Light & Lenses
- Students should know light is a form of energy that travels in waves away from a source in all directions. Light travels in straight lines called rays. A group of rays is called a beam.
- Students should know light is absorbed and/or reflected from different surfaces. Light is reflected from smooth, shiny surfaces at predictable angles.
- Students should know the structures of the human eye function in ways that can be compared and contrasted with the structures of a camera. All visible objects reflect light to the human eye which sends signals to the brain.
- Students should know optical tools (eyeglasses, binoculars, telescopes, periscopes, etc.) change the path of light for a specific purpose.
- Students should know light is refracted as it passes through a lens or through one transparent material to another. Convex and concave lenses improve vision by changing the path of light to the retina.
- Students should know materials are classified as opaque, transparent, or translucent based on how light passes through them.
- Students should know shadows are the result of light beams cast upon a surface of an object that absorbs some of the light rays.
- Students should know white light is composed of many colors. Structures in the human eye enable humans to see color by sending signals to the brain.
- Students should know the brain and the rest of the nervous suystem respond to information (stimuli) received from the sense organs.