12

Light, Shadows and Reections

NCF Competencies Covered:
Expected Learning Outcomes C-1.1, C-2.4, C-2.5 and C-7.2

Knowledge to be gained: •Sources of light •Transparent, translucent and opaque objects

•Shadows •Re ections
Skills to be developed: •Making a pinhole camera •Using mirrors for various purposes •Drawing
ray diagrams of re ections made by a plane mirror
We can see so many objects around us. While answer is light.
sitting in the classroom we are able to see the What is it that enables us to see other
blackboard, tables, chairs, books and pencils. things? e answer is our eyes.
We can also see our friends, your teacher and Light makes objects visible. You can see the
even the trees outside the classroom window. candle which gives out the light, and you can
How do you think we see these objects? also see the objects present in the room
Now, think of your classroom at night as if it which re ects the light produced by the
were completely dark. What will you see? candle.
Will you be able to see any objects in the Light is a form of energy which makes
room? things visible and helps our eyes to see them.
Now, imagine lighting a candle. Would you
be able to see the objects present in the Knowledge Booster
room? Light travels very fast. The speed of light is approx.
3,00,000 kilometres per second in vacuum. In
What is it that makes things visible? e theory, nothing can travel faster than light.

158 Exploring Science-6

 SOURCES OF LIGHT light. ey are also known as arti cial
An object which gives out light is called a sources of light.
source of light. ere are various sources of Both natural as well as man-made sources of
light around us. e candle we used earlier to light, are objects that emit light. Objects that
see objects in a dark classroom is a source of can emit or give out light are called
light. During the day, we do not need an luminous objects. In fact, all sources of light
electric bulb or a candle to see things because are luminous objects. We are able to see
there is light already present in the luminous objects because the light given out
classroom. e light during the day is given by them enters our eyes.
out by the Sun. At night, we can see the stars Objects that do not give out light of their
twinkling in the sky because they emit their own are called non-luminous objects.
own light. Most objects we see around us, like a table
or a chair, are non-luminous. Even all other
e different sources of light can be divided
human beings are non-luminous. We can
into two groups:
see non-luminous objects when light
Natural Sources of Light originating from a luminous object falls
Sources of light that are present naturally on them and re ects to our eyes. (Fig.3)
are called natural sources of light. e Sun We can see the Moon when it re ects
is the best natural source of light for us. sunlight to our eyes.
Almost all the natural light we receive on Many objects which are non-luminous at
Earth comes from the Sun. Other natural room temperature become luminous on
sources of light are the stars and glowing strong heating. For example :
insects, like re ies. u Iron is a non-luminous object at room
e Moon is not a source of light. It re ects temperature, but becomes luminous
the light falling on it from the Sun which is when heated for long.
hidden from us. (Fig.2) u e filament of a bulb is non-luminous at

Man-Made Sources of Light ro om te mp e r atu re, but b e c ome s

e sources of light which are invented by luminous by getting heated when electric
humans are called man-made sources of current is passed through it.

Light falls
Sun on the book and is
re ected in all
Sunlight directions
light
Sun ected byers
Moo

re er ent
e ower ow eyes
our
n

re ects sunlight
light

in all direction

Fig.1 A ower is seen because it Fig.3 Non-luminous object (book)

Fig.2 Moon re ects sunlight
re ects the light which falls on it re ecting light in different directions

