freezeway.com
Very simple ray reflection - Freezeway.com
Reflection at a plane mirror with a protractor - Freezeway.com
Reflection at a plane mirror ray diagram - Freezeway.com
Balloon blasting game - eChalk
Height of mirror and image seen - NTNU
Virtual image formation - eChalk
Image formed by a plane mirror - NTNU
Reflection and images from two mirrors at 90 degrees to each oth
er
- NTNU
Lens / mirror effect on a beam of light - NTNU
Multiple reflections from two plane mirrors - NTNU
Bending Light PhET - Explore bending of light between two
mediums with different indices of refraction. See how changing
from air to water to glass changes the bending angle. Play with
prisms of different shapes and make rainbow.
Refraction through a rectangular block - Freezeway.com
Refraction through a rectangular block with some protractors -
Freezeway.com
Light Refraction - Fendt
Refraction explained - Fendt
Reflection & Refraction at a boundary related to wave speed -
NTNU
Refraction animation - NTNU - Does not show TIR effect
Prism - non dispersive reflections and refractions - NTNU
Prism/Lens - non dispersive refraction and reflections - NTNU
Refraction by a semicircular block - Freezeway.com
Refraction through a semicircular block with protractors -
Freezeway.com
Light moving from water to air or vice-versa - NTNU
Where is the fish? - refraction by water - NTNU
The appearance of an object under water / ray diagram -
NTNU
How a fish sees the world - NTNU
Fibre optic reflection - NTNU
Dispersion with the effect of filters - Freezeway.com
Dispersion of light using a prism - NTNU - prism apex angle
can be changed
Prism showing light dispersion for different colours - Explore
Science
Prism - multishape prism and single light ray - no extra
reflections - netfirms
Wave Effects - PhET - Make waves with a dripping faucet,
audio speaker, or laser! Add a second source or a pair of
slits to create an interference pattern. Also shows
diffraction.
Diffraction at a single slit - Fendt
Single slit diffraction - wavelength adjustable - NTNU
Diffraction from a single slit - netfirms
Diffraction around an obstacle - netfirms
BBC AQA GCSE Bitesize Revision:
Optical fibres
Diffraction past a barrier - netfirms
Resolution from two circular apertures - NTNU
 Light Waves
Notes questions from pages 107 to 117
1. Draw a diagram illustrating the law of reflection. (see page 107)
2. With the aid of a diagram explain how a plane mirror forms an image. also
list the properties of this image. (see page 108)
3. (a) What is refraction? (b) Draw a labelled diagram showing how a light
ray travels through a rectangular glass block. (see page 109)
4. (a) State the equation relating incident and refraction angles. (b) Calculate
the angle of refraction with glass (n = 1.5) if the angle of incidence is 55°.
(see page 110)
5. (a) Explain what is meant by total internal reflection and critical angle.
(b) state the equation for critical angle and calculate the value of this angle
for a substance of refractive index 1.4. (see pages 111 and 112)
6. With the aid of diagrams explain how total internal reflection is used in (a)
prismatic periscopes and (b) optical fibres. (see pages 112 to 114)

7. (a) What is meant by dispersion? (b) How is it caused? (c) Draw a diagram
(on colour) showing how a prism can disperse white light. (see page 115)
8. Answer the questions on pages 116 and 117.
9. Verify that you can do all of the items listed in the end of chapter checklist
on page 116.