CBSE - PHYSICS X - OPTICS & HUMAN EYE

Questions and Answers on Reflection and Refraction

1. What is refraction of light? What are the laws of refraction?
Ans: Deviation of ray of light from its original path when it travels from one
transparent homogeneous
medium to another transparent homogenous medium is called the refraction of
light.
There are two laws of refraction :(I ) incident ray, reflected ray and normal lie in the same plane.
(ii) The ratio of sine of angle of incidence and sine of angle of refraction is constant
i.e.

sin i /sinr =n

This is also called as Snells law.

2. Define Refractive Index of a medium.
Ans: The ratio of speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in medium is called
refractive
Index of the medium.
3. Give the ratio of velocities of two light waves travelling is vacuum
and having wave lengths

4000 A

and

8000 A

Ans: In vacuum, light of all the wave lengths travel with the same velocity i.e. 3 X
108 m/sec.
Q4. For what angle of incidence, the lateral shift produced by parallel
sided glass plate is zero?
Ans: For

i=0 .

4. What are the factors on which the lateral shift depends?

Ans: Thickness of the refracting medium, angle of incidence and its refractive index.
5. Refractive index of media A,B,C and D are

A =1.54, B=1.33,C =1.46, D =1.62 .

In which of the four media is the speed of light (i) Minimum (ii) Maximum.

Ans: (i) Speed of light is minimum in medium D ( = 1.62). (ii) Speed of light is
maximum is medium
B(

= 1.33).

6. What is the value of Relative refractive index of air?

Ans: One.
7. If speed of light in vacuum =

3 10

m/sec and Refractive index of

water = 4/3, What is the speed of light in water?

Ans: Refractive index of water = Speed of light in vacuum / Speed of light in water;
8

4/3 = ( 3 10

m/sec )/ (Speed of light in water)

Speed of light in water =

(3 108 m/sec ) 3/4=9/ 4 108 m/ sec=2.25 10 8 m/sec .

8. For the same angle of incidence in media P, Q and R, the angles of

35 , 25 15

refraction are

respectively. In which medium will the

velocity of light be minimum?

Ans: According Snells law,
velocity

=sini/sin r =c /v . For given angle of incidence

will be minimum, when angle of refraction

i ,

is minimum. In given

data it is for medium R.

9. A coin in a glass beaker appears to rise as the beaker is slowly filled
with water. Why?
Ans: It happens on account of refraction of light. A ray of light starting from the coin
goes from water
to air and bends away from normal. Therefore, bottom of the beaker on which the
coin lies appears to
be raised.
10.
What is lateral shift in refraction?
Ans: When a ray of light travels through a glass slab from air, it bends towards the
normal and when it
comes out of the other side of the glass slab it bends away from the normal. It is
found that the
incident ray and the emergent ray are not along the same straight line, but the
emergent ray seems to
be displaced with respect to the incident ray. This shift in the emergent ray with
respect to the incident
ray is called lateral shift or lateral displacement. The incident and the emergent
rays, however, remain
parallel.
11.

*Light of wavelength

in air enters a medium of refractive

. What will be its wavelength, velocity and frequency in the

index

medium?
Ans : Refractive index of a medium

speed of light vacuum

=c /v , where
speed of light medium

c=3 x 108 ms1

Therefore, velocity of light in the medium

v =c / .

Also velocity of wave is given by the wave equation

=frequency of the wave

and

=wavelength .

Let the wavelength of light in the media =

c=
c
= '
v

(in air) and

v = '

' =(v /c)

' .

(in the medium)

v =

where

The frequency of the light wave does not change as the frequency of a wave
depends on the source of the wave and not on the medium through which it
travels.
12.
*The refractive index of ice and rock salt benzene are 1.31 and
1.54 respectively. Calculate the refractive index of rock salt with
respect to ice.
Ans: Refractive Index of a medium

speed of light vacuum

=c /v
speed of light medium

Relative refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 :

v
2
v

( 1)/
( speed of light medium1 )
21=
=
( Speed of light medium2)

Therefore, refractive index of rock salt (medium 2) with respect to ice (medium 1)
=

rock salt 1.54

=
=1.176
ice
1.31

Questions and Answers On Atmospheric Refraction and

Scattering
1. A student sitting at the back of the classroom cannot read clearly
the letters written on the blackboard. What advice will a doctor give
to her?
Ans: The student is suffering from myopia (near sightedness). Doctor advises
her to use a concave lens of appropriate power to correct this defect.
2. How are we able to see nearby and also the distant objects clearly?
Ans: Human eye is able to see nearby and distant objects clearly by
changing the focal length of the eye lens using its power of accommodation.
3. A person needs a lens of power 4.5 D for correction of her vision.
(a) What kind of defect in vision is she suffering from? (b) What is
the focal length of the corrective lens? (c) What is the nature of the
corrective lens?
Ans: (a) Negative sign of power of lens indicates that focal length is negative
that is only possible in concave lens that is used for correction of Myopia
(b) f =1/-4.5 =-2/9= 0.22 m,
(c) The nature of the corrective lens is diverging rays of light.
4. Is the position of a star as seen by us its true position? Justify your
answer.
Ans: No. light from stars undergoes atmospheric refraction which occurs due
to the variation in air density.