Light, Shadows and Reections 159

TRANSPARENT, TRANSLUCENT Objects made by using these transparent
AND OPAQUE OBJECTS materials have a see-through property.
You can look through the glass window of is makes the objects on the other side of
your car because it allows light to pass the transparent material visible to us. You
through itself. When light passes from must have seen many see-through plastic
outside to the inside of the car, through the b oxe s and w ate r b ott l e s , t he s e are
front glass windshield, it makes other objects transparent objects.
in the path of the moving car visible to the A Material which allows some of the light
driver. falling on its surface to pass through itself
Now imagine, having a black cloth curtain is called a translucent material . For
instead of a glass-windshield in front of the example, frosted glass, tracing paper etc., are
driver. Would he be able to drive the car? translucent materials. Such materials allow
Why not? How is using glass as a front some light to pass through them, but they
windshield different from using a black do not have the property of being
cloth? completely see-through. A frosted glass
You may have guessed the answer to all the window allows light to come into the room,
questions asked above. It is simply because a but does not make the objects on the other
glass would allow most of the light to pass side of the glass visible to us. A frosted glass
through itself, whereas a black cloth would window is an example of a translucent object.
block most of the light from passing through
A Material which do not allow any light
itself. erefore, we won't be able to see
falling on its surface to pass through itself
through a black cloth as easily as a glass
is called an opaque material. For example,
windshield.
cardboard, wood, metals etc., are opaque
Based on the amount of light that a
materials. Such materials do not allow any
material allows to pass through itself, all
light to pass through them, and they do not
materials could be classi ed as:
have the property of being see-through. A
u Transparent
wooden door and the brick walls do not
u Translucent allow any light to come into the room. By
u Opaque shutting a wooden door, we would not be
A material which allows most of the light able to see anything on the other side of the
falling on its surface to pass through itself door. Wooden doors and brick walls are
is called a transparent material . For examples of opaque objects.
example, plane glass, air, pure water, some On a cloudless sunny day, we can see the Sun
plastics, etc., are transparent materials. shining in the sky. e air between the Sun and
160 Exploring Science-6
 Transparent Translucent Opaque
object object object

Transparent Translucent Opaque

Fig.4 Re ection through different mediums

our eyes is transparent, and hence we can see

the bright Sun directly. e light from the Sun Activity-1 NCF C-1.1

makes everything around us visible. Aim: Identi cation of different substances as

On a cloudy day, the Sun might hide behind a transparent, translucent or opaque.
few clouds. e clouds are translucent Collect as many objects as you can from your
surroundings. ese may be a book, a wax
objects; they allow the sunlight to pass
paper, a wooden piece, a plastic scale, a pen, a
through them, but the Sun remains invisible
pencil, a notebook, a single sheet of paper, a
to our eyes. piece of cloth, etc.
On a heavy rainy day when thunderstorms Now look at something far away, through each
are predicted, we can see dense dark clouds of these objects. Record your observation,
in the sky. ey may even hide the Sun and whether you are able to see clearly, partially or
make things almost invisible. ese dark unable to see through the objects in the table
given below. Based on your observations,
rain-bearing clouds act almost like opaque
d iv i d e t he obj e c t s i nto t r ansp are nt ,
objects and can even block most of the
translucent or opaque.
sunlight from reaching the Earth.

View possible through the object Object is transparent/

Objects/Materials
(fully/partially/not at all) translucent/opaque

Pencil

Rubber ball Not very Sure?

Sheet of writing paper

Light, Shadows and Reections 161

 Checkpoint-1
Write true or false
1. Luminous objects give out their own light. ___________
2. A book and a table are examples of luminous objects. ___________
3. A translucent object allows all light to pass through it. ___________
4. A frosted glass and tracing paper are examples of translucent objects. ___________
5. Objects made of a transparent material have a see-through property. ___________

LIGHT TRAVELS IN A STRAIGHT

Why do you think you were able to see the
LINE
candle when the tube was straight but not
You must have noticed that when we switch when the tube was bent?
on a torch in the dark, the light projected by is activity shows that light travels in a
the torch appears to go straight outwards. straight line.
Even in a movie hall, the light coming out of When the tube is straight (un-bent), light
the cinema projector appears to take a travels from the candle and enters our eyes,
straight path to the screen. which makes us see the candle.
Light always travels in a straight line. is However, when the tube is bent, light from the
candle is unable to reach our eyes, making it
is known as rectilinear propagation of
invisible.
light.
Also, the tube is an opaque object. Opaque
Let us perform an activity to demonstrate the objects do not allow light to pass through. See
rectilinear propagation of light. the gure below and notice how the light from
the candle passed through air, and was visible
Activity-2 NCF C-2.4 when the tube was not bent.
In the case of the tube being bent, the same
Aim: To show that light travels in a straight light originating from the candle strikes an
line. opaque object (tube) and could not pass
Materials required: A lighted candle and a through.
exible tube.
Procedure: Take a exible tube and place a
Able to view candle when tube is not bent
lighted candle in front of one of its ends. Place
your eyes at the other end of the tube. Can you
see the light? Yes. (Fig.5)
Now, bend the tube a bit from any point. Place
your eyes at the other end of the tube again.
Unable to view candle when tube is bent
Try to locate the candlelight. Can you see the
candle? No. Fig.5 Light travels in a straight line

