Contents
Key Stage 2
Meaning
Light is what we can see with our eyes and dark is when there is not enough light to see things clearly.
About Light and Dark
- Light can be very bright or it can be very dark.
- Light travels in straight lines.
- Light comes from luminous objects and is reflected off non-luminous objects. The Sun can be seen because it is luminous. The Moon can be seen because it reflects the light of The Sun.
- When light is very bright it can hurt our eyes. Light from The Sun is very bright and we shouldn't look at The Sun because it can cause people to go blind.
- When there is not enough light to see we say it is dark. At night time it is very dark which is why it is hard to see.
No-one can see because there is no light so the room is dark. | The man can see the light bulb because light from the bulb goes into the man's eyes. The boy cannot see the light bulb because his eyes are closed. |
Key Stage 3
Meaning
Light is a wave that transfers energy and information.
About Light
- Light is a transverse wave.
- Light can travel through a vacuum as well as through any transparent solid, liquid, gas.
- The speed of light through a vacuum is 300,000,000m/s.
- Transmitted - Light can pass through a medium.
- Absorbed - The energy transferred by light can be taken in by an opaque material.
- Reflected - Light can bounce off a surface. This can be either Diffuse Reflection or Specular Reflection.
- Refracted - Light can change direction when it changes medium.
Medium
- Light can travel through a transparent medium but it does not need matter to travel through as it can pass through a vacuum.
- Light can travel through any transparent solid, liquid, gas.
- Light travels most quickly through a vacuum.
- Light travels most slowly through solids.
Colour
Light can be divided into 7 colours:
- Red
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Indigo
- Violet
Key Stage 4
Meaning
Visible light is an electromagnetic wave that humans can see.
About Light
Properties
- Visible light is a transverse wave.
- Visible light can travel through a vacuum as well as through any transparent solid, liquid, gas.
- The speed of visible light through a vacuum is 300,000,000m/s.
- Transmitted - Visible light can pass through a medium.
- Absorbed - The energy transferred by visible light can be taken in by an opaque material.
- Reflected - Visible light can bounce off the interface between two media. This can be either Diffuse Reflection or Specular Reflection.
- Refracted - Visible light can change direction when it crosses the interface between two media.
Colour
- Different frequencies of visible light are reflected or absorbed by different surfaces giving them colour.
Visible light can be divided into 7 colours:
- Red - The lowest frequency and longest wavelength of visible light.
- Orange
- Yellow
- Green
- Blue
- Indigo
- Violet - The highest frequency and shortest wavelength of visible light.
Applications
- Visible light is used for sight, photography, microscopy, telescopy because it can be seen with the human eye.
- Visible light can be used in fibre optic communication because it is not absorbed by the glass that the fibres are made from and it is reflected internally by the interface between the glass and the air.
Dangers
- There are no dangers of visible light, unless it is extremely intense in which case it could cause blindness.
References
AQA
- Light year, page 274, GCSE Physics; Student Book, Collins, AQA
- Light, models of, page 336, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy 1, Hodder, AQA
- Light, pages 124, 126-127, 131, 154-157, 176-177, GCSE Biology; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA
- Light, pages 192, 202-213, 238-239, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA
- Light; red-shift, page 256, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Light; reflection of, pages 188-90, 195, 197, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Light; refraction of, pages 195-6, 198, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Light; spectrum of, pages 207-8, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Light; transmission and absorption of, pages 189-90, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Light; uses and applications, page 200, GCSE Physics, Hodder, AQA
- Visible light, pages 190-1, 226-7, 234, GCSE Physics; Student Book, Collins, AQA
- Visible light, pages 192, 206-207, GCSE Physics; Third Edition, Oxford University Press, AQA
- Visible light, pages 200, 207, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Physics, CGP, AQA
- Visible light, pages 223, 225, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
- Visible light, pages 242, 249, 253, 254, 261, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Visible light, pages 76, 85, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
- Visible light; lenses, pages 266-276, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Visible light; reflection and refraction, pages 195-197, GCSE Combined Science Trilogy; Physics, CGP, AQA
- Visible light; reflection and refraction, pages 232-238, GCSE Physics; The Complete 9-1 Course for AQA, CGP, AQA
- Visible light; refraction and reflection, pages 77, 80, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, AQA
Edexcel
- Light, page 68, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; angle of incidence, page 66, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; angle of reflection, page 66, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; filters, page 69, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; ray diagrams, pages 66-67, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; red shift, pages 124-125, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; reflection, page 66, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; refraction, page 66, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; transmission, page 69, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; visible spectrum, page 68, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Light; white light, page 68, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Visible light, pages 127, 137, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel
- Visible light, pages 168, 171, GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Visible light, pages 40, 43, 47, GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, Edexcel
- Visible light, pages 72, 78, 95, GCSE Physics, Pearson Edexcel
- Visible light; colour, pages 137-139, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel
- Visible light; uses, page 134, GCSE Physics, CGP, Edexcel
OCR
- Light, pages 189-192, 194, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Light, pages 61-63, 66, 68, 70-72, Gateway GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Light, plant responses to, pages 49, 51-53, 83, 110-111, Gateway GCSE Biology, Oxford, OCR
- Light; reflection page 189, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Light; reflection, pages 61, 62, Gateway GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Light; refraction, pages 190, 191, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Light; refraction, pages 61, 63, Gateway GCSE Physics; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR
- Visible light, pages 152, 164-165, 264-265, Gateway GCSE Physics, Oxford, OCR
- Visible light, pages 192, 194, Gateway GCSE Combined Science; The Revision Guide, CGP, OCR