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IGCSE Light Summary and

Practice Questions
Unit 7 Physics Light

7.1

What is emitted from the sun?

Sunlight

What is light?
A way of transferring energy.

What is luminous?
Something that gives out light.

What is non luminous?’

Something that does not give out light.

How is energy transferred from sun to earth?

Through light waves.

What is the difference between sound and light?

Light does not need a medium.

What is another method through which energy from the sun reaches earth?
Infrared rays.

How do we see an object?

When it reflects light.

What is meant by transmit?

To let light pass through.

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 1

 What are the ways light can react with an object?
It can reflect, transmit, or absorb.

What happens when an object absorbs light?

It stays in and is converted into thermal energy.

What happens when light spreads to a long distance?

When it gets far it starts to get dimmer.

What is opaque and example?

Opaque is when an object blocks light. eg wood

What is translucent and what is an example?

Object that makes light scatter. eg frosted glass

What is transparent and example?

When light can pass through. eg glass

How does light travel?

In straight waves.

7.2

What is incident ray?

The ray of light that hits the surface.

What is the other ray called?

Reflected ray

What is the law of reflection?

Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

What is a periscope?
A mirror that helps you see on top or on top of the wall.

7.3

What does a plane mirror show and what does it do?

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 2

 A plane mirror makes an image. Which is upright and shows real colors.

What is virtual and real image?

Real you can project, virtual you cannot.

What is laterally inverted?

Reflection on mirror. It changes right to left.

What helps us show how an image is formed?

Ray Diagram

Why do somethings reflect light but u cant see it?

Because it is diffuse meaning that light gets scattered.

7.4

What is refraction?

The bending of light.

Where does refraction happen?

In the change of the medium.

What is the angle of refraction?

Angle between refracted ray and normal.

If the light goes from less dense to high dense light will it?
Move towards normal.

If opposite?
Away.

What is apparent and real depth?

Apparent is what you think it is, and real is the actual place.

What does the speed of light depend on?

The density of medium.

How is light in dense and less dense material?

In dense slow. In less density fast.

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 3

 Refractive Index
= Speed in vacuum over speed in the medium.

7.5

What is a hypothesis?

What you think will happen in an experiment.

What is a conclusion?
What you found out.

What happens if a ray is parallel and goes into a different medium?

The direction won't change but its speed will.

What is optical fiber?

It's a very thin fibers made up of glass or plastic.

What does it do?

It behaves like a light pipe. When you shine light into it the light is totally
internally reflected which means the light stays in the fiber.

What is an endoscope used for and what does it do?

It is used to see the inside of the human body. Light is sent down one
bundle of optical fibers. Another bundle transmits light reflected to the
camera so the doctor can see.

When does the angle of refraction become 90 degrees?

When the angle of incidence is at a critical angle.

What is total internal reflection?

When the angle of incidence is more than the critical angle.

7.7

What is a triangular prism?

Triangular block of glass.

What is a spectrum?
All colors together.

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 4

 What is dispersion?

The process of splitting white light into different colors.

What are the colors of the spectrum?

ROYGBIV

When do we see a rainbow and how do we see it?

We see a rainbow when we are facing falling rain with the sun behind us.
Raindrops act as prisms as they refract and disperse the light.

How can we combine all colors back into white light?

By using two triangular prisms.

7.8

How can you make all the colors of light?

Through primary colors.

What are the primary colors?

Red Breen Blue

What are secondary colors?

Colors that are made when we combine any two primary colors.

What happens if we mix all three primary colors?

We make white light.

What are the mixes to make secondary colors?

Green + Red = Yellow

Green + Blue = Cyan

Blue + Red = Magenta

Why are red, green, and blue the primary colors?

Because we cannot mix any combination of colors to make it.

What does a filter do?

A filter absorbs some colors of light and transmits others.

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 5

 What are colored filters used for?

To produce different colors from white light.

What is meant by transmitted?

Let light go through.

What is absorbed?

Takes in the light.

If there is a red filter on white light what will happen?

Only red light will go through.

If there is a magenta filter on white light what will go through?

Blue and red.

IGCSE Light Summary and Practice Questions 6