(PHY) Chapter 13 - Light

DARRELL ER (COPYRIGHTED) ©
TOPIC 13:
LIGHT
THE ABOUT
TIME
CHAPTER
ANALYSIS EXAM
WEIGHTAGE
KEY CONCEPT
REFLECTION
LAW OF REFLECTION
RAY DIAGRAM & PLANE MIRROR IMAGE
LAWS OF REFLECTION LAW OF REFLECTION
1) The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal at the
point of incidence all lie on the same plane.
2) The angle of incidence, i, is equal to the angle of reflection, r.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE FOR RAY DIAGRAM Image M Object
STEP 1
Locate the image. It will be the same
distance from the mirror as the object’s
distance from mirror.
RAY DIAGRAM
Image M Object
STEP 2
Draw light rays from image to the eyes.
(Dotted lines in virtual plane and solid lines in
for outside mirror.)
Image M Object
STEP 3
Draw light ray from object to mirror, meeting
at the reflected rays.
Image M Object
STEP 4
Add in the arrows if you haven’t & draw the
normal at the point of reflection.
RAY DIAGRAM
CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANE MIRROR IMAGE
Images in a plane mirror are:
- Image is virtual.
- Image is upright.
- Image is same size as object.
- Image is laterally inverted.
- Image will be same distance from the mirror as the object is
from the mirror.
KEY CONCEPT
REFRACTION
LAW OF REFRACTION
REFRACTIVE INDEX
WHY DO LIGHT WHY DO LIGHT RAYS UNDERGO REFRACTION?
Light rays bend due to the difference in speed of light in different optical
RAYS REFRACT? mediums.
IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO

You are trying to get from point A to point B. You walk faster on land than swim in
water.
What path will allow you to reach point B in the shortest amount of time?
water
land
B
You will not just simply travel in a straight line because that means spending
an equal amount of time in water and on land when you travel faster on land.
Given that you walk faster on land, you would cut short the distance you swim
in water and attempt to get on land as soon as possible. You will probably
travel in a path as shown above.
Light behaves in the same way, taking the fastest path.
Light rays bend due to the difference in speed of light in different mediums.
LAW OF REFRACTION LAW OF REFRACTION
1) The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the
point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
Less dense to denser medium Denser to less dense medium 2) For light passing through any two mediums, the ratio of
Speed of Decreases Increases sin i / sin r is a constant (refractive index).
light
Light ray Towards normal Away from normal
BENDING OF LIGHT RAYS
Diagram
When light travel from a less dense medium to a denser
medium, the refracted ray will bend towards the normal.
Optically less dense medium Optically denser medium When light travel from a denser medium to a less dense
Optically dense medium Optically less dense medium
medium, the refracted ray will bend away from the
Bends towards Bends away
normal.
normal from normal
*See if you are able to visualise the example from the previous page to the 2 refraction
diagrams shown here. (Strongly suggest you understand this instead of memorizing.)
FORMULAS FOR REFRACTIVE INDEX
REFRACTIVE INDEX
n = sin i / sin r, where i is angle of incidence & r is angle of refraction.
n = speed of light in vacuum* (c) / speed of light in medium (v)
*speed of light in vacuum is 3 x 108 ms-1
n = real depth / apparent depth
Medium Refractive index, n
Vacuum 1.00
Air 1.003
Water 1.33
Glass 1.50
Diamond 2.42
Note that refractive index, n, should never be smaller than value 1.

PRINCIPLE OF REVERSIBILITY
The principle of reversibility states that light will follow the

same path even if its direction of travel is reversed.
Given that,
PRINCIPLE OF REVERSIBILITY
n = sin i / sin r
But if we reverse the light’s direction,
n = sin r / sin i
(due to principle of reversibility)
The rule of thumb is to make sure value of n is always

bigger than 1.
Use n = sin r / sin i (principle of reversibility) if the light ray

is traveling from denser to less dense medium.
The best way to approach this is:
Please note that this for ‘O’ Levels without using Snell’s Law (as it is not within syllabus). n = sin (angle in air) / sin (angle in medium)
KEY CONCEPT
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

CRITICAL ANGLE
APPLICATION OF TIR
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION
As angle of incidence increases, the angle of refraction also

increases.
Total internal reflection occurs once the angle of incidence

exceeds the critical angle, causing the light ray to not leave
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION the optically denser medium and instead, reflect internally.
Critical angle, c, is defined as the angle of incidence in the

optically denser medium for which angle of refraction in
the optically less dense medium is exactly 90°.
FORMULA:
sin c = 1 / n
where n is refractive index.
Hence the 2 conditions for total internal reflections are:
1) Light ray must be travelling from optically denser medium

to an optically less dense medium (so that it bends away from
Light ray is travelling from Light ray bends away from Now that the angle of incidence the normal until it hits 90°)
optically denser medium to normal until it at a refraction exceeds the critical angle, light ray
optically less dense medium. of 90°. bend inwards.
2) angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle
Light ray bends away from This is your critical angle. Total internal reflection occurs.
normal.
Applications:
- Glass Prisms
- Optic Fibre
TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION OPTIC FIBRE
Optic fibres are made of glass and transmit light from one
point to another.
The light ray entering the pipe does not exit but is constantly
undergoing total internal reflection until it reaches the other
end of the fibre.
This technology allows 5 times as much information to be

carried across transmission lines and the amount of
information loss is also greatly reduced.
This is how our internet speed and Wifi has great improved
over the years!
KEY CONCEPT
LENS
CONVERGING & DIVERGING LENS
RAY DIAGRAMS
LENS
LENSES
A lens is a piece of transparent glass that have a curved

surface.
Converging lens: Diverging Lens:

THIN CONVERGING LENS
LENS Key Terminologies:
Optical Centre, C
Midway point between the lens surfaces on its principal axis -

rays passing through optical centre do not deviate.
Principal Axis
Line passing through the optical centre of the lens and

perpendicular to the plane of the lens.
Principal Focus, Focal point F
Point on the principal axis to which an incident beam parallel

to the principal axis converges to.
Focal Length, f
Distance between its optical centre and principal focus
Focal Plane
Vertical plane which passes through the principal focus and is

perpendicular to the principal axis.
LENS THIN CONVERGING LENS
How to locate image using ray diagrams
The spot where 2 light rays intersect is where the image will
be formed.
You will only need 2 out of 3 light rays to locate the image.
Ray 1:
Travel parallel to principal axis  hits the lens  cuts through
focal point, F
Ray 2:
Straight line that cuts through optical centre, C
Ray 3:
Passes through principal focus F  hit the lens  travel
parallel to principle axis
THIN CONVERGING LENS
TIPS:
The easiest diagram to start with is when u =2f.

 The object is at the perfect distance from the lens to produce a
same size image.
If you shift the object further to the left, you will get u > 2f.
 Notice how the entire ray diagram has shifted to the left.
The image is now formed closer to the lens and is diminished.
If we shift the object to the right instead, we get f < u < 2f.
 Notice how the entire ray diagram has shifted to the right.
The image formed is now further from the lens and magnified.
If we shift the object even more to the right, we get u = f.

 Notice how the entire ray diagram has shifted even further to
the right. This forces the light rays to open up so much until
Ray 1 & Ray 2 are parallel. Image is at infinity because the light
rays will never converge.
If we shift the object right next to the lens, we get u < f.

 The object is so close to the lens, image formed is behind the
object are we have to trace the rays backwards to locate the
image.
If the image is far away and enters the lens as parallel rays, u = ∞.
 Parallel rays easily converges at focal point F to form an image.
*I’ve rearrange the sequence of the ray diagrams, original textbook version is on the next page!
For more notes & learning materials, visit: IG handle:

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DARRELL ER (COPYRIGHTED) ©

LAWS OF REFLECTION LAW OF REFLECTION

2) The angle of incidence, i, is equal to the angle of reflection, r.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE FOR RAY DIAGRAM Image M Object

Images in a plane mirror are:

WHY DO LIGHT WHY DO LIGHT RAYS UNDERGO REFRACTION?

RAYS REFRACT? mediums.

IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO

Light behaves in the same way, taking the fastest path.

LAW OF REFRACTION LAW OF REFRACTION

FORMULAS FOR REFRACTIVE INDEX

n = speed of light in vacuum* (c) / speed of light in medium (v)

*speed of light in vacuum is 3 x 108 ms-1

n = real depth / apparent depth

Medium Refractive index, n

Note that refractive index, n, should never be smaller than value 1.

The principle of reversibility states that light will follow the

But if we reverse the light’s direction,

(due to principle of reversibility)

The rule of thumb is to make sure value of n is always

Use n = sin r / sin i (principle of reversibility) if the light ray

The best way to approach this is:

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION

As angle of incidence increases, the angle of refraction also

Total internal reflection occurs once the angle of incidence

Critical angle, c, is defined as the angle of incidence in the

Hence the 2 conditions for total internal reflections are:

1) Light ray must be travelling from optically denser medium

TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION OPTIC FIBRE

This technology allows 5 times as much information to be

A lens is a piece of transparent glass that have a curved

Converging lens: Diverging Lens:

THIN CONVERGING LENS

LENS Key Terminologies:

Midway point between the lens surfaces on its principal axis -

Line passing through the optical centre of the lens and

Principal Focus, Focal point F

Point on the principal axis to which an incident beam parallel

Distance between its optical centre and principal focus

Vertical plane which passes through the principal focus and is

LENS THIN CONVERGING LENS

How to locate image using ray diagrams

THIN CONVERGING LENS

The easiest diagram to start with is when u =2f.

If we shift the object even more to the right, we get u = f.

If we shift the object right next to the lens, we get u < f.

For more notes & learning materials, visit: IG handle:

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