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FUNDAMENTALS OF LIGHT
Vocabulary Review
Write the term that correctly completes the statement. Use each term once.
complementary color
diffraction
illuminance
luminous flux
luminous source
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________
5. _________________________
6. _________________________
7. _________________________
8. _________________________
9. _________________________
10. _________________________
11. _________________________
12. _________________________
13. _________________________
14. _________________________
15. _________________________
Chapter 16  Fundamentals of Light
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Malus’s law ray model of light
opaque secondary color
polarized secondary pigment
primary color translucent
primary pigment transparent
The illumination of a surface is the ____.
Combining a color of light with its ____ produces white light.
The bending of light as it passes the edge of a barrier is ____.
A measure of the total rate at which light is emitted from a
source is the____.
Light that oscillates with a specific pattern ____.
A color formed from two primary colors of light is a(n) ____.
An object that emits light is a(n) ____.
The ____ uses straight lines to describe how light interacts with
matter.
A material that transmits light clearly is ____.
Red is a(n) ____ ; it forms white light when mixed with green
and blue light.
A(n) ____ absorbs only one primary color from white light.
A(n) ____ absorbs two primary colors of light.
A ____ material transmits light, but objects can’t be seen clearly
through it.
A material that transmits no incident light is a(n) ____ material.
____ explains the reduction of light intensity as it passes
through a second polarizing filter.
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SECTION 1  Illumination
In your textbook, read about the ray model of light.
For each statement below, write true or rewrite the italicized part to make the statement true.
1. _________________________ The Sun is Earth’s major source of light.
2. _________________________ Light bulbs and LEDs are illuminated light sources.
3. _________________________ According to the ray model of light, light travels in a straight line.
4. _________________________ Window glass is an opaque medium.

Circle the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

5. ___ is a translucent medium.

a. Steel c. Frosted glass
b. Aquarium glass d. Rubber
6. Which of the following would not change the path of light?
a. the vacuum of space c. a glass of water
b. a mirror d. a raindrop
7. The fact that sharp shadows are cast by the Sun is an indication that light ____.
a. is a wave c. is made up of colors
b. travels in straight lines d. travels in a curved path
8. A straight line that represents the path of travel of light is ____.
a. the normal c. a ray
b. a complement d. a wave
9. Seventeenth-century Danish astronomer Ole Roemer studied the orbital period of ____ to
determine the speed of light.
a. Io c. Jupiter
b. Saturn d. Earth’s moon

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10. How long does light from the Sun take to reach Earth’s orbit?
a. 2 s c. 16.5 min
b. 8 min d. 22 min
11. Which choice best describes an inverse-square relationship?
a. Daylight on Mars is dimmer than daylight on Earth.
b. A camera flashbulb produces a sudden burst of light.
c. When you blow out a candle, the room darkens.
d. Installing compact fluorescent bulbs reduces your electric bill.
In your textbook, read about quantity of light.

Complete questions 12–17 in the table below.

Quantity Name of Unit Symbol for Unit
illuminance 12. 13.
luminous flux 14. 15.
luminous intensity 16. 17.

Write the term that correctly completes the statement.

A body that 18. ______________________ light waves is luminous, and a body that simply
19. ______________________ light waves given off by a source is illuminated. A(n)
20. ______________________ object emits light as a result of its high temperature. The official SI unit
with which light intensity is calculated is the 21. ______________________. Luminous flux expresses
the 22. ______________________ at which light is given off. The term illuminance describes the
23. ______________________ of a surface. If the distance from a surface to a point source of light is
doubled, the illumination reaching the surface is only 24. ______________________ as great. The
relationship between illuminance and luminous flux is given by the equation
25. ______________________ where the distance to the surface is represented by the variable
26. ______________________. This equation is valid only if the light from the source is striking
27. ______________________ to the surface. It is also valid only for sources small enough or far
away enough to be 28. ______________________ sources.

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In your textbook, read about light sources and quantities.
For each description on the left, write the letter of the matching item.

____ 29. symbol for the speed of light in a vacuum a. 1 lm/m2

b. 4 r 2
____ 30. area of the surface of a sphere
c. c
____ 31. variable for luminous flux d. E
____ 32. variable for illuminance e.  f
f. P
____ 33. equivalent to the speed of light
P
g.
____ 34. equivalent to 1 lx 4

____ 35. equivalent to luminous intensity

SECTION 2  The Wave Nature of Light

In your textbook, read about the color by addition of light.
The diagram below represents three overlapping circles of equally intense light of different pure colors. Assume
that the circles are projected onto a white screen in an otherwise completely dark room.

Refer to the diagram to answer questions 1–11.

1. __________________________ Why would region A be black?

2. __________________________ What color would region B be?
3. __________________________ What color would region C be?
4. __________________________ What color would region D be?
5. __________________________ What color would region E be?

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6. __________________________ Are red, blue, and green light primary or secondary colors?
7. __________________________ Is the light in region C best described as a primary or secondary
color?
8. __________________________ Is the light in region D best described as a primary or secondary
color?
9. __________________________ The color in region B is the complement to which color?
10. __________________________ The color in region C is the complement to which color?
11. __________________________ The color in region D is the complement to which color?

Answer the following questions.

12. __________________________ What does a primary pigment absorb from white light?
13. __________________________ What does a secondary pigment absorb from white light?
14. __________________________ Is the absorption of light to form pigment colors an additive or
subtractive process?
15. __________________________ What colors are the three primary pigments?
16. __________________________ What colors are the three secondary pigments?
17. __________________________ What color(s) does yellow pigment absorb from light?
18. __________________________ What color(s) does yellow pigment reflect?
19. __________________________ What color(s) does red pigment absorb from light?
20. __________________________ What is the complementary pigment to cyan pigment?
21. __________________________ What color would result from mixing two complementary
pigments?
In your textbook, read about polarization of light.
For each statement below, write true or rewrite the italicized part to make the statement true.

22. __________________________ Polarized sunglasses absorb light by filtering out light that is
horizontally polarized by reflection off the surfaces of roads.
23. __________________________ The direction of a polarizing medium horizontal to long molecules
is called the polarizing axis.
24. __________________________ Ordinary light contains waves vibrating in every direction
perpendicular to its direction of travel.
25. __________________________ A polarizing medium placed in a beam of ordinary light allows only
the components of the waves moving at a 90° angle to the
polarizing axis pass through.

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26. __________________________ Glare is due to polarization by reflection.

27. __________________________ Light that has passed through a polarizing filter oscillates with a
specific pattern.
28. __________________________ Partially polarized light will appear brighter to an observer looking
through a polarizing filter.
29. __________________________ When two polarizing filters are placed perpendicular to each other,
all of the light can come through.
In your textbook, read about the speed of a light wave.
For each statement below, write true or rewrite the italicized part to make the statement true.

30. __________________________ All colors of light travel at the same speed in a vacuum.
31. __________________________ When you know the frequency of a light wave in a vacuum, you
can calculate its wavelength.
32. __________________________ When a wavelength of light increases, the light is shifted toward
blue.
33. __________________________ The frequency of a sound that a listener hears changes if either the
source of that sound or the listener of that sound is moving. This
same phenomenon does not hold for the frequency of a light wave.
34. __________________________ When the observed wavelength of light is longer and the
frequency is lower, the light source and the observer are moving
toward each other.
35. __________________________ Scientists can ascertain the elements that are present on distant
galaxies by observing the wavelengths of light they emit.
36. __________________________ Light waves are Doppler shifted based upon the relative speed of
the observer and the source of light.

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