NOTES
CHAPTER- REFRACTION AND DISPERSION OF LIGHT
SHORT ANSWER TYPE -1
1. What do you mean by refraction of light? In which direction will light bend when
travelling from an optically rarer medium to an optically denser medium?
ANS.1 The phenomenon in which light bends while passing from one medium to another is called
refraction. Light bends towards the normal when travelling from an optically rarer to an
optically denser medium.
2. Why does refraction occur?
ANS.2 The speed of light changes when it passes from one medium to the other with different
optical density. This causes the refraction of light.
3. What is dispersion?
ANS.3 The splitting up of light into its constituent colours while passing from one medium to the
other is called dispersion.
4. Which medium will bend light more−glass or water? Why?
ANS.4 Since glass is optically denser than water, it will bend light more than water.
5. What is 'white light'?
ANS.5 The mixture of seven colours of light namely violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange
and red is known as white light.
6. What is the order of colours in a spectrum of 'white light'?
ANS.6 In a spectrum of white light, the order of the colours is red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo and violet.
7. Distinguish between near point and far point of the eye.
ANS.7
Near point of the eye Far point of the eye
The least distance at which an eye can see The maximum distance at which an eye
an object clearly is called the near point of can see an object clearly is called the far
the eye. point of the eye.
8. What is the 'blind spot' of the eye?
ANS.8 The junction of the optic nerve and retina is do not have sensory cells; hence, any image
formed here cannot be seen. This is called the blind spot.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE-II
1. What is the difference between the displacement produced by a rectangular glass slab in
a ray of light and the deviation produced by a glass prism?
ANS.1 In case of displacement produced by a rectangular glass slab, the emergent ray remains in
the same direction as the incident ray. However, in case of deviation produced by a glass prism,
the emergent ray deviates from the direction of the incident ray by an angle of deviation.
2. Explain the term 'spectrum'. Why does a glass split white light into its constituent
colours?
ANS.2 The term spectrum refers to the order and arrangement of different colours of light
constituting the white light. A glass splits white light into its constituent colours because
different colours of light have different angles of deviation.
3. Distinguish between converging and diverging lenses.
ANS.3
[Link]. Converging lens Diverging lens
1 A converging (convex) lens is thicker in A diverging (concave) lens is thinner in
the middle and thinner at the edges. the middle and thicker at the edges.
2 A converging lens bends a ray of light A diverging lens bends a ray of light
inwards. outwards
3 Nature of the image depends on where the Image formed is always virtual in
object is placed. nature.
4. Define the following terms for a lens:
(a) optical centre
(b) principal axis
(c) principal focus
(d) focal length
ANS.4
a) The optical centre of a lens is the point on its principal axis through which a ray of light can
pass without deviation.
b) The line joining the centres of the two spheres C1-C2 of which the lenses form a part is called
the principal axis of the lens.
c) The point where a beam of light, parallel to the principal axis, converges after passing through
a converging lens or appears to converge in case of a diverging lens is called the principal
focus.
d) The distance between the optical centre and the focus of a lens is called its focal length.
5. Why does a concave lens always form a virtual image of an object? Draw a diagram to
illustrate this.
ANS.5 The rays falling on a concave lens after refraction always diverge. Therefore, no matter
where the object is kept, a concave lens always forms a virtual image, which is erect and
smaller in size than the object.
6. What do you mean by the accommodation of the eye? What gives the eye the power of
accommodation?
ANS.6 Accommodation of an eye is its ability to alter the focal length of its lens for clearly seeing
all the objects within a certain range. This is achieved by changing the thickness of the lens.
Hence, its focal length is changed by the action of ciliary muscles.
7. How are letters written in the Braille system? Give two examples. (out of course)
ANS.7 No need to write
8. What is meant by 'persistence of vision'? How is this property of the eye used in
movies?
ANS.8 The image of an object is retained on the retina for some time after its formation. This is
called 'persistence of vision'. In humans, the image stays for 1/16th of a second. In movies,
successive still images are flashed before our eyes at a rate of more than 16 images per second.
This allows us to watch the images as a movie.
Long Answer Type Question:
1. A coin kept at the bottom of a glass bowl full of water appears to be higher than it actually
is. With the help of a labelled diagram, explain why this happens.
ANS.1 This is because of refraction of light. Consider a coin placed at the bottom of a glass filled
with water. When light rays from any point on the coin (A) go from an optically denser media,
such as water, to an optically rarer medium, such as air, they undergo refraction. As a result,
light rays deviate from their typical path, moving away from the normal. When it reaches the
observer's vision, it appears to have come from point A', which is directly above A. Thus,
forming its image. As a result, the coin looks to be higher than it is.
A’
A
2. As an object is slowly brought from infinity to the focus of a convex lens, the image travels
from the focus to infinity.' Show this with the help of diagrams with five different
positions of the object.
ANS.2
3. Draw a labelled diagram of the eye and answer the following questions:
(a) From where does light enter the eye?
(b) Which muscles control the focal length of the eye lens?
(c) Where is the image formed?
(d) Which nerve sends the image signals to the brain?
ANS.3
(a) Light enters the eye through the cornea.
(b) Ciliary muscles control the focal length of the eye lens.
(c) The image is formed on the retina of the eye.
(d) Optic nerves send the image signals to the brain.
4. Distinguish between myopia and hypermetropia. Draw diagrams to show how these
defects can be corrected by using suitable lenses.
ANS.4
Myopia Hypermetropia
A person suffering from this defect can only A person suffering from this defect can only
see the nearby objects clearly. The distant see the distant objects clearly, while the
objects will appear blurred to him. nearby objects will appear blurred to him.
The image of the distant object is formed The image of the near object is formed behind
before the retina. the retina.
The far point is at finite distance. The far point is at infinity.
The near point is at 25 cm. The near point is beyond 25cm.
It can be corrected using a concave lens. It can be corrected using a convex lens.