LENSES||PHYSICS||CHAPTER 3 1

Fundamental Questions

Q1) What is a Lens?

Ans) A Lens is a piece of transparent material bounded by two surfaces at
least one of which is curved surface. These two surfaces can both be curved,
or one surface can be curved and the other plane.
Q2) How lenses are classified and what are are the types?
Ans) A lens is a transparent medium, so a ray of light passing through a
lens undergoes refraction at both surfaces. As a result of refraction, rays of
light can either converge or diverge after passing through the lens. Based on
this phenomenon, lenses are classified as converging lens or diverging lens.
Converging lenses are called convex lens and diverging lens are called
concave lens.
Q3) Distinguish between Concave Lens and Convex Lens?
Ans) Concave Lens:
1. It tends to bend inward.
2. These are thinner in the middle and thicker at the ends.
Convex Lens:
1. It tends to bend outward.
2. These are thicker at the middle and thinner at the ends.
Q4) What are the different types of Convex Lens?
Ans) There are three types of Convex lens
i) Double Convex or Bi Convex: This lens has both surfaces curved or
convex.
ii) Plano Convex: This lens has one surface plane and the other convex.
iii) Concavo-convex: this lens has one surface concave and the other
convex.
Q5) What are the different types of Concave Lens?
Ans) There are three types of Concave Lens:
i) Double Concave or Bi Concave: This lens has both surfaces curved
and concave.
ii) Plano Concave: This lens has one surface plane and the other
concave.
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iii) Convexo-concave: This lens has one surface convex and the other
concave.
Q6) Define the Terms related to lenses :- Aperture ;Optical Center;
Principal Axis; Center of Curvature; Principal Focus; Focal Length
Ans) The different terms are
i) Aperture: The effective length or width of a lens available for
refraction is called its aperture.
ii) Optical Center: The geometrical center of a lens is called its optical
center.
iii) Principal Axis: A line passing through the optical center and
perpendicular to both faces of the lens is called its principal axis.
iv) Center of Curvature: The center of the imaginary glass sphere of
which the lens is a part is called its center of curvature.
v) Principal Focus: On refraction through a lens, rays of light parallel
to the principal axis converge or appear to diverge from a point on
the principal axis. This point is called principal focus.
vi) Focal Length: The distance between the principal focus and the
optical center of the lens is called its focal length.
Q7) How was lens made during ancient times?
Ans) Lenses were made as early as 700 BCE using polished crystals,
such as quartz. The ancient Romans and Greeks made lenses by filling
glass spheres with water.
Q8) Define Real Image and Virtual Image?
Ans) When light rays from an object refract through lenses, they either
meet at a point or appear to come from a point. Based on either of the
situations, a real image or a virtual image is formed. The image formed
on a movie theatre screen by a projector is an example of a real image
and that formed on a plane mirror is an example a virtual image.
Q9) Distinguish between Real Image and Virtual Image?
Ans) Difference between a real image and virtual image:
Real Image Virtual Image
It is formed when two or more It is formed when two or more
reflected or refracted rays actually reflected or refracted rays appear to
meet at a point. originate from a point.
It is always inverted. It is always erect.
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It can be obtained on a screen. It cannot be obtained on a screen

Q10) How the images are formed lenses depicted on paper?

Ans) The formation of images by lenses is shown by Ray Diagrams.
Q11) What are the rules to draw ray diagrams?
Ans) The rules used to draw ray diagrams are:
i) An incident ray moving parallel to the principal axis will pass
through the focus (for a convex lens) or appear to diverge from the
focus (for a concave lens) after refraction.
ii) An incident ray passing through the focus (convex lens) or appearing
to pass through the focus (concave lens) emerges parallel to the
principal axis after refraction.
iii) An incident ray passing through the optical center of both convex
and concave lenses travels straight without any deviation.
Q12) Explain image formation by a convex lens?
Ans) Image formation by a convex lens depends on the position of the
object. The object is always placed on the left of the lens so that the
incident ray travel from left to right. The object is represented by an
upright arrow perpendicular to the principal axis of lens.
Position of At Infinity Beyond 2F At 2F Between F At F Between F
the Object and 2F and O

Nature Real, Real, Real, Real, Real, Virtual.

and Size of Inverted Inverted Inverted Inverted Inverted Erect and
the Object and highly and and same and and highly enlarged
diminished diminished size as the enlarged enlarged
Object

Position of At F Between F At 2F Beyond 2F At Infinity On the

the Image and 2F same side
as object

Q13) Explain image formation by a concave lens?

Ans) Rays of light falling on a concave lens always diverge after refraction.
As a result, the refracted rays never happen to actually met at appoint.
They have to be produced backwards in order to locate the point from
which they appear to diverge. Thus the image formed is always virtual
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,erect and diminished and located between focus and the optical center on
the same side of the lens as that of that object.
Q14) What are the uses of convex lens?
Ans) The uses of Convex lens are:
i) Used as magnifying glass.
ii) Used in spectacles to correct hypermetropia.
iii) Used in optical instruments such as microscopes, digital and video
cameras, cinema projectors, telescopes, binoculars and webcams.
Q15) What are the uses of concave lens?
Ans) The uses of Concave lens are:
i) Used as an eye piece in Galilean telescopes.
ii) Used in spectacles and contact lenses to correct myopia or short-
sightedness.
iii) They make front glass of the torch in order to get a diverging beam
of light.
Q16) Differentiate between Convex and Concave Lens?
Ans) The differences between Convex and Concave lens are
Feature Convex lens Concave lens
Shape It is thicker at the center and It is thinner at the center and
tapers towards the edges. thick towards the edges.
Nature It is a converging lens It is a diverging Lens
Image Formation It can form a real and inverted It always forms virtual, erect
image or a virtual and erect and enlarged images
image, which may be
diminished, equal sized as the
object or even enlarged

Q17) Fill in the blanks:

Q18) Give Reasons for the following: