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GCSE Physics · key term
A straight line representing the direction in which light travels, with an arrowhead showing that direction.
Used by AQA and OCR
Specification 4.6.2.2 · Paper 2
A line showing the direction in which a wave travels.
Revise: Properties of electromagnetic waves 1Think of a ray as an arrow showing the direction of travel. Draw the boundary first, then draw a normal at right angles to it where the ray arrives. If the ray enters at an angle and slows down, its transmitted path bends towards the normal.
Specification P5.3c, P5.3d · Paper 2 (Foundation), Paper 4 (Higher)
A straight line showing the direction in which light travels; an arrowhead indicates the direction of travel.
Revise: Ray diagrams and lensesA ray diagram replaces a beam of light with one or more straight lines. Each line has an arrow showing the direction in which the light travels. Rays are a model: a real beam has width, but rays make changes in its direction easier to follow.
Paper 1, Paper 2
A line showing the direction in which light travels, drawn with an arrowhead.
Revise: Reflection, Refraction and LensesA ray diagram is a two-dimensional model of light. Each straight line represents the direction in which light travels through a uniform medium, and an arrowhead shows which way it is travelling. Where a ray meets a surface or crosses into another material, its direction may change.
Measure angles between a ray and the normal, not between the ray and the boundary.
A ray that enters a medium at an angle bends towards the normal if it slows down, and away from the normal if it speeds up.
Put arrowheads on rays to show the direction in which the light travels.
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