OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, you

should be able to describe what
happens when light is reflected,
refracted, transmitted, and
absorbed.

What happens to light when it

interacts with matter?
 occurs when light bounces back as
it hits a reflecting surface, such as a mirror. This
phenomenon can be described using light rays

Incident ray
The ray of light that hits the reflecting surface

Reflected ray
. After hitting the surface, it bounces off as reflected ray

The incident ray and the reflected ray form

angles with the normal line, which is a line
perpendicular to the reflecting surface. These angles are
called angle of incidence and angle of reflection,
respectively.
 The relationship between the angle of incidence
and the angle of reflection is illustrated in the law of
reflection. This law states that the angle of incidence,
the angle of reflection, and the normal line are found
on the same plane; and the angle of incidence is equal
to the angle of reflection.
 is the bending of light due to the
change in its speed when it obliquely passes two different
media.
When light travels from a medium with a low
refractive index to a medium with a higher refractive
index, it slows down and refracts closer to the normal
line.
On the other hand, when light travels from a
medium with a high refractive index to a medium with a
lower refractive index, it speeds up and refracts away
from the normal line.

Incident ray
light ray that is entering a different medium
Refracted ray
the bent ray
 is the passing of light
through a material without being absorbed. For
instance, an incoming light will just pass through a
glass window as transmitted light.
 ABSORPTION of light occurs when light strikes a
material, and the energy that it carries is absorbed by the
atoms of the material and is converted into thermal
energy.
White light is composed of different components of
a spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
violet (ROYGBIV). When an object reflects all the
components of light, it appears white. However, when an
object absorbs all the components of light, it appears
black.
 Selective absorption describes the
tendency of an object to absorb specific
frequencies of light. An object that appears
with a particular color means that the object
absorbs most of the frequencies and reflects
only the color of the object. For instance, the
leaf absorbs all the frequencies of light except
for green. The green color is reflected and
perceived by the observer’s eye.