162 Exploring Science-6

 Activity-3 NCF C-2.4

Take three rectangular pieces of cardboard of the same size. Place the three cardboards together
and make a hole in all of them exactly at their centre. Make the three cardboards stand vertically
on a table in such a way that the centre holes of all the three cardboards are in a straight line, as
shown in the gure below.
Cardboard with holes in the middle

Fig.6 Another activity to show that light travels in a straight line

Place a burning candle on the table with its ame at the level of the holes.
Now adjust the cardboard so that you can see the ame through the holes. e ame of the candle
is visible only because the light from the candle travels in a straight line and reaches our eyes.
If we push any of the three cardboards slightly out of position, the holes on the cardboard would
not align along a straight line, and we won't be able to see the ame of the candle through the
holes.

A PINHOLE CAMERA It works on the principle that light travels in a

A pinhole camera is a simple device that can straight line.
be created using everyday objects. It consists
of a closed box having a small pinhole on one
side and a translucent screen on the opposite
side. e translucent screen can be made of a
tracing paper which allows some light to
pass through it. e translucent nature of the
screen allows us to see the image formed on
the screen by keeping our eye behind the
screen. e pinhole camera can be used to
view images of various objects, like trees and
buildings. Fig.7 A pinhole camera

Light, Shadows and Reections 163

 A Light-proof box Translucent screen

Small pinhole
B’

A’

B Object(Tree) Pinhole camera Image (Inverted)

Fig.8 The formation of image of an object (here a tree) in a pinhole camera
e above gure can be used to understand e image formed in a pinhole camera has
the working of a pinhole camera. If we stand the following characteristics:
in a dark room and point the pinhole camera u e image formed in a pinhole camera is
outside from an open window, we can see an always inverted (upside down). is is
image of objects present outside on the because the rays of light coming from the
screen of the camera. object (tree) intersect at the pinhole.
e hole 'P' in the pinhole camera allows u e image formed is always real. is
light to come inside the camera. e light means that the image can be obtained on
coming from point A (top of the tree) passes a screen. e image formed here can be
through the pinhole to form an image at obtained on a translucent screen.
point A' on the screen. e light coming
On the contrary, the image formed in a
from point B (bottom of the tree) passes
mirror is formed within the mirror and
through the pinhole in a straight line to form
cannot be obtained on a screen. It is called
an image at point B' on the screen.
a virtual image.
Similarly, light coming from all the points
u If we replace the tracing paper screen of
between A and B on the tree passes through
the pinhole camera with a photographic
the pinhole and forms its corresponding
lm, we can use the pinhole camera to
images between A' and B' on the screen.
take photographs. Let us perform an
You can notice that the rays of light AA' and activity to make our own pinhole camera.
BB' pass through the pinhole camera in a
straight line. e hole of the pinhole camera Activity-4 NCF C-7.2
is adjusted in such a way that the rays AA'
and BB' coming from the top and bottom Aim: To make a functional pinhole camera.
respectively intersect exactly at the point P of Materials required: Two cardboard shoe
boxes of different sizes, a tracing paper and a
the pinhole camera to project a clear image
knife.
on the screen.
164 Exploring Science-6
Procedure: Take a cardboard shoe box (Box 1) irregular shapes, but, we can see circular
and make a small hole in the front of the shoe images of the Sun. In this case, the Sun is the
box. Cut a rectangular hole on the opposite object, the gaps between the leaves are the
side of the shoe box to make an area to t a pinholes and the ground acts as a screen.
screen. Paste a translucent tracing paper to
cover the rectangular hole. Take another shoe
box (Box 2) which is slightly bigger than Box 1.
Cut and open the front and back surface of
Box 2 so that Box 1 could easily slide into Box 2.
Box 1 Box 2

Eye

Pinhole Tracing paper (Screen)

Fig.9 Making a pinhole camera

Now, slide the hollow box (Box 2) over the
pinhole box (Box 1) from one of the open ends
of the bigger box (Box 2). Placing Box 1 inside Fig.10 Natural pinhole camera
Box 2 makes the surrounding area of the SHADOW
translucent screen dark enough to get a clear
By now you know that light travels in a
image.
straight line. You also know that light cannot
When ready, we can place the pinhole camera
pass through opaque objects. So, when light
in front of an object and view the image from
is stopped by an opaque object, a dark area
the open end of the bigger box (Box 2). We can
move Box 1, front and back, till we reach a called shadow is formed on a surface
point where we get a clear image of the object behind the object.
on the screen.

