Name : Grade : 7 Roll No : 2020-21
Subject : Physics: Light Date : Teacher’s sign
INTRODUCTION:
The world is largely known through the senses. The sense of sight is one of the most important senses. Through it we see
mountains, rivers, trees, plants, chairs, people and so many other things around us. We also see clouds, rainbows and birds
flying in the sky. At night we see the moon and the stars. You are able to see the words and sentences printed on this page.
How is seeing made possible? You might have seen a beam of sunlight when it enters a room through a narrow opening or a
hole. You may have also seen beams of light from the headlamps of scooters, cars and engines of trains Similarly, a beam of
light can be seen from a torch. Light is a form of energy, the nature of light waves is electromagnetic transverse waves.
Speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s in vacuum and in air. Light rays travel in a straight line in the same and uniformly dense medium.
Following diagram shows that Candle light can travel through a straight pipe whereas it can not pass through a bent pipe
that shows light rays undergo rectilinear propagation.
REFLECTION OF LIGHT: One way to change the direction of light is to let it fall on a shiny surface. For example, a shining
stainless steel plate or a shining steel spoon can change the direction of light. The surface of water can also act like a mirror
and change the path of light. Have you ever seen the reflection of trees or buildings into the water.Any polished or a shiny
surface can act as a mirror. What happens when light falls on a mirror? You have learnt in lower grades that a mirror
changes the direction of light that falls on it. This change of direction by a mirror is called reflection of light. Bouncing back of
light rays from the surface is called reflection of light.
LAWS OF REFLECTION IN PLANE MIRROR:
After striking the mirror, the ray of light is reflected in another direction. The light ray, which strikes any surface, is called the
incident ray. The ray that comes back from the surface after reflection is known as the reflected ray. Draw lines showing the
position of the plane mirror, the incident ray and the reflected ray on the paper with the help of your friends. Draw a line
making an angle of 90O to the line representing the mirror at the point where the incident ray strikes the mirror. This line is
known as the normal to the reflecting surface at that point (see the figure) The angle between the normal and incident ray is
called the angle of incidence (∠ i). The angle between the normal and the reflected ray is known as the angle of reflection
(∠ r). Measure the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection. Repeat the activity several times by changing the angle of
incidence. Enter the data in the observation table.
Do you see any relation between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection? Are they approximately equal? If the
experiment is carried out carefully, it is seen that the angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection ∠ i = ∠ r.
This is known as the law of reflection.Let us perform another activity on reflection. Let's see how image formation takes
place in a plane mirror by taking an example of a candle as shown in the following diagrams.
Plane mirrors produce images with following characteristics. Images formed by plane mirrors are virtual, upright, left-right
reversed ( Laterally inverted )the same distance from the mirror as the object's distance, and the same size as the object.
TYPES OF REFLECTION: There are two types of reflection like regular reflection and irregular or diffused reflection. In regular
reflection one can see clear image whereas in irregular reflection clear image cannot be seen or image may not form at all.
MULTIPLE IMAGE: Take two plane mirrors. Set them at right angles to each other with their edges touching (See figure). To
hinge them so you can use adhesive tape. Place a candle in between the mirrors. How many images of the candle do you see
Now hinge the mirrors using the adhesive tape at different angles, say 45o, 60o, 120o, 180o etc. Place some object (say a
candle) in between them. Note down the number of images of the object in each case. Finally, set the two mirrors parallel to
each other. Find out how many images of a candle placed between them are formed. To calculate the number of images one
can use following formula
REFRACTION OF LIGHT : Light seems to travel along straight-line paths in a transparent medium. What happens when light
enters from one transparent medium to another? Does it still move along a straight-line path or change its direction? We
shall recall some of our day-to-day experiences. You might have observed that the bottom of a tank or a pond containing
water appears to be raised. Similarly, when a thick glass slab is placed over some printed matter, the letters appear raised
when viewed through the glass slab. Why does it happen? Have you seen a pencil partly immersed in water in a glass
tumbler? It appears to be displaced at the interface of air and water. You might have observed that a lemon kept in water in
a glass tumbler appears to be bigger than its actual size, when viewed from the sides. How can you account for such
experiences? Let us consider the case of the apparent displacement of a pencil, partly immersed in water. The light reaching
you from the portion of the pencil inside water seems to come from a different direction, compared to the part above water.
This makes the pencil appear to be displaced at the interface. For similar reasons, the letters appear to be raised, when seen
through a glass slab placed over it. Does a pencil appear to be displaced to the same extent, if instead of water, we use
liquids like kerosene or turpentine? Will the letters appear to rise to the same height if we replace a glass slab with a
transparent plastic slab? You will find that the extent of the effect is different for different pairs of media. These
observations indicate that light does not travel in the same direction in all media. It appears that when travelling obliquely
from one medium to another, the direction of propagation of light in the second medium changes. This phenomenon is
known as refraction of light. Let us understand this phenomenon further by observing the following activities.
