Final answer:
Optics is the branch of physics that deals with the behavior and properties of light. Light can be perceived through reflection, refraction, and image formation using lenses.
Step-by-step explanation:
Optics is the branch of physics that deals with the behavior and properties of light, including how it is perceived by our eyes. Here are three different ways in which you may have used optics earlier today to perceive light:
- Reflection: When you looked at yourself in the mirror to comb your hair, you observed your reflection. This is because light waves bounce off the mirror's surface and into your eyes, allowing you to see yourself.
- Refraction: When you looked out the window to check the weather, you noticed that the light from outside bends as it passes through the window glass. This bending of light is called refraction.
- Image formation: When you read your textbooks or observed the expressions on your friends' faces, your eyes used lenses to focus the incoming light onto the retina at the back of your eye. The lens in your eye forms an image of the object you are looking at, which is then transmitted to your brain for interpretation.