5. Why do we see a rainbow in the sky only after rainfall?

Ans: We see a rainbow in the sky only after rainfall because the water
droplets behave like prisms and disperse sunlight. due to atmospheric
refraction and total internal refraction. A rainbow is always formed in a
direction opposite to that of the sun. The water droplets act like small prisms.
They refract and disperse the incident sunlight, then refract it internally and
finally refract it again when it comes out of the raindrop.
6. Why is the colour of the clear sky blue?
Ans: Blue colour gets scattered the maximum due to less wave velocity.
7. What is the difference in colours of the Sun observed during
sunrise/sunset and noon? Give explanation for each.
Ans: During sunrise and sunset the sun appears reddish whereas at noon the
sun appears white. At sunrise and sunset the light coming from the sun has
to travel a longer distance through the atmosphere to reach us. Therefore the
blue and green components of white light are gets scattered away (removed)
almost completely leaving the longer wavelength. Hence, during sunrise and
sunset the sun appears reddish. When the sun is overhead at noon, then the
light coming from the sun has to travel a relatively shorter distance through
the atmosphere to reach us. As a result, only a little of the blue colour of the
white light is scattered (most of the blue light remains in it). Since the light
coming from the overhead sun has almost all its components colours in the
right proportion, therefore, the sun appears white.
8. Chicken can see only in bright light. What type of cells is present in
its retina?
Ans: Its retina has only rod cells and no cone cells.
9. Give reason: What will be colour of the sky in the absence of
atmosphere?
Ans: In the absence of any atmosphere, there will be no scattering of
sunlight and the sky will appear dark.
10.
Give reason: Why are the traffic light signals (or danger
signals) of red colour?
Ans: In the visible spectrum, the red colour has the largest wavelength. The
red colour is least scattered by fog or dust particles. Therefore, we can
observe red colour easily even in foggy and dusty conditions.
11.
Why does the sky appear dark and black to an astronaut
instead of blue?
Ans: This is because there is no atmosphere containing air in the outer
space to scatter light.
Since there is no scattered light, which can reach our eyes in outer space,
therefore, the sky
looks dark and black there. This is why the astronauts who go to outer space
find the sky to be
dark and black instead of blue.
12.
What is Tyndal Effect? Explain with an example.
Ans: The scattering of light by particles in its path is called Tyndall Effect.
When a beam of sunlight enters a dusty room through a window then its path

becomes visible to us. This is because the tiny dust particles present in the
air of room scatter the beam of light all around the room. And when thus
scattered light enters our eyes, we can see the beam of light. Thus, an
example of Tyndall effect is the way a beam of sunlight becomes visible as it
passes through dust particles in the air of a room.
13.
The sun near the horizon appears flattened at the sun set and
sun rise. Explain why.
Ans: This is due to atmospheric refraction. The density and refractive index
of the atmosphere decreases with altitude, so the rays from the top and
bottom portion of the sun on horizon are refracted by different degrees. This
causes the apparent flattening of the sun. But the rays from the sides of the
sun on a horizontal plane are generally refracted by the same amount, so the
sun still appears circular along the sides.

NUMERICALS
14.

A person with myopic eye cannot see objects beyond 1.2metre

distinctly. What should be the nature of corrective lenses to restore proper
vision?
Ans: Here, distance of far point, x = 1.2m For viewing distant objects, focal
length of corrective lens, F = -x = -1.2 m P = 1 / f = 1 / -1.2 = -0.83D
15.The far point of a myopic person is 80 cm in front of the eye. What is the
nature and power of the lens required to correct the problem?
Ans: For diagram, Here,

f =x d /( x d)

x =1 m=100 cm ,

d=25 cm ,

f =? . From

f =10025/(100 25)=33.3 cm . P = 100 / f = 100 /

33.3 = 3D
16.The far point of myopic person is 80 cm in front of the eye. What is the nature
and power of the lens required to enable him to see very distant objects
distinctly?
Ans: Concave; -1.25D
17.The far point of a myopic person is 150 cm in front the eye. Calculate the
focal length and power of a lens required to enable him to see distant objects
clearly.
Ans: -1.5m, -0.67D

PRACTICE QUESTIONS
1. What is the minimum number of rays required for locating the image formed
by a convex mirror for an object ? Draw a ray diagram to show the formation
of a virtual image by a convex mirror.
2. A 4.0cm tall object is placed perpendicular to the principal axis of a convex
lens of focal length 20cm. If the distance of the object from the lens is 30cm,
find the position, nature and size of the image. Also, find its magnification.

