Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

AP Physics 2 Optics

Terms in this set (23)

law of reflection
light bounces off an object, assume all light is reflected from mirrors (opaque), angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection
types of mirrors
plane: flat mirror & always give a virtual image
convex: curved towards the object & always gives a virtual image
concave: curved away from object, gives virtual or real images
virtual images
light doesn't pass through the image, forms on the dark side of the mirror, where we expect the image to be for a mirror, all mirrors form these
real images
light actually passes through the image, forms on the light side of the mirror, we don't expect the image to appear there, only concave mirrors can form these
1/f=1/di+1/do (mirror)
mirror equation where f=focal length, di=distance to image from mirror, do=distance to object from mirror
M=hi/ho=-di/do (mirror)
magnification equation where M=magnification, hi=height of image, ho=height of object, di=distance from image to mirror, do=distance to object from mirror
signs
if di is negative, virtual image, if di is positive, real image, if M is negative, inverted image, if M is positive, upright image, rule of thumb: if light passes through the image, positive; otherwise, negative (dark side), just because M is negative doesn't mean it's smaller, the sign is for orientation only
specular reflection
clean, smooth mirror for reflection
diffuse reflection
rough surface for reflection (wall/floor)
refraction
bending of light as it passes from one material to another, light travels slows through more optically dense materials, optical density is measured by the index of refraction (n), which is the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum (c) to the speed of light in that material (v)
n=c/v
refraction equation where n=index of refraction, c=speed of light in a vacuum, v=speed of light in that material
Snell's law
describes how light behaves when passing from one material to another, light passes through an object, but is deflected off its original line, amount of refraction is based on the object's optical density and incident angle
n1sinθ1=n2sinθ2
Snell's law equation where is n is refraction
total internal reflection
light attempts to pass from one material to another, light must be traveling from a more dense to a less dense material, if the incident angle is larger than the critical angle (θc), then light is reflected, law of reflection applies (θi=θr)
sinθc=n2/n1
total internal reflection equation
types of lenses
plane: flat lens (window), always gives a real image
convex: curved towards the object (symmetric on both sides), gives virtual or real image
concave: curved away from object (symmetric on both sides), gives virtual or real images
1/f=1/di+1/do (lense)
lens equation where f=focal point, di=distance to image from lens, do=distance to object from lens
M=hi/ho=-di/do (lense)
magnification equation where M=magnification, hi=height of image, ho=height of object, di=distance from image to lens, do=distance from object to lens
comparing singles to doubles
1 wavelengths difference in path length from the edges of the slit produces a minimum since the light from the center of the slit differs by a half wavelength and gives destructive interference
single slit diffraction
double slit interference
y=mλD/d
comparing singles to doubles equation #1
dsinθ=mλ
comparing singles to doubles equation #2
Recommended textbook explanations

Physics: Principles and Problems

Elliott, Haase, Harper, Herzog, Margaret Zorn, Nelson, Schuler, Zitzewitz
3,068 explanations

Glencoe Physics: Principles And Problems

Zitzewitz
1,112 explanations

Principles & Practice of Physics (Volume 1)

Eric Mazur
2,405 explanations

Conceptual Physics

10th EditionPaul G. Hewitt
3,241 explanations