ID:______NAME:______________________________________DATE:___________________CLASS:______
Light, Color, Reflection, Refraction…Do not lose this! No extra copies!
REMEMBER: Throughout this paper, you will see some symbols.
The “stop sign” means STOP and check with a teacher before continuing.
The “key” means THIS IS A KEY POINT, PAY ATTENTION!
Use the information in the boxes (and from the last
POGILs) to answer the following questions:
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Visible Light is only thing we see.
White light contains the color spectrum ( ROY G BIV acronym)
o You see proof of this with a PRISM (more on that later!)
 White is not a color…it is the PRESENCE of all frequencies of visible light.
 Black is not a color – it is the ABSENCE of all frequencies of visible light. Objects appear black when they
absorb all frequencies of light incident upon them
o We see “white” when an object reflects the frequencies (ROYGBIV) of visible white light.
o We see “black” when an object absorbs all the frequencies of visible light incident upon it.
 The color of an OPAQUE object is the color of the light it reflects.
The square on the left reflects all the colors of light illuminating it.
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In sunlight (white light) it is white.
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When illuminated with blue light, it is blue.
The square on the right absorbs all the colors illuminating it.
 In sunlight it is warmer than the white square.
 When light is incident upon (SHINES ON) a surface, it is either reflected, absorbed, or transmitted.
o Usually, a combination of all 3 occurs (for example – visible light is both reflected and transmitted
through glass in a window – this is why you can see through glass but you can also see your reflection.
However, a slight amount is absorbed – this is why the window feels warm – that absorbed light is
converted to heat.)
 Most of the objects around us reflect rather than emit light. They reflect only part of the light that is incident
(shining) upon them, the part that gives them their color.
A rose, for example, doesn't emit light; it reflects the RED frequencies of visible light and absorbs the rest
1. Newton was the first person to make a systematic study of color. He allowed sunlight to pass through a prism, creating a
patch of colors on white paper called a ____________________________________________________.
2. Sunlight is an example of white light. Under white light, white objects appear ______________________ and colored
objects appear ________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Are the colors of the spectrum a property of white light or a prism itself?___________________________________
4. TRUE OR FALSE: Black objects that you can see do not absorb all light that falls on them. Explain:
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5. Why do you think your pupils appear black? _________________________________________________________________
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6. Why are the interiors of optical instruments (microscopes, etc) painted black?
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7. Very big particles, such as droplets of water, absorb more radiation than they scatter. How does this fact help to explain
why rain clouds appear dark?____________________________________________________________________________
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The colors of most objects around you are due to the way they reflect light.
Most materials absorb light of some frequencies and reflect the rest.
If a material absorbs white light of most frequencies and reflects red, then it appears red in white light.
It is important to note that an object can reflect only light of frequencies present in the illuminating
light.
The appearance of a colored object therefore depends on the kind of light used.
An incandescent light bulb (NOT the energy efficient bulbs, but the plain old filament and glass bulbs) emits
light of all the visible frequencies, but is richer toward the lower frequencies, therefore enhancing the reds.
The perceived color of an object is subjective (subject to change/vary from person to person) and depends on
the light source, although color differences between the objects are most easily detected in bright sunlight.)
8. Picture this – imagine you are wearing a white tee shirt in a room lit only by candle light. Then, you move to a room lit only
by fluorescent light bulbs.
a) In which room does your shirt appear to have more of a yellowish tint? _________________
b) In which room does your shirt appear to have more of a blue-ish/purple-ish tint? _______________________________
9. Look at your answer to #8. Do you think a candle is deficient (aka lacking) in higher or lower frequencies? WHY?
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10.
Look at your answer to #8. Do you think a fluorescent light is richer in higher or lower frequencies? WHY?
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11.
In a dress shop that has only fluorescent lighting, a customer insists on taking a garment into the daylight at the
doorway. Is she being reasonable? Explain. (*hint – ladies, have you ever used a lit makeup mirror instead of the lighting in
your bathroom? Why?*)
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The color of a transparent object depends on the color of the light it transmits.
A piece of clear glass does not distort the image on the other side because all of the frequencies of visible
light can pass through
A blue piece of glass appears blue because it absorbs all the colors that compose white light, except blue,
which it transmits
The material in the transparent object that selectively absorbs colored light is known as a pigment.
o The energy of the absorbed light increases the KE of the atoms in the material, and the material is
warmed.
o Ordinary glass is transparent because it transmits white light of all visible frequencies equally well.
12.
White light shines on ordinary window glass. What color frequencies of the visible white light are transmitted
through the glass?
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13.
White light shines on a piece of red glass.
a) What color frequencies are TRANSMITTED?______________ ______________________________________________
b) What color frequencies are absorbed?_____________________________________________________________________
White light from the sun is a composite of ALL the visible frequencies. Sunlight’s radiation curve is shown below;
it is a graph of brightness versus frequency.
14.
15.
16.
17.
What frequency of visible light on sunlight’s radiation curve has the highest frequency?_______ _____ _______
What frequency of visible light on sunlight’s radiation curve is the brightest?______________________________
Is the BRIGHTEST color also the HIGHEST FREQUENCY? (yes/no)________________________
What is the color of common tennis balls (and fast pitch softballs), and why?
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18.
Why do you think some traditional red fire engines are being replaced by neon yellow-green engines?
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MIXING COLORED PIGMENTS (not to be confused with mixing colored light):
Paints and dyes contain finely divided solid particles of pigment that produce their colors by absorbing
light of certain frequencies and reflecting light of other frequencies
o You SEE the light that is reflected.
o This is called color mixing by subtraction, because the pigments absorb (or subtract) certain
frequencies of light.
o *This is DIFFERENT than mixing colored light, which uses color mixing by addition.*
o The subtractive primary colors are magenta, yellow, and cyan.
19.
Shine red light on a red rose. Why will the temperature of the GREEN leaves increase more than the
temperature of the red petals?
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20.
When green light shines on a red rose, why do the petals look black?
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MIXING COLORED PIGMENTS (not to be confused with mixing colored light):
Paints and dyes contain finely divided solid particles of pigment that produce their colors by absorbing
light of certain frequencies and reflecting light of other frequencies
o You SEE the light that is reflected.
o This is called color mixing by subtraction, because the pigments absorb (or subtract) certain
frequencies of light.
o *This is DIFFERENT than mixing colored light, which uses color mixing by addition.*
o The subtractive primary colors are magenta, yellow, and cyan.
21.
Use your common sense and think back to your pre-school finger painting days…if you mix red, blue,
and green paint, what color do you see?
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22.
Blue paint reflects mostly blue light, but also some violet and some green; it absorbs red, orange, and
yellow. Yellow paint reflects mostly yellow light, but also red, orange, and green.
a. If you mix blue and yellow paint, what color paint do you get?_________________
b. Read #22 (or the table in the box on the previous page)…What is the only frequency that both blue and
yellow paint reflect?_________________
23.
What two pigments mixed together will reflect red?
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24.
Suppose two beams of white light are shone on a white screen, one beam through a pane of red glass
and the other through a pane of green glass. You see a green spot on the white screen, and a red spot.
a. What occurs if instead the two panes of glass are placed in the path of a single beam?
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25.
A spotlight is coated so that it won’t transmit blue from its white-hot filament. What color is the
emerging beam of light?
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26.
How could you use the spotlights at a play to make the yellow clothes of the performers suddenly
change to black?
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27.
What colors of ink do color ink-jet printers use to produce the colors you see? Do the inks form colors
by color addiction or by color subtraction?
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