Lenses

Lesson 5
(3 hours)
 Lenses
Word bank
LENS
A shaped transparent material (usually
glass, quartz or plastic) used for
redirecting beams of light
There are two main types of lenses:
converging lens and diverging lens
 Lenses
CHARACTERISTICS OF IMAGES FORMED BY LENSES
A) IMAGE SIZE
Images formed by lenses can be enlarged,
reduced or of the same size as the object
forming the image.

B) ORIENTATION
Images formed by lenses can be oriented either
upright or inverted.
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CHARACTERISTICS OF IMAGES FORMED BY LENSES
C) NATURE
Images formed by lenses can either be real
(formed on the other side of the lens) or virtual
(formed at the same side as the object).
 Lenses
Word bank
CONVERGING LENS
• Thick across the middle and thinner at its
edges
• Converges parallel rays of light to a single
point called the FOCAL POINT
• Also called a convex lens
 Lenses
Word bank
DIVERGING LENS
• Thinner across the middle and thicker at
its edges
• Diverges parallel rays of light creating an
image in front of the lens
• Also called a concave lens
 Lenses
PARTS OF THE LENS
Vertical axis

f f
Principal
axis 2F 2F
F F

F – Focal point
2F – Imaginary point located twice the focal length
f – Focal length: distance between the center of the lens and the focal point
 Lenses
PARTS OF THE LENS
Vertical axis

object
f f
Principal
axis
NF FF

NF – Near focal point: Focal point closer to the object

FF – Far focal point: Focal point farther from the object
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RAY TRACING METHOD
Similar to spherical mirrors, three distinct
rays can be used to identify the image
produced by a lens.
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FORMATION OF IMAGE USING
RAY-TRACING METHOD
This process requires tracing of any two
rays suggested below:
1) An incident ray from the tip of the
object drawn parallel to the principal axis
is refracted through the far focal point of
a converging lens or the near focal
point of a diverging lens
 Lenses
FORMATION OF IMAGE USING
RAY-TRACING METHOD
2) An incident ray connecting the tip of
the object and the near focal point of a
converging lens or the far focal point of
a diverging lens will be refracted
parallel to the principal axis

3) An incident ray passing through the

center of the lens travels straight on
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FF

object NF
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object

For diverging lenses you have to project the refracted

rays back to locate the intersection.
SEATWORK
An object is placed at different positions in front of a convex
lens. Describe the image formed at each position by
completing the table.
Location of Location Nature Orientation Size
object of image
Between the lens
and the near focal
point
At the near focal
point

Between 2F and the

near focal point

At 2F

Beyond 2F
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LENS EQUATION
Another way of locating the images formed by
lenses is by the use of the lens equation:
focal length, f: distance from the focal
1 1 1 point to the lens
= + object distance, do: distance from the
object to the lens
f di do image distance, di: distance from the
image to the lens
magnification, m: the number of
hi − d i times the image is larger than the
m= = object
ho do height of object, ho
height of image, hi
 Lenses
SIGN CONVENTIONS
• Focal length can be either positive or negative
• Focal length is positive for converging lenses and negative for
diverging lenses
• Image distance can be either positive or negative
• Image distance is positive if the image is real and negative if the
image is virtual
• Object distance can only be positive
• Magnification can be either positive or negative
• Magnification is positive if the image is upright and negative if the
image is inverted
• If the magnitude of the magnification is:
– Less than 1, image is reduced
– Equal to 1, image is of the same size as the object
– Greater than 1, image is enlarged
EXAMPLE
A 12 cm high object is 17 cm from a
converging lens whose focal length is 8.0
cm. How far is the image from the lens?
How tall is it?
Given:
ho= 12cm do= 17 cm f = 8.0 cm
di= ? hi = ?
SOLUTION
di = (dof)/(do- f)
= (17 cm x 8.0 cm)/(17 cm - 8.0 cm)
= 15 cm (Image is located 15 cm from the lens)
hi = (-di/do)(ho)
= -(15 cm/17 cm)(12 cm)
= -11 cm (Image is 11 cm tall and is inverted)
HOMEWORK
1) An object 5.00 cm tall is placed in front of a
converging lens whose focal length is 22.0 cm.
Describe the image formed in terms of its
location, nature, size and orientation.

2) An object 5.00 cm tall is 10.0 cm from a

concave lens. The image is one-fifth as large as
the object. What is the focal length of the lens?