7 Fig. 7.1 shows a ray of light that enters a semicircular glass block at A.
At B, some of the light is reflected and some light leaves the glass and travels along the
surface.
0.10 m
41°
glass block
Fig. 7.1
(a) State the name of the angle of incidence marked 41°.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(b) Rays of light are incident at B with different angles of incidence.
(i) On Fig. 7.2a, the angle i1 is less than 41°.
Draw the path taken by the ray of light after B.
(ii) On Fig. 7.2b, the angle i2 is greater than 41°.
Draw the path taken by the ray of light after B.
B B
i1 i2
Fig. 7.2a Fig. 7.2b [2]
(c) The speed of light in the glass block is 2.0 × 108 m / s.
The diameter of the glass block is 0.10 m.
Calculate the time taken for the light to travel from A to B.
time = .................................................. [2]
[MJ2013/P21/Q5]
8 A student traces the path of a ray of blue light as it enters and as it leaves a glass prism.
Fig. 8.1 shows the trace obtained by the student.
blue B C
light
Fig. 8.1
(a) On Fig. 8.1, draw and label, at the point B, the normal, the angle of incidence i and the
angle of refraction r. [3]
(b) State, in terms of the properties of light waves, why the light refracts at B.
..........................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................... [1]
(c) The angle of incidence for the ray of blue light at B is 45°. The refractive index of the
glass is 1.5. Calculate the angle of refraction at B.
angle of refraction = .................................................. [3]
(d) The student performs another experiment with a ray of red light along the line AB.
On Fig. 8.1, show the path taken by this ray of light as it passes through and leaves the
prism. [2]
(e) The student performs another experiment with a semicircular glass block and a ray of
white light. Fig. 8.2 shows the path taken by this ray of light as it enters the glass at P
until it hits the straight edge at Q.
semicircular
glass block
white light
Fig. 8.2
The student finds that there is no change in direction as the ray enters the glass at P
and that no light passes out of the glass at Q.
(i) Explain why the ray does not change direction at P.
..................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................. [1]
(ii) Explain why no light passes out of the glass at Q.
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................. [2]
(iii) On Fig. 8.2, draw the complete path followed by this ray. [1]
(iv) The student directs the ray of white light into the glass along different paths, so that
the angle θ is slowly reduced.
Describe what happens to the ray at Q.
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................. [2]
[MJ2013/P22/Q10]
9 A student goes for a walk in the mountains. During a storm, she sees lightning strike a
hillside in the distance. Several seconds later, she hears the thunder caused by the lightning.
(a) (i) Explain why she hears the thunder several seconds after she sees the lightning.
..................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. [1]
(ii) The student knows the distance to the hillside. She waits for lightning to strike the
hillside again. Describe how she can determine a value for the speed of sound in
air.
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. [2]
(b) After the storm, the student sees a rainbow.
(i) State the speed of light in air.
speed = .................................................. [1]
(ii) Calculate the wavelength in air of light of frequency 7.5 × 1014 Hz.
wavelength = .................................................. [2]
(iii) State the colours of the spectrum in order of increasing wavelength.
..................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. [2]
(c) In the laboratory, the student sends blue light into a glass prism placed on a sheet of
paper. The arrangement is shown in Fig. 9.1.
45°
blue light
Fig. 9.1
The blue light enters the prism with an angle of incidence of 45°.
(i) On Fig. 9.1, mark the angle of refraction in the glass and label it r. [1]
(ii) The student wishes to determine the angle of refraction. On the sheet of paper, she
draws the path the ray takes in the glass. Describe how she could do this.
..................................................................................................................................
..................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................. [2]
(iii) 1. State the formula that relates the angle of incidence i, the angle of refraction r
and the refractive index n.
...........................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................... [1]
2. The angle of refraction in the glass is 28°.
Calculate the refractive index of the glass.
refractive index = .................................................. [1]
(iv) The student sends a ray of red light to the glass prism along the same path as the
blue light.
On Fig. 9.1, mark the path taken by the red light after it enters the prism. [2]
[ON2013/P21/Q10]
10 A collector views a postage stamp of height 1.5 cm through a lens. The lens is 2.0 cm from the
stamp. The image has a linear magnification of 3.0.
The stamp, the image of the stamp and the position of the lens are shown full scale in Fig. 10.1.
image
viewed
from this
side of the
lens
image of stamp
stamp
1 cm
position
of lens
Fig. 10.1 (full scale)
A ray of light from the top of the stamp to the lens is shown on Fig. 10.1.
(a) State the type of lens used.
.............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(b) State what is meant by linear magnification.
