LIGHT - FULL DETAILED NOTES
Class 10 Physical Science | MP Board 2027
Complete Chapter for Board Exam Preparation
1. Reflection at Spherical Mirrors
Spherical Mirror:
A spherical mirror is a reflecting surface which is a part of a hollow sphere. It is made by silvering
one surface of a glass piece with silver (Ag) or aluminium (Al).
Types of Spherical Mirrors:
(i) Concave Spherical Mirror:
- Reflection takes place at the inner (hollow) side of the sphere.
- It is a converging mirror.
- It has a real focus because reflected rays actually meet at a point in front of the mirror.
(ii) Convex Spherical Mirror:
- Reflection takes place at the outer (bulging) side of the sphere.
- It is a diverging mirror.
- It has a virtual focus because reflected rays appear to come from a point behind the mirror.
2. Important Terms Related to Spherical Mirrors
1. Pole (P): The middle point of the reflecting surface of the mirror.
2. Centre of Curvature (C): The centre of the hollow sphere of which the mirror is a part.
3. Radius of Curvature (R): The distance between pole (P) and centre of curvature (C). Relation: R
= 2f
4. Principal Axis: The straight line joining the pole and the centre of curvature.
5. Focus (F) or Principal Focus: The point on the principal axis where parallel rays converge or
appear to converge after reflection.
6. Focal Length (f): The distance between pole and focus.
3. Rules for Ray Diagrams (Very Important)
For Concave Mirror:
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis passes through the focus (F) after reflection.
2. A ray passing through the focus (F) becomes parallel to the principal axis after reflection.
3. A ray passing through the centre of curvature (C) reflects back along the same path.
4. A ray incident at the pole reflects with angle of incidence equal to angle of reflection.
For Convex Mirror:
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis appears to come from the focus (F) behind the mirror.
2. A ray directed towards the centre of curvature (C) reflects back along the same path.
3. A ray incident at the pole reflects with equal angle.
4. Image Formation by Concave Mirror
| Object Position | Image Position | Nature of Image | Size of Image |
|--------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------|--------------------|
| Beyond Centre of Curvature (C) | Between F and C | Real, Inverted | Diminished |
| At Centre of Curvature (C) | At C | Real, Inverted | Same Size |
| Between C and F | Beyond C | Real, Inverted | Enlarged |
| At Focus (F) | At Infinity | Real, Inverted | Highly Enlarged |
| Between Focus (F) and Pole (P) | Behind the Mirror | Virtual, Erect | Enlarged |
5. Image Formation by Convex Mirror
- Always forms virtual, erect and diminished image.
- The image is formed between the pole and focus behind the mirror.
- Used as a rear view mirror in cars, scooters etc. because it gives a wider field of view.
6. Mirror Formula
1/v + 1/u = 1/f
Magnification (m) = h’/h = -v/u
Sign Convention (New Cartesian Sign Convention):
- Object distance (u) is always negative.
- Real image distance (v) is negative.
- Virtual image distance (v) is positive.
7. Refraction of Light
Refraction: The bending of light when it travels from one transparent medium to another.
Laws of Refraction:
1. The incident ray, refracted ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
2. Snell’s Law: sin i / sin r = μ₂ / μ₁ (refractive index)
Refractive Index (μ) = Speed of light in vacuum (air) / Speed of light in medium
Absolute refractive index of glass ≈ 1.5
8. Lenses
Convex Lens (Converging Lens): Thicker in the middle.
Concave Lens (Diverging Lens): Thinner in the middle.
Lens Formula: 1/v - 1/u = 1/f
Power of a Lens: P = 1/f (f in metre)
Unit: Dioptre (D)
Positive power = Convex lens
Negative power = Concave lens
9. Image Formation by Convex Lens
| Object Position | Image Position | Nature of Image | Size of Image |
|--------------------------------|--------------------------|----------------------|---------------------|
| At Infinity | At F | Real, Inverted | Highly Diminished |
| Beyond 2F | Between F and 2F | Real, Inverted | Diminished |
| At 2F | At 2F | Real, Inverted | Same Size |
| Between F and 2F | Beyond 2F | Real, Inverted | Enlarged |
| At F | At Infinity | Real, Inverted | Highly Enlarged |
| Between Optical Centre and F | Same side of lens | Virtual, Erect | Enlarged |
10. Human Eye and Defects of Vision
Near Point = 25 cm
Far Point = Infinity
Defects:
1. Myopia (Short-sightedness):
- A person can see nearby objects clearly but distant objects are blurred.
- Image forms in front of the retina.
- Corrected by Concave Lens.
2. Hypermetropia (Long-sightedness):
- A person can see distant objects clearly but nearby objects are blurred.
- Image forms behind the retina.
- Corrected by Convex Lens.
11. Dispersion of Light
Splitting of white light into seven colours (VIBGYOR) when it passes through a prism. This is
called dispersion. Rainbow is a natural example.
Key Differences:
Concave Mirror vs Convex Mirror
- Concave: Converging, Real focus, Can form real or virtual image.
- Convex: Diverging, Virtual focus, Always virtual image.
Convex Lens vs Concave Lens
- Convex: Converging, Can form real or virtual image.
- Concave: Diverging, Always virtual image.
Revision Tips:
- Draw all ray diagrams neatly in a notebook.
- Memorize all tables.
- Practice numericals with correct sign convention.
- Learn all differences and definitions.
End of Chapter