Unit 8 Practice Test: Light and Optics

Three different people look at light from the sun. Each person looks at the light through two polarizing filters. Person A uses one horizontal polarizing filter and one vertical polarizing filter. Person B uses two horizontal polarizing filters. Person C uses two vertical polarizing filters. Rank the brightness that each person will see.

• A > B > C

• B = C > A

• A > B = C

• C > B > A

A student measures the frequency of an electromagnetic wave to be 3 x 10^16 Hz. What type of wave is this?

• Radio wave

• Visible

• Ultraviolet

• Gamma

It takes 8.33 minutes for light to travel from the sun to Earth. What is the distance from the sun to the Earth?

• a. 3 x 10^8 meters

• b. 2.50 x 10^9 meters

• c. 1.50 x 10^11 meters

• d. Impossible to determine

An object appears cyan under white light. This means it absorbs...

• a. Red light

• b. Green and Blue light

• c. Green and Red light

• d. Green light

An object that appears to be magenta under white light is placed under yellow light. What color will the object appear to be?

• a. Magenta

• b. Red

• c. Blue

• d. Green

An object that appears to be red under white light is placed under cyan light. What color will the object appear to be?

• a. Black

• b. Red

• c. Blue

• d. Green

In which of the following situations will a virtual image be produced?

If you look in a mirror, you can see an image of yourself. This is because of...

• Reflection

• Refraction

• Superposition

• Polarization

Use the following diagram for questions 9-10: Light passes from Material 1 into Material 2, as shown below. Material 2 has a higher index of refraction than Material 1. How will the wave speed of the light in Material 2 compare to the wave speed of the light in Material 1?

• The wave speed in Material 2 will be less than Material 1

• The wave speed in Material 2 will be the same as Material 1

• The wave speed in Material 2 will be greater than Material 1

• It is impossible to determine.

Use the following diagram for questions 9-10: Light passes from Material 1 into Material 2, as shown below. Material 2 has a higher index of refraction than Material 1. How will the wavelength of the light in Material 2 compare to the wavelength of the light in Material 1?

• The wavelength in Material 2 will be less than Material 1

• The wavelength in Material 2 will be the same as Material 1

• The wavelength in Material 2 will be greater than Material 1

• It is impossible to determine.