Light Basics
Part 1: Use the reading (pp. 373-378) to answer the following questions.
1) Light can behave as a ____________ or a _____________.
2) Light is just a small part of the _______________________ spectrum, with wavelengths ranging from _________nm (violet) to
_________nm (red).
3) Copy Figure 16-1 (p.374) into your notes.
4) As the wavelength of light increases, the frequency of the light ______________.
5) Light travels in a straight line and so we use _________ to represent the path of a narrow beam of light.
6) Light travels so fast that a beam of light could circle the Earth _____________ times in one second.
7) The speed of light in a vacuum is such an important and universal value that it has its own symbol. Speed of light = _____ =
________________.
8) From the last unit we learned, in general, for waves v = f. For light traveling in a vacuum, this equation can be written as
_____________.
9) Using your answers to numbers 7 and 8, what is the frequency of yellow light if its wavelength,  = 556 nm = 556 X 10-9 m?
10) Using your answers to 7 and 8, and knowing that the distance to the moon can be found with the help of mirrors left on the
moon by astronauts... If a pulse of light is sent to the moon and returns to Earth in 2.562 s, use the defined speed of light to
calculate the distance from the Earth to the moon.
11) The sun is a ________________ body, which is an object that ___________ light waves.
The moon is an __________________ body, which is an object that _______________ light waves produced by an outside source.
Part 2: Use the reading pp. 382 – top 385 and the Phet Simulation below to answer the following questions.
“Color Vision”: http://phet.colorado.edu/simulations/sims.php?sim=Color_Vision
1) ____________________ materials transmit light waves without distorting images.
____________________ materials transmit no light but absorb or reflect all light incident upon them.
____________________ materials transmit light but do not permit objects to be seen clearly through them.
2) _____________ light is comprised of all the colors of the visible _______________, which when listed in order from long wavelength
to short wavelength is:
Red, _____________, ______________, Green, _____________, ______________, Violet
COLORS BY ADDITION
3) The primary colors are: ___________, ___________, & ___________.
4) If you combine Red and Green you get ____________.
5) If you combine Red and Blue you get ____________.
6) If you combine Green and Blue you get ____________.
7) Your answers to 4-6 are called the ___________________ colors of light.
8) Complementary colors are a primary color and a secondary color combination that when put together produce _____________
light.
COLORS BY SUBRACTION
9) An object that appears to be green in color when white light shines upon it is absorbing __________ and blue and
________________ green.
10) A _______________ is a colored material that absorbs certain color wavelengths and reflects others.
11) A pigment that absorbs only one primary color from white light is called a _______________ ________________. Therefore,
____________, _____________, & _____________ are primary pigments.
12) A pigment that absorbs two primary colors and reflects only one is called a ________________ ________________. Therefore,
____________, _____________, & _____________ are secondary pigments.
13) Complementary pigment colors are a primary pigment and a secondary pigment that when put together produce the
absence of color, ____________.
14) Describe what color you would get if you combined the following pigments together:
A) Magenta & Cyan -- _______________
B) Magenta & Yellow -- _______________
C) Cyan & Yellow -- _______________
D) Yellow & Blue -- _______________
E) Magenta & Green -- _______________
F) Cyan & Red -- _______________