1. A green shirt is green because
(a) electrons spontaneously de-excite and radiate light in the frequency range of green
(b) all except green frequencies are reflected when white light shines on the shirt
(c) green light is reflected when white light shines on the shirt
(d) the dyes in the shirt have phosphors
2. Which will warm quicker in sunlight, a clear or a colored piece of glass?
(a) clear
(b) colored
(c) they will both warm at the same rate.
3. White light is incident upon a piece of red glass. What color light is transmitted?
(a) cyan
(b) the complement of red
(c) red
(d) white
4. A blue light beam and a yellow light beam are aimed at the same spot on a white screen. What color does the spot appear to be?
(a) green
(b) black
(c) blue
(d) yellow
(e) white
5. Mixing yellow paint and magenta paint gives what color?
(a) red
(b) green
(c) blue
(d) cyan
6. What color would you expect to see if you remove the red light from white light?
(a) yellow
(b) cyan
(c) magenta
7. After images are due to
(a) conal fatigue
(b) thoughts by the brain
(c) optical illusions
(d) retinal fluorescence
8. One reason AM waves are picked up over longer distances than FM waves is because AM waves diffract better around obstacles.
(a) True
(b) False
9. Interference is a wave phenomenon.
(a) True
(b) False
10. The colors seen in soap bubbles result from
(a) reflection
(b) interference
(c) soap pigments
(d) refraction
(e) polarization
11. Three polaroid filters are to be stacked so that light can get through all three. What stacking order would allow this to happen for the polaroids listed? (Polaroid 1 has its axis vertical. Polaroid 2 has its axis horizontal. Polaroid 3 has its axis at 45o with respect to the horizontal.)
(a) 2,1,3
(b) 1,2,3
(c) 3,2,1
(d) 1,3,2
(e) 3,1,2
12. How is magnification accomplished with holograms?
(a) use large photographic plates
(b) expose plate from two different angles
(c) view the hologram with longer wavelength light than was used to make the hologram
(d) cut the hologram into smaller pieces
13. What is the difference between a real image and a virtual image?
(a) a real image is always erect; a virtual image can be inverted
(b) a real image is always bigger than the object; a virtual image can be smaller
(c) a real image can be formed on a screen; a virtual one cannot
(d) there is no difference; what you get depends only on the type of mirror
14. The screen in a microwave oven door that allows one to see the food inside the oven is a specular reflector for
(a) visible light
(b) infrared heat
(c) microwaves
(d) ultraviolet light
15. You are 6 ft tall. What minimum length mirror is required to see a full image of yourself?
(a) 2 ft
(b) 3 ft
(c) 6 ft
16. An oar partially immersed in water appears "broken" because of
(a) diffraction
(b) refraction
(c) polarization
(d) interference
(e) absorption
17. In class a laser was shined through the air a few inches above a Bunsen burner flame. What phenomenon was being demonstrated?
(a) mirages
(b) looming
(c) twinkling
(d) diffraction
18. The sun appears elliptical at sunrise as well as at sunset.
(a) True
(b) False
19. For the drawing below which ray is most likely red?
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
20. Double reflections occur in raindrops that produce a secondary rainbow.
(a) True
(b) False
21. Light going from air into water at an angle of incidence greater than the critical angle will be totally reflected.
(a) True
(b) False
22. A beam of red light and a beam of blue light have exactly the same energy. Which beam has the greater number of photons?
(a) red
(b) blue
(c) they both have the same number of photons
23. If the spectrum of a star is shifted toward the blue end of the visible spectrum, then the star is probably
(a) moving away from us
(b) moving toward us
(c) cool
24. The peak frequency of light emitted from a hot glowing solid shifts to frequency as the temperature of the solid increases.
(a) higher
(b) lower
25. Helium was first discovered in the of the sun.
(a) emission spectrum
(b) core
(c) absorption spectrum
(d) sunspots
26. Which radiation can make certain materials fluorescence?
(a) ultraviolet
(b) infrared
(c) both
27. Which type of light source would involve electrons getting "stuck" in excited states?
(a) neon
(b) incandescent
(c) fluorescent
(d) phosphorescent
28. What does the "s" stand for in the word laser?
(a) sample
(b) source
(c) stimulated
(d) simple
(e) secondary
29. A changing electric field is one of the two components of an electromagnetic wave
(a) True
(b) False
30. The device used to detect infrared radiation passing through a dark glass plate was called a
(a) photometer
(b) goniometer
(c) thermocouple
(d) radiometer
31. You will observe a total eclipse of the sun when
(a) you stand in the penumbra of the moon’s shadow
(b) you stand in the umbra of the moon’s shadow
(c) sunlight diffracts around the moon
(d) sunlight reflects from the moon to the earth
32. The blind spot does not “see” images because
(a) no images fall upon it
(b) the fovea is located there
(c) images are focused in front of it
(d) there are no light detectors there
33. Which of the following is detected first by the eye for objects that are moving from behind us around our side to the front?
(a) object color
(b) object identity
(c) object motion
(d) all of the above are detected at the same time