3. 4.5cm needle is placed 12cm away from a convex mirror of focal length
15cm. Give the location of the image and the magnification. Describe what
happens as the needle is moved farther from the mirror.
4. What kind of mirror is used in a solar furnace ? Give reason for using this
mirror.
5. One half of a convex lens is covered with a black paper. Will this lens produce
a complete image of the object ? Justify your answer.
6. When an object is placed at a distance of 60 cm from a convex mirror the
magnification produced is 1/2 . Where should the object be placed to get a
magnification of 1/3 ?
7. A small electric lamp is placed at the focus of a convex lens. What is the
nature of beam of light produced by the lens. Draw a diagram to show this.
8. The refractive index of a dense flint glass is 1.65 and for alcohol it is 1.36
with respect to air. Find the refractive index of dense flint glass with respect
to alcohol.
9. Draw a ray diagram to show refraction of light through a triangular glass
prism and show angle of incidence and angle of deviation.
10.
Refractive index of diamond with respect to glass is 1.6 and absolute
refractive index of glass is 1.5. Find (i) absolute refractive index of diamond
(ii) Speed of light in diamond. The speed of light in air is 3x108 m/s.
11.
Name a mirror that can give an erect and magnified image of an
object. Draw labelled ray diagram to justify your answer.
12.
Define power of accommodation of eye. A person uses a lens of
power -2.0D for correcting his distant vision. For correcting his near vision he
uses a lens of power +1.5D. What is the focal length of the lenses required to
correct this disorder ?
13.
A convex lens forms a real and inverted image of a needle at a
distance of 50 cm from it. Where is the needle placed if the size of the image
is equal to the size of the object ? Calculate the power and focal length of the
lens.
14.
An object is placed at a distance of 60 cm from a convex mirror the
magnification produced is 1/2 . Where should the object be placed to get a
magnification of 1/3 ?
15.
A small electric lamp is placed at the focus of a convex lens. State the
nature of beam of light produced by the lens. Draw a diagram to show this.
16.
The radius of curvature of concave mirror is 50cm. Where should an
object be placed from the mirror so as to form its image at infinity ? Justify
your answer.
17.
Name and define the S.I. unit of power of a lens. How is the power of a
lens related to its focal length ? Find the power of a concave lens of focal
length 25cm.
18.
What is the speed of light in a transparent medium which has a
refractive index of 1.7 (the speed of light in vacuum is 3x108 m/s)
19.
Two lenses have power of (i) 2D (ii) 4D. State the nature and focal
length of each lens.
20.
A concave lens has focal length of 20 cm. At what distance from the
lens a 5cm tall object be placed so that it forms an image at 15cm from the
lens ? Also calculate the size of the image formed.

21.
When an object is placed at a distance of 60cm from a diverging
spherical mirror, the magnification produced is 0.5. Where should the object
be placed to get a magnification of 1/3?
22.
An object is placed at a distance of 20 cm in front of convex mirror of
radius of curvature 30 cm. Find the position and nature of the image.
23.
State the type of lens used as a simple magnifying glass. Draw a
labelled ray diagram to show the image formation by this lens. List the
characteristics of the image formed.
24.
Draw a ray diagram in each of the following cases to show the position
and nature of the image formed when the object is placed (i) between pole
and principal focus of a concave mirror.
(ii) between centre of curvature and principal focus of a concave mirror.
25.
Name the type of mirror which can be used to obtain a diminished and
virtual image of an object. Mention an application of such a mirror . Draw a
labelled ray diagram to show the formation of the required image in the
mirror.
26.
(a)Name the type of lens that can be used to obtain :
(i) A magnified and virtual image. (ii) A diminished and virtual image of the
object.
(b)Draw labelled ray diagrams to show the formation of the required image
in each of the above
two cases.
(c)Which of these lenses can also form a magnified and real image of the
object? Draw labelled
ray diagram to show the position of object and image for such a lens.
27.
An object, 2.0 cm in size, is placed 20.0cm in front of a concave mirror
of focal length 15.0cm. At what distance from the mirror should a screen be
placed in order to obtain a sharp image ? Find the nature and the size of the
image formed.
28.
Draw the ray diagrams in each of the following cases to show the
position and nature of the image formed when the object is placed : (a) at
2F of a converging lens. (b) between the focus and optical centre of a
converging lens.
29.
The magnification produced by a spherical lens is 1/3 . If the image is
formed at a distance of 10cm from the lens, find the position of object. Also
find the nature and focal length of this lens.