Activity :1 Activity:2
Bending of pencil due to refraction in water Magnifying lens enlarge news paper print due to refraction
Refraction through a Rectangular Glass Slab: To understand the phenomenon of refraction of light through a glass slab, let
us understand the laws of refraction by following diagrams .
Law of refraction:1:- When light ray passes from air ( rarer medium) to glass slab ( denser medium) it bends towards the
normal ( Vertical dotted line) hence the angle of incidence L i is greater than angle of refraction L r.
Law of refraction:2:- When light ray passes from glass slab ( denser medium) to air ( rarer medium) it bends away from the
normal ( Vertical dotted line) hence the angle of incidence L r is greater than angle of refraction L i.
Law of refraction:3:- When light ray passes from air ( rarer medium) to glass slab ( denser medium) at perpendicular or at 90o
with respect to glass slab does not bend so no refraction takes place.
Natural phenomenon due to refraction of light: Twinkling of stars The twinkling of a star is due to atmospheric refraction of
starlight. The starlight, on entering the earth’s atmosphere, undergoes refraction continuously before it reaches the earth.
The atmospheric refraction occurs in a medium of gradually changing refractive index. Since the atmosphere bends starlight
towards the normal, the apparent position of the star is slightly different from its actual position. The star appears slightly
higher (above) than its actual position when viewed near the horizon. Further, this apparent position of the star is not
stationary, but keeps on changing slightly, since the physical conditions of the earth’s atmosphere are not stationary, as was
the case in the previous paragraph. Since the stars are very distant, they approximate point-sized sources of light. As the
path of rays of light coming from the star goes on varying slightly, the apparent position of the star fluctuates and the
amount of starlight entering the eye flickers – the star sometimes appears brighter, and at some other time, fainter, which is
the twinkling effect. Why don’t the planets twinkle? The planets are much closer to the earth, and are thus seen as extended
sources. If we consider a planet as a collection of a large number of point-sized sources of light, the total variation in the
amount of light entering our eye from all the individual point-sized sources will average out to zero, thereby nullifying the
twinkling effect. Advance sunrise and delayed sunset The Sun is visible to us about 2 minutes before the actual sunrise, and
about 2 minutes after the actual sunset because of atmospheric refraction. By actual sunrise, we mean the actual crossing of
the horizon by the Sun. The diagram shows the actual and apparent positions of the Sun with respect to the horizon. The
time difference between the actual sunset and the apparent sunset is about 2 minutes. The apparent flattening of the Sun’s
disc at sunrise and sunset is also due to the same phenomenon.
Dispersion of white light through prism : You must have seen and appreciated the spectacular colours in a rainbow. How
could the white light of the Sun give us various colours of the rainbow? Before we take up this question, we shall first go
back to the refraction of light through a prism. The inclined refracting surfaces of a glass prism show exciting phenomena.
The prism has probably split the incident white light into a band of colours. Note the colours that appear at the two ends of
the colour band. What is the sequence of colours that you see on the screen? The various colours seen are Violet, Indigo,
Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red, as shown in figure. The acronym VIBGYOR will help you to remember the sequence of
colours. The band of the coloured components of a light beam is called its spectrum. You might not be able to see all the
colours separately. Yet something makes each colour distinct from the other. The splitting of light into its component colours
is called dispersion. You have seen that white light is dispersed into its seven-colour components by a prism. Why do we get
these colours? Different colours of light bend through different angles with respect to the incident ray, as they pass through
a prism. The red light bends the least while the violet the most. Thus the rays of each colour emerge along different paths
and thus become distinct. It is the band of distinct colours that we see in a spectrum. Isaac Newton was the first to use a
glass prism to obtain the spectrum of sunlight. He tried to split the colours of the spectrum of white light further by using
another similar prism. However, he could not get any more colours. He then placed a second identical prism in an inverted
position with respect to the first prism, as shown in figure.This allowed all the colours of the spectrum to pass through the
second prism. He found a beam of white light emerging from the other side of the second prism. This observation gave
Newton the idea that the sunlight is made up of seven colours. Any light that gives a spectrum similar to that of sunlight is
often referred to as white light. A rainbow is a natural spectrum appearing in the sky after a rain shower. It is caused by
dispersion of sunlight by tiny water droplets, present in the atmosphere. A rainbow is always formed in a direction opposite
to that of the Sun.
Colour combination: Red, green, and blue are the primary colors of light—they can be combined in different proportions to
make all other colors. For example, red light and green light added together are seen as yellow light. See the following
diagram and try to understand the colour combinations.
Additive color mixing: adding red to green yields yellow; adding green to blue yields cyan; adding blue to red yields magenta;
adding all three primary colors together yields white.The CMY color model is a subtractive color model, based on the CMY
color model, used in color printing, and is also used to describe the printing process itself. CMY refers to the three ink plates
used in some color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow. Following diagram shows additive (RGB) colour equations, apply your
math and make equations for subtractive (CMY) colours.
OUR EYE:
We see things only when light coming from them enters our eyes. Eye is one of our most important sense organs. It is,
therefore, important to understand its structure and working. The eye has a roughly spherical shape. Outer coat of the eye is
white. It is tough so that it can protect the interior of the eye from accidents. Its transparent front part is called
cornea.Behind the cornea, we find a dark muscular structure called iris. In the iris, there is a small opening called the pupil.
