Bill Nye: Light and Color Questions and
Answers | 2024/2025 | Graded A+
What happens to light when it passes through a prism?
✔✔When light passes through a prism, it is refracted and separated into its component colors,
creating a spectrum.
How do we perceive different colors?
✔✔We perceive different colors because of the varying wavelengths of light that are reflected
off objects and detected by our eyes.
What is the role of pigments in color?
✔✔Pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others, which determines the color
that we see.
How does white light differ from colored light?
✔✔White light is a mixture of all colors of the visible spectrum, while colored light consists of
specific wavelengths that correspond to particular colors.
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, What phenomenon occurs when light reflects off a smooth surface?
✔✔When light reflects off a smooth surface, it creates a clear and defined image, a process
known as specular reflection.
How do shadows form?
✔✔Shadows form when an object blocks the path of light, preventing it from reaching a surface
behind the object.
What is the speed of light in a vacuum?
✔✔The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (or about
186,282 miles per second).
What causes the blue color of the sky?
✔✔The blue color of the sky is caused by Rayleigh scattering, where shorter wavelengths of
light are scattered more than longer wavelengths by the atmosphere.
What is the difference between reflection and refraction?
✔✔Reflection is the bouncing back of light when it hits a surface, while refraction is the bending
of light as it passes from one medium to another.
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Answers | 2024/2025 | Graded A+
What happens to light when it passes through a prism?
✔✔When light passes through a prism, it is refracted and separated into its component colors,
creating a spectrum.
How do we perceive different colors?
✔✔We perceive different colors because of the varying wavelengths of light that are reflected
off objects and detected by our eyes.
What is the role of pigments in color?
✔✔Pigments absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others, which determines the color
that we see.
How does white light differ from colored light?
✔✔White light is a mixture of all colors of the visible spectrum, while colored light consists of
specific wavelengths that correspond to particular colors.
1
, What phenomenon occurs when light reflects off a smooth surface?
✔✔When light reflects off a smooth surface, it creates a clear and defined image, a process
known as specular reflection.
How do shadows form?
✔✔Shadows form when an object blocks the path of light, preventing it from reaching a surface
behind the object.
What is the speed of light in a vacuum?
✔✔The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (or about
186,282 miles per second).
What causes the blue color of the sky?
✔✔The blue color of the sky is caused by Rayleigh scattering, where shorter wavelengths of
light are scattered more than longer wavelengths by the atmosphere.
What is the difference between reflection and refraction?
✔✔Reflection is the bouncing back of light when it hits a surface, while refraction is the bending
of light as it passes from one medium to another.
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