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(c) (i) On Fig. 10.1, complete the path of the ray from the top of the stamp after it passes through
the lens. [1]
(ii) Use your drawing to determine the focal length of the lens.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) On Fig. 10.1, draw two additional rays from the top of the stamp to show how the image is
formed. [1]
[MJ2014/P21/Q3]
11 (a) A beam of parallel light strikes a converging lens of focal length 2.8 cm.
The width of the beam before it reaches the lens is 1.0 cm. The width changes on the other
side of the lens.
State a distance from the lens where the width of the beam is
(i) less than 1.0 cm,
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) more than 1.0 cm.
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(b) An object is placed 3.0 cm from a converging lens of focal length of 2.8 cm. Fig. 11.1 is an
incomplete, full-scale ray diagram for this arrangement.
lens
object
1 cm
Fig. 11.1 (full scale)
(i) On Fig. 11.1, draw the paths of the two rays after they pass through the lens. [2]
(ii) Explain how your ray diagram shows that the image is more than 11 cm from the lens.
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(iii) Underline three of the following words which describe the image.
diminished inverted magnified real upright virtual [1]
[MJ2014/P22/Q6]
12 (a) State the speed of light in air.
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
(b) Fig. 12.1 shows a ray of blue light passing from air into a glass block and refracting at the
surface.
blue light
glass block
Fig. 12.1 (not to scale)
(i) As the light enters the glass, state what happens to
1. the speed of the light,
................................................................................................................................[1]
2. the frequency of the light,
................................................................................................................................[1]
3. the wavelength of the light.
................................................................................................................................[1]
(ii) On Fig. 12.1, mark and label the angle of incidence i and the angle of refraction r. [2]
(c) The refractive index of glass for blue light is 1.5.
(i) A ray of blue light strikes the surface of a glass block at an angle of incidence of 89°.
Calculate the angle of refraction of the light in the block.
angle of refraction = ...........................................................[3]
(ii) Explain why the angle of refraction of blue light in glass is always less than 45°.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(d) Blue light, travelling in air, strikes the side of a different glass block and continues in the same
direction as it enters the glass block. Fig. 12.2 shows the ray of light and the shape of the
glass block. The critical angle for this glass is 42°.
blue
light
45°
Fig. 12.2
(i) Explain why the light continues in the same direction as it enters the glass block.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................................................[2]
(ii) On Fig. 12.2, complete the path of the light until it leaves the glass. [2]
[ON2014/P22/Q10]
13 Fig. 13.1 shows a ray of light entering and passing along an optical fibre.
A
air
30°
50°
glass
Fig. 13.1
(a) Calculate the refractive index of the glass in the optical fibre.
refractive index = ...........................................................[2]
(b) Explain why the ray of light is totally internally reflected at A.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[2]
(c) Both optical fibre and copper wire are used to transmit data.
Optical fibre is cheaper and can carry more data per second than copper wire.
State one other advantage of using optical fibre rather than copper wire to transmit data.
...................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................................................[1]
[MJ2015/P21/Q5]
14 A burning candle is placed close to a thin converging lens. The candle acts as the object.
A white, vertical screen is moved to a position on the other side of the lens from the candle.
Fig. 14.1 is a full-scale diagram, on graph paper, of the lens and the screen.
lens screen
image of
candle
Fig. 14.1
The focal length of the lens is 2.4 cm. The screen is 7.2 cm from the centre of the lens. A sharply
focused, inverted image of the candle is produced on the screen, as shown in Fig. 14.1.
(a) Define the term focal length.
...................................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................. [1]
(b) (i) On Fig. 14.1, mark and label with an F, each of the two focal points (principal foci) of the
lens. [1]
(ii) The point Y is the tip of the image.
On Fig. 14.1, draw a ray diagram to locate the position of the top of the object.
Label this point X. [3]
(iii) Using Fig. 14.1, determine the distance of the candle from the centre of the lens.
distance = ........................................................ [1]
[ON2015/P21/Q6]
15 Light enters a parallel-sided glass block at A. The angle between the side of the block and the ray
of light in air is 35°.
The light then strikes the edge of the block at B. Fig. 15.1 shows the ray of light and the glass block.
35 °
A
33 °
glass block
B
Fig. 15.1
The angle of refraction in the glass at A is 33°.
(a) Calculate the refractive index for light in the glass.
refractive index = ........................................................ [2]
(b) The light undergoes total internal reflection at B.
(i) State one condition necessary for total internal reflection to occur.
...........................................................................................................................................
...........................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................... [1]
(ii) On Fig. 15.1, continue the ray to show the path of the light after total internal reflection
at B and until it leaves the block. [1]
[ON2015/P22/Q7]