The size of the pupil is controlled by the iris. The iris is the part of that eye which gives it its distinctive colour. When we say
that a person has green eyes, we refer actually to the colour of the iris. The iris controls the amount of light entering into the
eye. Let us see how it works. Behind the pupil of the eye is a lens which is thicker in the centre. The lens focuses light on the
back of the eye, on a layer called retina. Retina contains several nerve cells. Sensations felt by the nerve cells are then
transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve. There are two kinds of cells (i) cones, which are sensitive to bright light and
(ii) rods, which are sensitive to dim light.Besides, cones sense colour. At the junction of the optic nerve and the retina, there
are no sensory cells, so no vision is possible at that spot. This is called the blind spot.
Let’s Practice
1. Fill in the blanks:
(a) An image that cannot be obtained on a screen is called ____________.
(b) Image formed by a convex __________ is always virtual and smaller in size.
(c) An image formed by a __________ mirror is always of the same size as that of the object.
(d) An image which can be obtained on a screen is called a _________ image.
(e) An image formed by a concave ___________ cannot be obtained on a screen.
2. Mark ‘T’ if the statement is true and ‘F’ if it is false:
(a) We can obtain an enlarged and erect image by a convex mirror. (T/F)
(b) A concave lens always forms a virtual image. (T/F)
(c) We can obtain a real, enlarged and inverted image by a concave mirror. (T/F)
(d) A real image cannot be obtained on a screen. (T/F)
3. State the characteristics of the image formed by a plane mirror.
4. Find out the letters of English alphabet or any other language known to you in which the image formed in a plane mirror
appears exactly like the letter itself. Discuss your findings.
5.Suppose you are in a dark room. Can you see objects in the room? Can you see objects outside the room? Explain.
6. Differentiate between regular and diffused reflection. Does diffused reflection mean the failure of the laws of reflection?
7. Mention against each of the following whether regular or diffused reflection will take place when a beam of light strikes.
Justify your answer in each case.
(a) Polished wooden table (b) Chalk powder (c) Cardboard surface (d) Marble floor with water spread over it (e) Mirror
(f) Piece of paper
8. State the laws of reflection in a plane mirror.
9. Describe an activity to show that the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence lie in the same
plane.
10.Fill in the blanks in the following :
(a) A person 1 meter in front of a plane mirror seems to be _______________ meter from his image.
(b) If you touch your ____________ ear with right hand in front of a plane mirror it will be seen in the mirror that your right
ear is touched with ____________
(c) The size of the pupil becomes ____________ when you see in dim light.
(d) Night birds have ____________ cones than rods in their eyes.
11.Gurmit wanted to perform Activity 16.8 using a laser torch. Her teacher advised her not to do so. Can you explain the
basis of the teacher's advice?
12. Explain how you can take care of your eyes.
13. What is the angle of incidence of a ray if the reflected ray is at an angle of 90° to the incident ray?
14. How many images of a candle will be formed if it is placed between two parallel plane mirrors separated by 40 cm?
15. When two plane mirrors are kept at angles 90° ,120° , 60° then find how many images will form in each case?
16. Two mirrors meet at right angles. A ray of light is incident on one at an angle of 30° as shown in the following figure.
Draw the reflected ray from the second mirror.
17.Figure shows a ray of light incident on a mirror at X. The incident ray makes an angle of 50° with the surface of the mirror.
(a) (i) Complete Figure to show the normal and the reflected ray at X.
(ii) State the values of
1. the angle of incidence, ...............................................
2. the angle of reflection. ...............................................
(b) Describe with the help of a diagram how you would find the position of the image produced by a plane mirror.
18.A student performs an experiment to demonstrate the refraction of light by a regular glass block. Figure shows, to scale,
the outline of the glass block and the paths of incident, refracted and emergent rays that the student draws on a piece of
paper.
(a) Describe the apparatus needed and also a method by which the paths of incident, refracted and emergent ray may be
drawn on a piece of paper.
(b) Describe what happens to the direction of the ray of light as it enters and leaves the block.
19.A student carried out an experiment to find the position of an image in a plane mirror. The object was an optics pin. The
arrangement is shown in figure.
The student viewed the image of the object pin P in the mirror. He placed two pins A and B some distance apart so that the
image of P and pins A and B were exactly in line, one behind the other. Then, without moving the object pin P, he viewed the
image from a different position and repeated the experiment with pins C and D. The student’s ray trace sheet is shown in the
following figure.
(a) On above figure
(i) draw in the two reflected rays,
(ii) draw in the two incident rays that produced the reflected rays you have drawn,
(iii) show clearly, on the incident and reflected rays, the direction in which the light is travelling,
(iv) find the position of the image of the object pin P by using the directions of the reflected rays. Show clearly on the
diagram how you found the image position. Label the image position I.
(b) State whether the image is real or virtual.
(c) Justify your answer by reference to the lines you have drawn in part (a).
