Apologia Physical Science, Module 15, Light

Interactive Study Links
• Electromagnetic Spectrum Activity - 2 quizzes at the end!
• Physics Classroom: Light; Debbie also made a printable worksheet with images from here.
• Create an account and make your own flashcards at Quizlet.com!

Other Study Links
• Sites for testing Color Blindness
• "If I Were an Archer Fish" -- about refraction
• Find these and more at Debbie's Educator's Resources.  (Thanks, Debbie!)

This site has several printable experiments.  Great hands-on activities about light.


1) p. 373, Physical Science 7.3b - Light Waves, Part 1



Physical Science 7.3c - Light Waves, Part 2


7.3d - two theries:  The Particle Theory of Light; The Wave Theory of Light





2) p. 380, The Electromagnetic Spectrum
He mentions nanometers.  Figure 15.2, The Visible Spectrum of Light, shows for each color, their wavelengths in nanometers.



► Electromagnetic Spectrum Activity - do the 2 quizzes at the end!






3) p. 382, Physics 11.1.1b - The Law of Reflection


4) p. 382, Reflection of Light in a Plane Mirror
"The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection."


5) p. 383, Physics 11.1.2a - Image Formation


6) p. 385, Physics 11.2.1a - Refraction
WHY light bends - awesome diagram and explanation.


7) p. 387, Light, Reflection, and Refraction
Start watching at 0:44 seconds.

►See this image of how light behaves when entering a glass.
►Also see these real pictures of ways to bend light.  Awesome!  And I'd love to visit the Beam Me Up, Scottie! event and try to get the laser beam through the maze. (see last pic)


8) p. 389, Light Refraction


9) p. 390, How a Rainbow Works
In order to see a rainbow:
a. there must be water droplets in the air
b. the sun must be shining on them from behind you
c. the sun needs to be at a certain angle (how high it is and where that position is relative to your position)



The red light hits your eye higher than the violet light, so you see them in that order.

►See these images of how light bends when it hits water, so that you always see the colors of the rainbow in the same order.



10) p. 390, Full Circle Rainbow


11) p. 392, Physics 11.3.1a - Lenses, Part 1


12) p. 392, Physics 11.3.1b - Lenses, Part 2


►See Converging and Diverging lenses (scroll to bottom)
Love the soldiers in mud analogy.  =)

14) p. 394, How Light Enters the Eye

Images are supposed to focus on the retina.
Sometimes a person's eye may be a different shape, or the cornea may not be curved correctly, or the lens not positioned correctly.
These things prevent the image from landing directly on the retina.

Remember how light bends? When light enters the eye, it bends!