Learning Physics through Simple experiments

Quiz 1
(Correct answers are marked in red color)

1. Consider the Lecture “From Shadows to Diffraction” and the case where the
filament bulb makes different kinds of shadows of a pen on the wall.
Consider two statements
S1: Light travels in straight lines
S2: Light bends at the edges of the pen

A. Primarily due to S1
B. Primarily due to S2
C. Due to both S1 and S2 contributing significantly
D. Neither due to S1 nor due to S2 but for some other reason.

2. Consider the Lecture “From Shadow to Diffraction” and the case where the
bulb is rotated and the diffused shadow becomes sharp. Idealize the situation as
shown in the figure. The filament is straight and its line passes through the center
of the cross-section of the pen.
 A. For all distances y, you see a dark shadow (not diffused) in the central
region.
B. For small values of y, the shadow will be dark in the central region but for
large values of y, it will diffuse
C. For large values of y, the shadow will be dark in the central region but for
small values of y, it will diffuse
D. For no values of y, the shadow will be dark in the central region

3. Light from an external source passes through an opening small in size and is
collected on a screen at distance y as suggested in the figure. Keeping x fixed, the
distance y is varied. The spot on the screen will have the shape of

A. the opening for all values of y

B. the source for all values of y
C. the source for large values of y
D. the opening for small values of y

4. Fermat’s principle is applicable

A. only if light travels in vacuum
B. only if light travels in air
C. even if reflection from a mirror is involved
D. even if refraction in a different medium is involved

5. For reflection by a plane mirror, the incident ray, the reflected ray and the
normal are in the same “plane”. The plane we are talking about
 A. is the same as the plane of the mirror’s front surface
B. is the same as the plane of the mirror’s back surface
C. contains incident ray
D. contains reflected ray

6. A small object is placed in front of a plane mirror. Its image due to reflection is
formed at a place where
A. all the lines along the incident rays intersect
B. all the lines along the reflected rays intersect
C. the eye is placed
D. the incident rays meet the mirror

7. In the lecture “From One medium to Another: Refraction”, a light beam goes
on a curved path like ABC in a salt solution with concentration changing with
height. On the path ABC, the speed of light

A. remains the same

B. continuously increases
C. first increases, then decreases
D. first decreases, then increases

8. In the above question, the light ray first goes up, becomes horizontal at B and
then turns back. The turning back occurs due to
A. refraction
B. partial internal reflection
 C. total internal reflection
D. diffraction

9. A narrow laser beam goes in water (AB) and part of it comes out in air (BC). If
points A and C are joined by a straight line it cuts the surface at D. Just for
argument, suppose the light goes on the path ADC and takes time T1 in going
from A to D and T2 in going from D to C.

A. T1 is more than the time light takes to cover AB

B. T2 is less than the time light takes to cover BC
C. T1 + T2 is more than the time light takes to cover the path ABC
D. T1 + T2 is less than the time light takes to cover the path ABC

10. Consider two light rays, ABCD and AEHD going through a convex lens. To go
from A to D, light takes time T1 in going along ABCD and T2 in going along AEHD.
 A. T1 = T2
B. T1 > T2
C. T1 < T2

11. A green LASER beam falls on a thin wire and then falls on a distant screen.
A. It splits in several beams making bright spots on the screen separated by
dark regions.
B. It casts a thin dark shadow in front of the wire.
C. The region on the screen just in front of the wire is most intense.
D. The light splits in different colors.

12. The electric field E, magnetic field B, and the direction of

propagation K corresponding to a beam of light, are
A. always perpendicular to each other.
B. definitely perpendicular to each other if the light goes in vacuum.
C. definitely perpendicular to each other if it is confined in some kind of tube
or channel.
D. never perpendicular to each other.

13. A polarizer is a material in which

A. all directions are equivalent
B. light cannot travel
C. light with a certain direction of electric field cannot travel
D. light of only a certain color can travel

14. Which of the following sources used in the lectures give mostly polarized
light?
A. an LED
B. a CFL
C. a LASER pointer
D. a filament bulb

15. Mark the correct option(s)

 A. An unpolarized light passing through a polarizer sheet becomes polarized.
B. A polarized light passing through a polarizer sheet becomes unpolarized.
C. An unpolarized light reflecting obliquely from a plane surface becomes (at
least partially) polarized.
D. A polarized light reflecting obliquely from a plane surface becomes
unpolarized.

16. A polarized laser light passes through sugar solution.

A. Its electric field direction gets rotated
B. Its magnetic field direction gets rotated
C. It becomes unpolarized
D. Its frequency changes

17. If you are standing in an open field during day hours, you get light from all
directions although the Sun rays come essentially from one direction only. This is
due to
A. scattering of light by air particles
B. refraction in layers of air
C. the fact that light travels in straight lines
D. the fact that light consists of all wavelengths from about 400 nm to 700 nm

18. In the lecture “From Blue sky to colored Cello tape” , a polarized light from a
laser torch is passed through water kept in a transparent vessel. When the torch
was rotated about its axis, the intensity of the light seen from outside changed.
Which of the followings are responsible for this phenomena?
A. Light has electric field
B. Scatterer particles have electric dipole moment oscillating due to the E-field
of light
C. The electric field of the laser light remains (largely) along a direction fixed
with the body of the laser torch
D. The light emitted by an oscillating dipole does not have same intensity in all
directions.
E. The laser torch emits light of different wavelengths in different directions.

19. A student was asked to measure refractive index of an equilateral prism using
a laser torch and a scale. The refractive index is related to the prism angle A and
minimum deviation angle d by the formula given on the figure. The laser light
strikes at point A when the prism is not placed on its path and it strikes at B when
the prism is rotated to get minimum deviation. The distance between A and B is
1.73 m. The refractive index of the material of the prism is close to

A. 1.41
B. 1.73
C. 1.51
D. 1.63

20. A cellophane tape is pasted on a glass slide and the slide is placed between
two polarizer sheets. As the slide is rotated, colours are seen on the tape. This is
due to
A. diffraction by the tape
B. birefringence property of the tape
C. total internal refraction of light of certain colours by the tape
D. selective absorption of polarised light by the tape