Light and Reflection

B and C Blocks discussed the phenomenon of reflection in class today. Diffuse and specular reflection were contrasted and tied into the law of reflection. Make sure you're clear that rough surfaces still obey the law of reflection, but since the normal line at different points are aligned in different directions, the directions of the reflected rays will be different, also. We also took time to look at the reflective properties of plane mirrors and were introduced to the concepts of the virtual image and the ray diagram. We'll use ray diagrams a lot in this unit, so practice them and make sure you an contrast the properties of virtual images with those of real images.

E Block worked on their light intensity and polarization labs. As expected, light intensity shows an inverse-square relationship with distance from source, but the polarization material was something we didn't hit on in previous chapters. We'll delve into polarization at the end of this chapter, but put on your thinking caps tonight to come up with answers to your lab extension questions.

F Block started their discussion of light in class today after we reviewed the light intensity and polarization labs. We reviewed the basic properties of electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic spectrum, then took a look at Huygen's principle and his idea of wavelets. The class ended with a quick review of light intensity and a forward look at tomorrow's work on reflection and flat mirrors.