Tuguegarao Archdiocesan Schools System

Saint Joseph’s College of Baggao, Inc.

Baggao, Cagayan, Philippines
Transforming Lives, Shaping the Future

DIFFRACTION AND
INTERFERENCE OF LIGHT

Maggay, Jennylyn M.
Palad, Jances Marie
Salvador, Noralyn B.

Bachelor of Secondary Education major in General Science, 4 th year

Saint Joseph’s College of Baggao Incorporated

SHARMAINE CLAIRE A. ANTONIO LPT,MST

Instructor
 Tuguegarao Archdiocesan Schools System
Saint Joseph’s College of Baggao, Inc.
Baggao, Cagayan, Philippines
Transforming Lives, Shaping the Future

LEARNING PLAN DESCRIPTION:

This module covers only the most essential competencies on Light and
colors. The simplest presentation of concepts was made in order for the
learners to understand quickly. Please encourage your learners to take time to
read the module. Simple activities are designed so that learners can easily
follow with or without the teacher’s guidance, also there online activities,
virtual experiments and lectures suggested in case the student cannot come to
school for face to face learning.
LEARNING PLAN TITLE: Waves and Optics TIME FRAME DURATION: Week 9
PERFORMANCE STANDARD: The learners should able to create a video
presentation that details the impact of the dispersion and refraction of light in
human
MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCY:

A. identify experimental evidences that electrons can behave like waves;

B. describe the characteristics of the different type of dispersion,
scattering, interference and diffraction;
C. compare and contrast dispersion, scattering, interference and
diffraction.
INTRODUCTION
This Self-Learning Module (SLM) is prepared so that you, our dear
learners, can continue your studies and learn while at home. Activities,
questions, directions, exercises, and discussions are carefully stated for you
to understand each lesson. Each SLM is composed of different parts. Each
part shall guide you step-by-step as you discover and understand the
lesson prepared for you. Pre-tests are provided to measure your prior
knowledge on lessons in each SLM. This will tell you if you need to proceed on
completing this module or if you need to ask your facilitator or your teacher’s
assistance for better understanding of the lesson. At the end of each
module, you need to answer the post-test to self-check your learning. Answer
keys are provided for each activity and test. We trust that you will be honest in
using these. In addition to the material in the main text, notes to the Teacher
are also provided to our facilitators and parents for strategies and reminders
on how they can best help you on your home-based learning. Please use
this module with care.
Pre-test
Multiple Choice Read each statement and choose the best answer by writing
the letter of your choice. Write your answers in your Physical Science notebook.
1. Davisson and Germer scattered electrons from a crystal of nickel. The
scattered electrons formed a strong diffraction pattern. What important
conclusion was drawn from this experiment?
A) Electrons acted like waves B) Neutrons acted like waves
C) Protons acted like waves D) All of the above
2. Light bends around sharp corners as a result of __________________.
A) refraction B) reflection C) diffraction D.) Dispersion
3.Two waves of equal wavelength will interfere destructively most effectively
under one of the following conditions. Will the interference be most effective
when the waves are _______________________________.
A) in phase and have equal amplitudes
B) in phase and have unequal amplitudes
C) 180 degrees out of phase and have equal amplitudes
D) 180 degrees out of phase and have unequal amplitudes
4. Diffraction and interference demonstrate which of the following?
A) particle nature of light B) wave nature of light
C) polarization of light D) refraction of light
5. Which of the following refers to a line (straight or curved) that is
perpendicular to light’s wave fronts and its tangent is collinear with
the wave vector?
A) Light waves B) Light ray C) Light Sound D) Interference

LESSON PROPER
Electrons can behave like Waves
• In 1924, French physicist Louis de Broglie postulated that a particle, like
an electron, may also behave like a wave.
• The de Broglie wavelength shows that the wavelength of a particle
is related to Planck’s constant, and is inversely proportional to its
momentum.
 • Electron is one of the subatomic particles in an atom that has a wavelike
behavior. The experiments done by Clinton Davisson and Lester Germer
in 1927 showed that it can be bent or diffracted, a characteristic
behavior of waves.

