Name:______________________________Class:__________________ Date:__________________

Light and Reflection

Section Study Guide

Teacher Notes and Answers
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIGHT CURVED MIRRORS
1. a. 499 s 1. a. midpoint between mirror and O
b. 193 s b. markings should be at scale: 1 cm for 1 m
c. 1.97  104 s c. A’s image is 2.6 m inside.
2. a. 7.1  1014 Hz; 6.7  1014 Hz; 5.5  1014 d. Image locations: B at 3.33 m inside the
Hz; 5.0  1014 Hz; 4.3  1014 Hz mirror; C at 2.00 m outside the mirror
b. Frequency decreases when wavelength 2. 2.60 m; 3.33 m;
2.00 m
increases.
c. No, no COLOR AND POLARIZATION
1. a. all but green because green is reflected
FLAT MIRRORS b. red, because it lets the type of light best
1. a. Check student drawings for accuracy. absorbed by plants to be transmitted
Angles of reflection should be equal. 2. a. white
b. Extensions intersect on the normal b. blue
through A, 25 cm inside the mirror. c. black
c. 50 cm d. black
d. No, but the person will see image by 3. black
receiving the reflection of some other ray.
e. The person will see the image by
receiving reflected Ray from C.
f. angle at A close to 50º, angle at B close to
60º
g. The eraser’s image is 15 cm inside.

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 1 Study Guide
Name:______________________________Class:__________________ Date:__________________

Light and Reflection

Concept Review
Characteristics of Light
1. The orbital radius of the Earth (the average Earth-Sun distance) is
1.496
1011 m. Mercury’s orbital radius is 5.79
1010 m and Pluto’s is
5.91
1012 m. Calculate the time required for light to travel from the Sun to each
of the three celestial bodies. (Hint: Use 3.00
108 m/s for the speed of light.)
a. Sun-Earth _______________________________________________________
b. Sun-Mercury ____________________________________________________
c. Sun-Pluto _______________________________________________________
2. Typical wavelengths of visible light colors are listed below.
violet blue green orange-yellow red
420 nm 450 nm 550 nm 600 nm 700 nm

a. Calculate the frequency of the electromagnetic waves that carry these colors.
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b. How does frequency change when wavelength increases?
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c. Does the speed of light in air depend on frequency? on wavelength?
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Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 2 Study Guide
Name:______________________________Class:__________________ Date:__________________

Light and Reflection

Diagram Skills
Flat Mirrors
1. The point of a 20.0 cm
pencil is placed 25.0 cm
from a flat mirror. Its
eraser is 15.0 cm from
the mirror. Three of the
light rays from the
pencil’s point hit the
mirror with incident
angles of 0°, 20°, and
50° at points A, B, and C as shown.
a. Use a protractor to draw the reflected rays from points A, B, and C.
b. Where do reflected rays or their extensions intersect?

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c. What is the distance between the pencil’s head and its image?

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d. Would a person’s eye located at point D perceive one of the reflected rays you
drew? Will the person be able to see the image? Explain.

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e. What if the eye is located at point E?

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f. Draw incident rays from the eraser of the pencil to point A and to point B.
Measure their incident angles and write them on the line below.

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g. Draw the reflected rays and locate the image of the eraser. Draw the pencil’s
image.

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 3 Study Guide
Name:______________________________Class:__________________ Date:__________________

Light and Reflection

Diagram Skills
Curved Mirrors
1. A 1.50 m tall child
is in a mirror
gallery at the
amusement park.
She is standing in
front of a concave
mirror with a radius
of 4.00 m. She
starts walking
toward the mirror
from a distance of 9.00 m, and she stops every meter to observe her image.
a. Find the focal point of this mirror and label it F.
b. Mark the child’s locations 9.00 m, 5.00 m, and 1.00 m in front of the mirror,
and label them A, B, C.
c. Sketch ray diagrams to locate the image formed when the child is at A. Measure
the distance from the image to the mirror and record it below.
Distance of A’s image = ___________________________________________
d. Repeat question c for the object at positions B and C.
Distance of B’s image = ___________________________________________
Distance of C’s image = ___________________________________________
2. Calculate the image location for the object at A, B, and C in item 1, using the
mirror equation. Compare your results with your diagrams.
Distance of A’s image = ___________________________________________
Distance of B’s image = ___________________________________________
Distance of C’s image = ___________________________________________

Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 4 Study Guide
Name:______________________________Class:__________________ Date:__________________

Light and Reflection

Concept Review
Color and Polarization
1. It is common knowledge that chlorophyll allows green plants to use light for
photosynthesis.
a. Which colors of the visible spectrum do green plants absorb? Explain.

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b. A window has just broken in your greenhouse. Until it can be replaced, you can
seal the hole with clear plastic that is slightly tinted either red or green. Which
would you use? Explain.

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2. You have three spotlights: one red, one green, one blue. You also have three
buckets: one with red paint, one with green paint, one with blue paint.
a. What color do you see when you shine all three spotlights on a white wall in a
dark room?

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b. What color do you see if you paint the wall blue before shining all three
spotlights on it in a dark room?

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c. What color do you see when you paint the wall with a brush dipped in the red
and blue buckets and then shine green light on it?

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d. What color do you see when you paint the wall with a brush dipped in all three
buckets and then shine all three spotlights on it?

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3. What color do you see when shining green light on a magenta painting?

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Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Physics 5 Study Guide