ere is an interesting pinhole camera in

nature. Sometimes, when we pass under a
tree covered with large number of leaves, we
notice small patches of sunlight under it.
ese circular images are, in fact, pinhole
images of the Sun. e gaps between the
leaves act as the pinholes and the ground acts
as a screen. ese gaps are all kinds of Fig.11 Shadow of a standing boy

Light, Shadows and Reections 165

 The shadow stick

B Sun
A
C

Stick

B A
C
Shadows
Fig.12 Formation of a shadow Fig.13 Position and shape Fig.14 Changing lengths of a shadow
of a shadow
Characteristics of a Shadow source is placed along the length of an
ree things are needed for the formation object and it is short when the light source
of a shadow: is placed along the width of an object.
u a light source Also, the size of a shadow decreases when
u an opaque object the object is moved towards the screen.
The size of a shadow increases when the
u an opaque screen or surface on which a
object is moved towards the light source
shadow is to be formed.
(Fig.15).
Position of a Shadow: Obser ve the
formation of shadow in (Fig.12). A shadow
is always formed opposite to the source of
B1 A1
A B
light.
Shape of a Shadow: The shape of the shadow
depends on the angle at which light falls on
the object or the shape of the part of the Fig.15 The size of a shadow depends on the
distance of the object from the source of light
object that blocks the path of light (Fig.13).
A shadow usually has two parts—an area
Size of a Shadow: You must have seen that of complete darkness at the centre known
the length of your shadow on the ground as the umbra and an area of partial
keeps changing at different times of the day darkness at the edges known as the
(Fig.14). In the morning and evening, the penumbra (Fig.17). The umbra receives no
Sun is positioned quite low in the sky and light from the source, while the penumbra
your shadow is long. When the Sun is placed receives only some light from the source.
overhead in the afternoon, your shadow
A large source of light forms a shadow with
becomes small.
an umbra and a penumbra. A small source of
The size of a shadow is long when the light light forms only an umbra.
166 Exploring Science-6
 Opaque Penumbra
object
Umbra

Shadow

Source
of light

Fig.16 A shadow is formed in a region where rays Fig.17 Formation of umbra and penumbra
of light are stopped by an opaque object

From all that we have studied above, we can the Earth and the Moon's shadows. Eclipses
conclude that the shadow of an object has are the shadows that make the Moon or the
the following characteristics: Sun fully or partially invisible for some
u A screen is always necessary to form a time.
shadow. This also means that the shadow The word ‘eclipse’ comes from the Greek
of an object is real and can be obtained on word ‘ekleipsis’, which means ‘fail to appear’.
a screen.
How Does an Eclipse Occur?
u The shape of a shadow depends on:
The Sun remains stationary in its place. The
a) The position of the object, and
Earth revolves around the Sun and the Moon
b) The position of the source of light. revolves around the Earth. An eclipse
u The shadow of an object could be of any involving the Sun, Moon and the Earth
size. It can be smaller, larger or equal to occurs when they are nearly in a straight line,
the size of the object.
allowing one to be hidden behind another.
u No matter the colour of the object, the
Solar Eclipse
shadow of the object is always black.
u The shadow of an object is always erect,
Solar means 'related to the Sun'. During a
i.e., the shadow of an object is the same solar eclipse, the Sun is hidden from our
side up as the object. view. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon
ECLIPSES NCF C-2.5
comes between the Sun and the Earth.
Shadows are formed in the outer space too. The Moon casts its shadow on a part of the
The Sun is a source of light, but the Earth and Earth by blocking the light of the Sun. People
Moon are not sources of light. Thus, the living in this area of darkness cannot see the
Earth and the Moon cast their shadows. Sun, and so they experience a solar eclipse. A
Time to time, we see the solar and the lunar solar eclipse can happen only on a New Moon
eclipses. These eclipses are the examples of day.
Light, Shadows and Reections 167
 Solar Eclipse
Moon’s orbit Partial shadow
(Penumbra)
Full shadow
(Umbra)