II. Dispersion, in wave motion, any phenomenon associated with the

propagation of individual waves at speeds that depend on their
wavelengths. Ocean waves, for example, move at speeds proportional to
the square root of their wavelengths; these speeds vary from a few feet per
second for ripples to hundreds of miles per hour for tsunamis. A wave of light
has a speed in a transparent medium that varies inversely with the index
of refraction (a measure of the angle by which the direction of a wave is
changed as it moves from one medium into another). Any transparent medium
—e.g., a glass prism—will cause an incident parallel beam of light to fan out
according to the refractive index of the glass for each of the component
wavelengths, or colours. Dispersion is sometimes called the separation of light
into colours, an effect more properly called angular dispersion (Britannica,
T. 2008). Visible light, also known as white light, consists of a collection
of component colors. These colors are often observed as light passes through a
triangular prism. Upon passage through the prism, the white light is
separated into its component colors - red, orange, yellow, green, blue
and violet. The separation of visible light into its different colors is
known as dispersion. It was mentioned in the Light and Color unit that
each color is characteristic of a distinct wave frequency; and different
frequencies of light waves will bend varying amounts upon passage through a
prism. In this unit, we will investigate the dispersion of light in more detail,
pondering the reasons why different frequencies of light bend or refract
different amounts when passing through the prism (Physics Tutorial:
Dispersion of Light by Prisms, 2021).
III. Scattering of light is the phenomenon in which light rays get
deviated from its straight path on striking an obstacle like dust or gas
molecules, water vapours etc. Scattering of light gives rise to many
spectacular phenomena such as Tyndall effect and the “red hues of
sunrise and sunset”(Foundation, 2021). Watch the video at:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r4MVEpS0tvk
Examples of Tyndall Effect
We get to see Tyndall effect in our surroundings very often. Some of the
examples are:
1. When a beam of sunlight enters the dark room through small hole or
window then its path become visible due to scattering of light by the dust
particles present in the room.
2. When a beam of light is projected on a screen from a projector in the
cinema hall, it becomes visible.
3. When sunlight passes through the canopy of a dense forest it get
scattered by tiny water droplets (Foundation, 2021). Scattering of Light
by small particles and molecules in the atmosphere
Different from reflection, where radiation is deflected in one direction, some
particles and molecules found in the atmosphere have the ability to scatter
solar radiation in all directions. The particles/molecules which scatter light
are called scatterers and can also include particulates made by human

industry.
２

Selective scattering (or Rayleigh scattering) occurs when certain particles are more effective at
scattering a particular wavelength of light. Air molecules, like oxygen and nitrogen for example, are
small in size and thus more effective at scattering shorter wavelengths of light (blue and violet). The
selective scattering by air molecules is responsible for producing our blue skies on a clear sunny
day. Another type of scattering (called Mie Scattering) is responsible for the white appearance of clouds.
Cloud droplets with a diameter of 20 micrometers or so are large enough to scatter all visible
wavelengths more or less equally. This means that almost all of the light which enters clouds will be
scattered. Because all wavelengths are scattered, clouds appear to be white, (Scattering of Light:by
small particles and molecules in the atmosphere, 2021.

III. Interference
Have you observed the
different colors produced by the
thin surface of soap bubbles
when illuminated by natural
or artificial light sources? The
reason behind this dynamic
interplay of colors is wave
Interference. This shows that
light has wave-like properties.
To know more about
interference, proceed to the
Let Us start learn from the
module. Interference refers to
any situation in which two or
more waves overlap in space.
When this occurs, the total wave at any point at any instant of time is
governed by the principle of superposition.

