Vocabulary pt. 1
This term refers to a physical material—such as wood, metal, water, or air—through which waves can travel.
What is a medium
When light shines on an object, its path travels in this specific geometry until it hits a surface between different transparent materials.
What is a straight line?
This term describes a picture, diagram, or written description that helps explain how something big, small, or complex works.
What is a scientific model?
This is a specific and logical sequence of steps that helps a scientist narrow down possibilities when investigating.
What is the scientific method?
When light passes directly from one transparent medium into another—such as from air into glass—this specific change in the path of light occurs at the surface.
What is bending (or refraction)?
It is a physical material that lets light pass through so you can see clear shapes on the other side, like a window.
What is transparent?
Light path bending occurs at the surface between two different transparent materials, such as air and water.
What is refraction?
This physical copy of an object is constructed larger or smaller than the actual object itself.
What is a scale model?
This type of data is recorded in the form of descriptions and words rather than numbers.
What is qualitative data?
Starting with a general rule to solve a specific puzzle—such as knowing "all birds have feathers" to determine a flamingo must have feathers—is called this
What is deductive reasoning?
This term describes an object taking something in, such as light energy, instead of bouncing it off of itself.
What is absorption?
A plain brick wall or solid wooden door blocks all light from passing through, making it an example of this type of material.
What is opaque?
To ensure another person knows what physical materials light is passing through in a wave model, a scientist must explicitly include these on the diagram
What are labels (or material names like glass, air, or water)?
An interpretation or guess based on prior knowledge and observations—such as assuming a dog was around because you see paw prints—is called this.
What is an inference?
These are the parts of an experiment that you keep exactly the same so your test remains fair.
What are experimental controls?
This word means to make something, like a light wave, change direction or bend.
What is refraction?
Frosted glass and wax paper allow some light to pass through while scattering the rest, which classifies them as this.
What is translucent?
To clearly demonstrate the phenomenon of refraction in a diagram so an observer can spot it immediately, the light path must show a distinct change in angle at this specific location.
What is the surface (or boundary) between two different transparent materials?
In an experiment, this is the specific variable that is directly changed or manipulated by the scientist.
What is the independent variable?
Data, facts, figures, and other information gathered directly through observation are referred to as this.
What is empirical evidence?
This material property allows light to pass through, but scatters it so objects on the other side cannot be seen clearly.
What is translucent?
Selective absorption of different wavelengths of white light determines this visual quality of most objects.
What is color?
When showing light interacting with objects in a diagram, these directional tools are essential to show the path and direction the light wave travels.
What are arrows (or ray lines)?
This reasoning process starts with noticing patterns in many small examples to form a broader general rule.
What is inductive reasoning?
The distance measured from one specific point on a wave to the exact same point on the next wave is called this.
What is a wavelength?