Earth
Partial eclipse
Total eclipse Moon

Sun

Partial or Total Solar Eclipse the Moon, it casts its shadow on the Moon.
When only a part of the Sun's light is blocked At that time, the Moon can be seen either
by the shadow of the Moon, it is called a partially or not at all. We call it a lunar
partial solar eclipse. Sometimes when whole eclipse. ere may be a total or partial lunar
of the Sun is blocked out by the shadow of the eclipse. When the Moon is partially in the
Moon, it is called a total solar eclipse. A solar shadow of the Earth, it is called a partial
eclipse always occurs on New Moon day lunar eclipse, and when it is fully in the
(Amavasya), but not every New Moon day. shadow cast by the Earth, it is called a total
lunar eclipse. Lunar eclipse always occurs
Lunar Eclipse
on Full Moon day (Purnima), but not every
When the Earth comes between the Sun and Full Moon day.
Lunar Eclipse Earth’s Umbra
orbit

Moon

Earth
Moon’s
Sun orbit
Penumbra

168 Exploring Science-6

REFLECTION OF LIGHT
e direction or path along which light
travels is called a ray of light. A ray is
represented by a line with an arrowhead,
showing the direction in which the light is
before aer
travelling.
A group of light rays is called a beam of light.
e rays from a distant light source seem to
be parallel to each other. ey constitute a
parallel beam of light.
If a very small source of light is used, the rays
will go outwards and seem to proceed away
from a point. ey form a divergent beam of
Ball bouncing back from a wall
light.
If the rays of light proceed towards a point, Fig.19 Reflection of a ball after striking a wall

they form a convergent beam of light. Similarly, when light falls on the surface of an
object, the object sends the light back. e
process of sending back the light rays
which fall on the surface of an object is
A ray of light A parallel beam of light
called the re ection of light.
Light is re ected from all opaque surfaces.
You would recall at the beginning of this
chapter, we discussed how we were able to
A divergent beam A convergent beam
of light of light see objects in our classroom only when light
was present. Light made objects visible. You
Fig.18 Rays and beams
were able to see the objects present in the
Re ection of Light room which re ected the light produced by
If we throw a tennis ball straight at a wall, the the candle.
ball bounces straight back towards us. is Normal

means that when the tennis ball strikes the

y
ra

Inc
ted

ident
ec

wall, the wall sends it back. If we throw the ray

Re

ball at an angle, the ball also seems to bounce Mirror

P
off the wall at the same angle but in the
opposite direction.
Fig.20 Re ection of light
Light, Shadows and Reections 169
 Fig.21 Re ection of light
If the surface re ecting the light is well- sides. e glass sheet is already very smooth.
polished, smooth and shiny, it can act as a Applying a coating of silver on its back makes
mirror. e surface on which the light falls, it opaque and shiny. e silver coating is
re ects all the light falling on it, and is able to further protected by applying red paint behind
create an image of whatever is present in the the silver surface. All this allows the glass sheet
direction of the source of light. to become into a mirror.

Plane Mirror e rays of light falling on the shiny surface of

A plane mirror is a at and smooth sheet of the mirror re ect completely, and an image
glass having a shiny silver coating on one of its appears to form behind the mirror.
M
Back side of plane
Plane mirror mirror (Silver coating on Plane mirror
glass sheet covered by (Front side)
Front side of red paint) Back side of
plane mirror plane mirror

Fig.22 A plane mirror M’

Activity-5 Collaboration

Aim: To show the re ection of light from a plane mirror.

Materials required: A mirror, a torch and three friends.
Procedure:
• Ask a friend to hold the mirror and stand at one corner of the room.
• Standing at another corner of the room, glow the torch in such a
manner that the torchlight falls on the mirror.
• You will get a patch of light in another direction.
• By adjusting the mirror and torchlight, you can get this patch of Fig.23 A mirror re ects
light falling on your second friend standing at another corner of the a beam of light.
room.
This activity shows that mirrors can change the direction of light, i.e., re ect light falling on them.
170 Exploring Science-6
 mirror, and we only see an image of the bulb
Activity-6 behind the mirror.
Fix a comb on one side of a large thermocol Plane
mirror Image
Bulb of bulb
sheet and x a mirror on the other side as
Inc
shown in Fig.24. Spread a dark-coloured sheet ident
ray
of paper between the mirror and the comb.
Keep this in sunlight or send a beam of light
from a torch through the comb.
What do you observe? Do you get a pattern
similar to that shown in the gure? y
d ra
e
is activity gives us an idea of the manner in ect
Re
which light travels and gets re ected from a

\\ \
\\\
mirror.

