Light Properties

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Light makes you see the things around you. Without light, you cannot see objects at night or the beauty of the world in the morning. Everything will be dark. Can you imagine how boring life would be without light? Light is a form of energy. It travels very fast. In space, it travels about 300, 000, 000 meters per second. It is bright during the day because the light from the sun reaches us.​

Light travels in a straight line. It cannot bend around a corner. The inability of light to bend around a corner is the reason why we have night and day. It is daytime on the side of the Earth that is facing the sun because it is directly hit by the light from the sun. the other side is at nighttime because it receives no light from the sun. Aside from traveling in a straight line, light also travels in all directions. For instance, when you turn on the light in a dark room, the whole room is lit up.

​Perform the activity and answer the questions that follow.

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1. You will need the following materials: transparent glass, pencil and water

2. Perform the activity.

3. Half-fill the glass with water.

4. Place the pencil in the glass of water. View the pencil, first on top, by placing your face above the mouth of the glass, and then view the pencil at the side. Record your observation for each position in your answer sheet or activity notebook.

5. Take out the pencil from the water. Look at it. Feel it. Is it straight or bent?

Guide Questions:

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1. Describe the appearance of the pencil when you viewed it from the top.

2. Describe the appearance of the pencil when you viewed it from the side.

3. Did the appearance of the pencil change when you took it out of the glass?

4. What do your observations show about the way light travels through different media?

​Light travels in straight lines and in all directions, but it cannot pass through all materials.

Light can pass through transparent materials.

Only some light can pass through translucent materials.

Light cannot pass through opaque materials.

Refraction is the bending of light rays as they pass through different transparent materials.

Reflection is the bouncing of light when it hits an object, some objects with flat surfaces and some objects with uneven surfaces. An objects color depends on the colors it absorbs and reflects.

DID YOU UNDERSTAND THE LESSON FOR TODAY?