Superposition of Waves Superposition occurs when two waves

overlap in space (the wave at this point is found by adding the 2 amplitudes of
the waves). Waves are most ordinarily described by variations in some
parameter through space and time— height during a water wave,
pressure in a sound wave, or the electromagnetic field in a light wave.
The value of this parameter is named as the amplitude of the wave; the
wave may be a function specifying the amplitude at each point. Superposition
of waves results in what is referred to as interference, which manifests in
two types: constructive and destructive.

Two Types of Wave Interference

A. Constructive Interference
When the two waves come close to one another, their effects add
together. If the crests, or highest parts of the waves, line up perfectly, then
the crest of the combined wave is going to be the sum of the heights of the
two original crests. Likewise, if the bottom parts of the waves (the
troughs) line up just right, then the combined trough are going to
be the depth of the two original troughs combined. This referred to as
constructive interference, in which two waves (of an equivalent
wavelength) interact in such how that they are aligned, resulting in a
replacement wave that is bigger than the original wave.

B. Destructive Interference
Destructive interference occurs when two waves add together, and the
result is a smaller displacement than would have been the case. When
the waves have opposite amplitudes at the point they meet they will
destructively interfere, leading to no amplitude at that time

Conditions for Interference to Occur

When waves are close, they will interfere constructively or destructively. To
set up a stable and clear interference pattern, two conditions must be met:
1. The sources of the waves must be coherent, which suggest that they
emit identical waves with a continuing phase difference.
2. The waves should be monochromatic - they ought to be of one
wavelength. For example, if two light bulbs are placed side by side there
is no interference observed since the light waves of the bulbs are emitted
independently of those from the other light bulb so it does not meet the
condition of the interference but if you place a single frequency sound
waves emitted by two side by side speaker driven by a single amplifier it
can interfere with each other because the two speakers are
coherentthat is they respond to the amplifier in the same way at
the same time. Now let us learn more about the concept of
interference by learning Young’s Double Slit Experiment.

Young’s Double Slit Experiment

Light, due to its wave properties, will show constructive and destructive
interference. This was first shown in 1801 by Thomas Young, who
sent sunlight through two narrow slits and showed that an
interference pattern might be seen on a screen placed behind the 2 slits.
The interference pattern was a group of alternating bright and dark lines,
corresponding to where the light from one slit was alternately
constructively and destructively interfering with the light from the second
slit. In the Figure 3, it shows the schematic diagram of the Double
slits experiment. In the figure, a monochromatic light source is
incident on the first screen which contains a slit So. The emerging light
then arrives at the second screen which has two parallel slits S1 and
S2. Which serve as the sources of coherent light. The light waves
emerging from the 2 slits then interfere and form an interference
pattern on the viewing screen. The bright bands correspond to
interference maxima, and therefore the dark band interference
minima. This pattern of bright and dark lines is understood as a fringe
pattern as shown in Figure 3b and is straightforward to ascertain on a
screen to understand more about the double slit interference pattern.

Let us consider how two waves travel from the slits to the screen, as
illustrated in Figure 4. Each slit is a different distance from a given point
on the screen. Thus, different numbers of wavelengths fit into each path.
Waves start out from the slits in phase (crest to crest), but they may end
up out of phase (crest to trough) at the screen if the paths differ in
length by half a wavelength, interfering destructively as shown in
Figure 4a. If the paths differ by a whole wavelength, then the waves arrive
in phase (crest to crest) at the screen, interfering constructively.
 IV. Diffraction

Diffraction is the tendency

of a wave emitted from a
finite source or passing
through a finite aperture to
opened because it
propagates. Diffraction
results from the
interference of an infinite
number of waves emitted by
endless distribution of
source point. The iridescent
formation of light in the
sky is an example of
diffraction we call it the Heiligenschein effect.