\\\\
\\\
Torch light
Eye

Mirror Fig.25 Seeing an image of bulb in a plane mirror

Characteristics of Image Formed by Plane
Mirror
Shadow
1. When we look into the mirror, the image
Fig.24 Light travelling in a straight line and of any object appears to be behind the
getting re ected from a mirror
mirror. In general, we can say that the
Image Formed by a Plane Mirror
image formed in a plane mirror is behind
Look at Fig.25. e gure is a ray diagram of an the mirror.
image formed of a bulb hanging in front of a
2. e image formed in a plane mirror is
plane mirror.
virtual. It cannot be received on a screen.
e light rays coming from the bulb travel in a
3. e image in a plane mirror is of the same
straight line to the mirror and get re ected. e
size as the object. It is neither smaller nor
light rays falling on the surface of the mirror are
bigger than the object.
called incident rays. e light rays re ected
from the surface of the mirror are called 4. e image formed in a plane mirror is
re ected rays. When these re ected rays enter erect (or upright). It is the same side up as
our eyes, it seems as if the light rays are the object.
originating from a bulb placed at a point from 5. e image formed in a plane mirror is at the
behind the mirror. We see an image of the bulb same distance behind the mirror as the
at that position from where the light seems to be object in front of the mirror. e distance of
originating. an image from the mirror is equal to the
In reality, the bulb is placed in front of the distance of an object from the mirror.

Light, Shadows and Reections 171

 L1 L1
Re ector

D D
Inner box (plane mirror)
L2 L2 (Painted black
inside)

L3 L3 Glass sheet cover

Container
with food
to be cooked Outer wooden
Object Mirror Image box

Fig.26 Lateral inversion and equidistance

principal of images formed by a plane mirror Fig.27 Solar cooker

6. e image formed in a plane mirror is u Plane mirrors are used as looking glasses,
laterally inverted, i.e., in the image formed above wash basins or dressing tables.
by a plane mirror, there is an inversion of le u ey are used for making kaleidoscope and
and right. periscope.
Uses of Plane Mirror u ey are used as re ectors in solar cookers.
Some important uses of plane mirrors are u ey are xed on the walls of certain shops to
as follows: make the shop look bigger.
Checkpoint-2
Fill in the blanks
1. Light travels in a ___________ line.
2. A ___________ camera is a simple device to see the images of various objects.
3. A ___________ is always necessary for a shadow.
4. e rays of light which falls on mirror are called ___________ rays.
5. e rays of light which gets back aer re ecting from the mirror are called ___________
rays.

Keywords
Luminous : Objects that emit light.
Non-luninous : Objects that do not emit light.
Transparent : See-through.
Opaque : Not see-through.
Translucent : Partially see-through.
Rectilinear : Straight line.
Solar eclipse : Shadow of the Moon falling on Earth.
Lunar eclipse : Shadow of Earth falling on the Moon.
Re ection : Bouncing back of light rays when they fall on an opaque object.

172 Exploring Science-6

 Points to Remember
u Light is a form of energy which enables us to see.
u Sources of light could be natural or man-made.
u Objects which emit light are called luminous objects.
u Objects which do not emit light are called non-luminous objects.
u Materials which allow some of the light falling on their surface to pass through are called
transparent materials.
u Materials which do not allow the light falling on their surface to pass through are called
opaque materials.
u Materials which allow some of the light falling on their surface to pass through are called
translucent materials.
u Light travels in a straight line.
u A pinhole camera works on the principle that light travels in a straight line.
u A shadow is formed when the path of light is obstructed by an opaque object. A shadow is a
dark (black or grey) region formed by the obstruction of light by an opaque object.
u Eclipses are the shadows that make the Moon or the Sun fully or partially invisible for some
time.
u A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth.
u A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon.
u An eclipse could be total or partial.
u e process of sending back the light rays which fall on the surface of an object is called the
re ection of light.
u Mirrors are highly polished, smooth surfaces that give us a clear re ection.
u Images formed by a plane mirror are—behind the mirror, virtual, of the same size as the
object and laterally inverted.

