Study Guide – Light, EM spectrum, color,
Reflection (Plane mirror)
Light, Color and EM spectrum
1. Write out the seven parts of the EM spectrum including ROYGBV. Write them in increasing
order of wavelength. Note which parts of the EM have the highest and lowest: wavelengths,
frequency and energy. Which part is the fastest (speed)? Give an example of each type.
2. If a light wave has a wavelength of 480x10-9m, what is its frequency?
3. If a light wave has a frequency of 1x1013Hz, what is its wavelength?
5. What determines whether or not a material is transparent or opaque?
6. What is a prism and how does it work?
6b. How is a raindrop similar to a prism?
7. If all colors of visible light combine, what is the resulting color?
8. List the three primary colors of additive light system.
8b. What color do you get when red and blue light mix?
Yellow and green?
What other colors can you make and what would you use to make them?
9. Are black and white real colors, in the sense that red and green are? Explain. Be specific.
10. What are the different color systems we discussed? (draw the color diagrams – the 3
circles)
10b. Which is used on computer printers?
Computer screen?
Our vision?
2nd grade art class?
11. What is the speed of light?
12. If you use a yellow filter, which colors can you probably still see with it?
13. A green shirt loos green because it _______________ green light and _______________
red and blue light.
14. If a white light passes through a red filter, what colors are absorbed?
What colors pass through?
15. What is the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary colors?
16. If a star is approaching Earth, the light will shift towards what color?
17. If a star is traveling away from Earth, the light will shift towards what color?
Reflection of plane mirrors
1. What is the law of reflection?
2. Draw and label the reflection off a plane mirror: (label the angle of incidence, incidence ray, normal
line, reflected ray, angle of reflection) Be able to define each as well.
M
I
R
R
O
R
3. A light ray reflects off a plane mirror. The angle of incidence is 35 degrees. What is the angle of
reflection?
4. A light ray reflects off a plane mirror. The angle between the mirror and the incident ray is 20
degrees. What is the angle of incidence? What is the angle of reflection?
5. What is the difference between specular and diffuse reflection? Define and give an example of each.
What type of refection is shown by a piece of paper?
What type of reflection is shown by a mirror?
Do we see most of the world around us by specular or diffuse reflection? Explain your answer.