Physics Wallah

Short Notes and Formulas of class 8 science chapter-Light

Share

Share

Short Notes and Formulas of class 8 science chapter-Light

May 13, 2022, 16:45 IST

Class- 8 science chapter-Light

Light is a form of energy. More specifically, light is a general term commonly used to refer to the "visible spectrum", which is the range of wavelengths, (and their corresponding frequencies) that forms the visible part of the electro-magnetic spectrum. The ranges in wavelengths vary from 380 nm to 750 nm. Each wavelength corresponds to light of one particular colour so the "visible spectrum" range of wavelengths would look something like the block below if each wavelength appeared only once and they were all lined-up in order of increasing wavelength.The term "visible spectrum" means the range of electro-magnetic energy that most people (i.e. those with "normal" vision) can see with the naked eye. This is just a small part of a much wider range of energies, many of which we cannot see but some of which are used in other ways, e.g. Radio Waves, Microwaves, Ultra Violet (UV) Light, Infra-Red (IR) Radiation, X-Rays, and other wavelengths such as those used in many different types of modern scanning equipment.

When light reaches an object it can do one, or some combination of the following:

Absorption: Light energy goes into the object itself. Because the light goes into the object rather than leaving the surface of the object - and then some of that light entering the eye - the object is not seen" as very bright. Instead, it is perceived to be dark (meaning that little light is traveling from that object into the eye). However, the object might still be obvious to a viewer, e.g. a dull matt black object would still be seen if observed on a clean white surface. In that case the contrast makes the presence of the dark object obvious.

Reflection : Light reaches the surface of a very shiny object and "bounces" off the object in the same way as a hard ball would bounce off an even flat surface (e.g as in the game of snooker). That is, when it is reflected , light leaves the surface of an object at a particular angle relative to the angle at which it reached that surface.

Scatter: On reaching the surface of an object, light leaves that surface not in any one particular direction, but in many directions spreading over a wide range of angles. This applies particularly to non highly-polished surfaces, such as paper, or walls painted matt white. Scatter is the most common of these possibilities when visible light is incident on ordinary everyday solid/opaque objects.

Refraction This is another case of light entering the object instead of leaving the surface of the object.

Refraction only applies to objects that light can pass through, such as blocks of glass or plastic, windows, water, and spectacles. It is mentioned here for completeness. In the context of explaining how light reaches a person's eye from objects in the real world in front of him/her, refraction is less important than the other possibilities described above. (However, note that refraction plays a very important role in the eye visual system for other reasons, such as focusing images onto the retina - and is therefore explained on other pages later in this section)

Reflection of Light

When a ray of light falls on any surface, a part of the light is sent back to the same medium. This phenomenon where the incident light falling on a surface is sent back to the same medium is known as reflection.

Do solve NCERT questions with the help of NCERT solutions for class 8 Science.

Find Pdf o​f chapter-Light having Important short notes of chapter

Free Learning Resources
Know about Physics Wallah
Physics Wallah is an Indian edtech platform that provides accessible & comprehensive learning experiences to students from Class 6th to postgraduate level. We also provide extensive NCERT solutions, sample paper, NEET, JEE Mains, BITSAT previous year papers & more such resources to students. Physics Wallah also caters to over 3.5 million registered students and over 78 lakh+ Youtube subscribers with 4.8 rating on its app.
We Stand Out because
We provide students with intensive courses with India’s qualified & experienced faculties & mentors. PW strives to make the learning experience comprehensive and accessible for students of all sections of society. We believe in empowering every single student who couldn't dream of a good career in engineering and medical field earlier.
Our Key Focus Areas
Physics Wallah's main focus is to make the learning experience as economical as possible for all students. With our affordable courses like Lakshya, Udaan and Arjuna and many others, we have been able to provide a platform for lakhs of aspirants. From providing Chemistry, Maths, Physics formula to giving e-books of eminent authors like RD Sharma, RS Aggarwal and Lakhmir Singh, PW focuses on every single student's need for preparation.
What Makes Us Different
Physics Wallah strives to develop a comprehensive pedagogical structure for students, where they get a state-of-the-art learning experience with study material and resources. Apart from catering students preparing for JEE Mains and NEET, PW also provides study material for each state board like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and others

Copyright © 2025 Physicswallah Limited All rights reserved.