We can interchange the terms diffraction and scattering. Diffraction

describes a specialized case of light scattering in which an object with
regularly repeating features produces an orderly diffraction of light. Now let
us discuss diffraction in relation to interference with the use of the concepts
of single slit diffraction and Young’s Double Slit experiment.
Single Slit Diffraction Pattern
Light passing through a single slit forms a diffraction pattern somewhat
different from those formed by double slits, which we discussed in the
first lesson. Figure 6 shows a single-slit diffraction pattern. Note that
the central maximum is larger than maxima on either side and that
the intensity decreases rapidly on either side
 Double Slit Diffraction Pattern

When we studied interference

in Young’s double-slit
experiment, we neglected the
diffraction effect on each slit.
We assumed that the slits
were so narrow that on the
screen we saw only the
interference of light from just
two-point sources
Activity 2. Let’s Identify!
In everyday life, when people talk about light waves, they usually mean
visible light. But visible light is only one part of the electromagnetic spectrum,
along with radio waves, infrared, microwaves, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma
rays. Physicists call all of these things light waves. There are a lot of fun things
you can do with light waves. You can break them into individual colors, cause
them to bend or spread out, or manipulate them to do clever magic tricks.
Light waves are also super important because we wouldn’t be able to see
without them. Below is a simple activity for you to identify what is being
described or illustrated in the first column. Write your answer in the next
column, either it is dispersion, scattering, interference or diffraction
Based on the illustration and description above, kindly describe in your own
word the meaning of the following terms:
1.Dispersion_________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.

2.Scattering__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________.
3.Interference________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
4.Diffraction_________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT

1. A small cluster of stars appear, after many decades of observation, to be

converging toward a common point in the sky. Does the light from these
stars show a:
A) red Doppler shift B) blue Doppler shift
C) no Doppler shift D) All of the above
2. Which of the following phenomena suggest that light may be a transverse
wave?
A) reflection B) polarization C) photoelectric effect D) diffraction
3. This refers to any phenomenon associated with the propagation of
individual waves at speeds that depend on their wavelengths. A) Scattering B)
Dispersion C) Diffraction D) Interference
4. It is a line (straight or curved) that is perpendicular to light’s wavefronts;
its tangent is collinear with the wave vector.
A) Light waves B) Light ray C) Light Sound D) Interference
5. Davisson and Germer scattered electrons from a crystal of nickel. The
scattered electrons formed a strong diffraction pattern. What important
conclusion was drawn from this experiment?
A) Electrons acted like waves B) Neutrons acted like waves
C) Protons acted like waves. D) All of the above
6. Light bends around sharp corners as a result of __________________.
A) refraction B) reflection C) diffraction D) dispersion
7. Which of the following describes Huygens’s Principle?
A) Every point on a wave front acts as a source of lots of secondary spherical
wavelets, which can therefore interfere with each other. B) A wave can
produce an interference pattern.
C) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
D) The speed of light is constant in every direction.
7. What are the quantities that should be measured in double slit experiment?
A) slit separation B) fringe separation
C) slit-to-screen separation D) all of the above
8.) What do you call the interference pattern of light and dark bands on the
screen?
A) Graphical pattern B) Line spectrum
C) Light spectrum D} Fringes
9.) Which of the following is TRUE about the dispersion of light when it passes
through a prism?
A) the prism contains many narrow, equally spaced slits.
B) all wavelengths have the same speed in a material.
C) different wavelengths have different speeds in the material.
D) the index of refraction is the same for all wavelengths.
10. Which parameter of a wave gets affected after superposition?
A) Wavelength B) Direction
C) Amplitude D) Frequency

Answer key
Activity 1
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TIONRWTECBORODUFEJDEIESPARTICLESSIQNRDU
ALITYDRZXPUTFPPSENENARYWAVEEWAVELENGTH
P O L R R B B U O R B I T A L SI I F E A X M N T S G B I H L D G E N B Y L T I
OFU0PEGHRCCZWOSWNRVQFITJESTATIONARYWAV
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Activity 2 Answer may vary Activity 3

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
1. A
2. B
3. B
4. B
5. A
6. A
7. D
8. D
9. C
10. D

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