Light always travels in a straight line until it is absorbed, reflected, or refracted. Reflections occur when light bounces off a smooth, glossy surface like a mirror, water, or metal. Refraction is when light bends as it passes from one medium to another, such as when light bends as it passes through water, glass, or the atmosphere, which can result in the bending of light to form rainbows.

1. Traveling Light!!!
SOL 5.3 D and E

2. Keep it straight!!!
● Light always travels in a straight line.
● Imagine you have the world’s most powerful flashlight . . .
○ . . . . . And you shine it towards space . . . .
○ . . . . . What will happen to the beam of light?
○Indeed! It will travel on . . .FOREVER . . . through
space.
○Unless . . . . .

3. ● Light WILL travel forever in a straight line until one
of these things happens . . .
○Absorbed
○Reflected
○Refracted

4. Mirror, mirror on the wall . . .
● Have you ever seen yourself?
● Have any idea what you look
like?
● Take a look at your hair before
you left home this morning?
○You sure about that??
○If you do, you know what a
reflection is . . .

5. Reflections . . . . Bouncing light.
● Reflections are simply when light bounces, or reflects,
off of a surface.
● If you have seen yourself in the mirror, you know what
a reflection is . . . .
● Light bounces off you, hits the mirror, and is reflected
back to your eyes . . . .
● Keep in mind that light only bounces off of certain
surfaces . . . . . . .

6. . . . . . Like water . . . .

7. . . . . Or metal . . . . . . .

8. . . . . . . Or glass . . .

9. . . . . . . . But not . . . . . . .
● Reflective surfaces are usually smooth and glossy.
● Try as you might, you won’t get a reflection off of any of these surfaces . . . .

10. ● Light can also be bent.
● Remember! Light always travels in a straight line . . . .
unless it gets refracted, which means to bend – or
curve – its line of travel.
● When light is bent, the resulting image is often a bit
blurry or distorted.
● Many different things can refract – or bend – light.

11. . . . .Gasses in the atmosphere
● I know you have seen a rainbow . . . .

12. . . . . . . . And glass . . . . .

13. . . Or a black hole in space . . .

14. What happened here!!!