MCQ

1) An object is x metres away from a plane mirror. The mirror is then moved d metres
towards the object. What is the size of the new image formed?
a) Smaller than before
b) Larger than before
c) Same size as before
d) None of the above

2) Light undergoes refraction when it passes from water to air. What is the speed of
light in water? Refractive index of water is 1.33. Speed of light in air is 3 × 10! m/s.
a) 330 m/s
b) 2.3 × 10! m/s
c) 3 × 10! m/s
d) 3.99 × 10! m/s

3) Which of the following statements is true?

a) When an object is placed at 1 focal length away from a lens, the image formed is
smaller than the object.
b) Light can never bend.
c) The speed of light in vacuum is the fastest at 3 × 10! m/s.
d) Light is faster in water than in air.

4) John shines a ray of light through a block of glass. The incident ray is perpendicular
to the surface of the glass block. The refractive index of glass is 1.45. What is the
refracted angle of the ray?
a) 45°
b) 30°
c) 90°
d) 0°

5) A photocopier prints images that are of the same size as the original pictures. What
are the other properties of the image produced?
a) Upright and real
b) Upright and virtual
c) Inverted and real
d) Inverted and virtual

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6) Which of the following options is true?
a) Speed of light in air varies.
b) Refractive index is the ratio of the angle of incidence over the angle of refraction.
c) The focal length is the distance between the optical centre and the focal point.
d) Refractive index of glass is 1.

7) An object is placed 15cm away from a converging lens. The image produced is
slightly smaller than the object. What is the good estimate of the focal length of the
lens?
a) 15
b) 7.5
c) 13
d) 6

8) A mirror is placed such that it makes an angle of 30° with the floor. A laser parallel to
the floor is shone at the mirror.
r
rro
mi

30°

What is the angle of reflection of the laser?

a) 30°
b) 40°
c) 50°
d) 60°

9) A ray of light is incident on a glass as shown below. What is the refractive index of
the glass?

45° air
glass
58°

a) 0.834
b) 1.00
c) 1.33
d) 2.01

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 10) The diagram below shows some rays of light on the right side of a lens. These rays of
light came from an object on the left side of the lens. Where is the object placed at?

A
X

B C D
X X X
F F

11) The refractive index of glass is 1.5. Calculate its critical angle.
a) 41.8°
b) 42.0°
c) 41.0°
d) 38.2°

12) A ray of light inside a water tank is leaving the boundary of the tank. The refractive
index of water is 1.33. Which of the following options best shows what will happen
to the light ray?

30° water
air

a) b)

30° water 30° water

air air

c) d)

30° water 30° water

air air

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Open-ended Question
13) The table below shows the refractive index of some transparent materials.

Material Refractive Index

Air 1.01
Water 1.33
Perspex 1.48
Diamond 2.45

a) State the medium in which light has the highest speed and what is its value?

b) Calculate the speed of light in diamond.

c) Explain, in terms of properties of light, why light changes direction when it travels
from air to water.

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d) The diagram below shows a light ray incident on different surfaces. Sketch the path
of the light ray through the different mediums, without the use of calculations.

air 20°

diamond

perspex

water

air

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14) Haiqel has 3 different blocks, a block of air, a block of water and a block of glass. He
places the block of water and block of air beside each other. The refractive index of
air is 1, water is 1.33 and glass is 1.5.

air

water
i r

a) Haiqel noticed that when a ray of light is incident on the water-air boundary, the
incident ray did not pass through the boundary and in fact it got reflected. Name
the phenomenon that is taking place and explain why it happened.

b) Haiqel wants the light ray to be directed along the air-water boundary next.
State, with the help of calculations, how Haiqel can achieve the following?

c) Haiqel now replaces the block of air with a block of glass. Why does the phenomenon in
(a) not take place now?

r
glass

water
i

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15) An object of 2 cm high is placed 12 cm away from a converging lens of focal length 6
cm.

a) Describe the position from the lens, height and type of image formed

b) The object is moved so that it is now only 10 cm away from the lens. Describe the
new position from the lens, height and the type of image formed.

c) Where should the object be placed in order for the image formed to be virtual?

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16) The figure below shows a thin converging lens.

A stick, 0.15 m in height, is placed 0.2 m in front of the lens. The magnification of the
virtual image formed is 3.
a) Using a scale of 1 cm:0.1 m, complete the ray diagram to show the position of
the image formed. Label the image I.

b) Indicate focal point F and determine the focal length of the lens.

c) The thin converging lens is now moved such that the magnification of the image
is 1. State the distance between the new position of the converging lens and the
stick.

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 17) The diagram below shows an arrow B placed in front of a lens.

F F

a) Draw light rays from arrow B to form the image of arrow B.

b) List down the characteristics of the image produced at B.