Exercise
A. Tick (3) the Correct Option
1. Which of the following is not a source of light?
(a) Lighted candle (b) Sun
(c) Stars (d) Moon
2. Which of the following allows light to pass through but does not have a see-through property?
(a) Forested glass (b) Opaque
(c) Air (d) Wood
Light, Shadows and Reections 173
 3. A pinhole camera has a__________screen.
(a) opaque (b) translucent
(c) transparent (d) luminous
4. e size of a shadow__________when the object is moved towards the screen.
(a) remains constant (b) decreases
(c) increases (d) none of these
5. e size of a shadow__________when the object is moved towards the light source.
(a) remains constant (b) decreases
(c) increases (d) none of these
B. Fill in the Blanks with Suitable Words
1. e _______________ is the best natural source of light.
2. Objects made by using transparent materials have a _______________ property.
3. A pinhole camera works on the principle that light always travels in a______________ line.
4. e umbra receives _______________ light from the source, while the penumbra receives
_______________ light from the source.
5. Solar eclipse always occurs on a _______________ Moon day.
C. Very Short-Answer-Type Questions
1. What is light?
2. Light is a form of energy? True or False?
3. e Moon is a natural source of light. True of False?
4. Non-luminous objects may become luminous on heating. True or False?
5. Give an example of each:
(a) natural source of light (b) man-made source of light
6. What are luminous objects?
7. What are non-luminous objects?
8. What is rectilinear propagation of light?
9. What is a shadow?
10. What are eclipses?
11. Draw ray diagrams to show the following:
(a) parallel rays of light (b) convergent rays of light (c) divergent rays of light
12. What is the re ection of light?

174 Exploring Science-6

D. Short-Answer-Type Questions
1. With the help of an example, describe how light makes objects visible.
2. Differentiate between natural and man-made sources of light.
3. When are we able to see non-luminous objects?
4. Give two examples of non-luminous objects which become luminous on heating.
5. What are the characteristics of an image formed in a pinhole camera?
6. How do trees act as natural pinhole cameras?
7. What are the requirements for the formation of a shadow?
8. When does a lunar eclipse occur?
9. How are plane mirrors made? Why is silver used in making plane mirrors?
10. Mention some of the important uses of plane mirrors.
E. Long-Answer-Type Questions
1. How can materials be classi ed based on the amount of light that they allow to pass through
themselves? Explain with examples.
2. With the help of an experiment, prove the rectilinear propagation of light.
3. With the help of a diagram, explain the working of a pinhole camera.
4. Draw a ray diagram and explain the formation of an image due to the re ection of light by a
plane mirror.
5. What are the characteristics of an image formed by a plane mirror?
HOTS Critical Thinking
1. Opaque objects cast shadows, isn’t it? Now, if we hold a transparent object in the Sun, do we
see anything on the ground that gives us a hint that we are holding something in our hand?
2. Can an object form two or more shadows at the same time?

Activity Zone Creativity

A. We can make beautiful shadows with a striking resemblance to the objects found in nature.
Let us try to make shadows of a few animals. In a dark room, shine a torch towards the wall.
Using both your hands, try to make shapes as shown in the gure below. Observe the shadow
animals on the wall. Try to guess the animals being formed in the shadow.

Light, Shadows and Reections 175

Project Work NCF C-7.2

B. A periscope is a device which gives us a higher view than normal. It can be used to see over the heads
of people in a crowd. It can also be used by a soldier sitting in a trench to observe the enemy activities
above the ground. But it is mostly used by submarines moving underwater to observe the ships over
the surface of the sea.
A periscope is a simple device made by using two plane mirrors. You can make your own periscope
by using two plane mirrors in a ‘Z’ shaped box as shown in the gure. Try to make your own
periscope and nd out how it works. Also, nd out its other uses. Make a report on your ndings.

\\
\\
45o
\\
Light rays \\
\\
\\
\\
\\
\\
Plane
\\
\\
mirror
M1
Object to be seen
(Here a tree)

Periscope

High wall
(obstacle) M2

o
45

Plane Observer
mirror

e-Resources
Please visit the link given below or scan the QR code for more resources on
this Chapter:

https://www.megamindpublication.com/s-1-science/b-1-exploring-science-6/c-21/light,-shadows-and-
re ections.html

176 Exploring Science-6