Does light travel in a straight line?

The second part of the lesson was to investigate whether light travels in a straight line or if it could turn corners and move around things.

We were given some pieces of cardboard with holes in the middle and a torch. Using this equipment we had to prove if light travels in a straight line. Most of us decided to line the holes up and shine the torch through them. If we had the holes lined up carefully then the light went through all the holes. If the holes were not lined up then the light was blocked by the cardboard. This showed that light could not move around the card and only went in a straight line.

Lots of us had to change our ideas because we thought light could go around things.

When the cardboard blocks the light a shadow is made behind it.

Investigating with torches was lots of fun.