(RAY AND WAVE OPTICS) CASE BASED QUESTIONS -BY R.

C MISHRA
Question 1:
.A compound microscope consists of two lenses. A lens of short aperture and
short focal length facing the object is called the object lens and another lens of
short focal length but large aperture is called the eye lens. Magnifying power
is defined as the ration of angle subtended by the final image at the eye to the
angle subtended by the object is seen directly, when both are placed at least
distance of distinct vision

(i) An objective lens consists of (a) Short aperture and short focal length
(b)large aperture and large focal length (c)short aperture and large focal
length (d)large aperture and short focal length

(ii) An eyepiece consists of

(a) short aperture and short focal length

(b) large aperture and large focal length
(c) short aperture and large focal length
(d) large aperture and short focal length
(iii) Formula of magnifying power

(a) M= (beta/alpha)
(b) M=(alpha/beta)
(c) M=(1+(alpha/beta))
(d) M=(1+(beta/alpha))
iv) A compound microscope with an objective of 1.0 cm, focal length and
eyepiece 2.0 cm. Focal length of a tube is 20 cm. Calculate the magnifying
power of the microscope

(a) 270 (b) 27 (c)140 (d) 14

(v) Final image formed by compound microscope

(a) inverted
(b) Erect
(c)virtual
(d)highly diminished
Question 2:
If a beam of white light is made to fall on one face of prism the light emerging
from the other face of the prism consist of seven colours violet, indigo, blue,
green, yellow, orange, red. The phenomena of splitting of white light into its
constituent colours is called dispersion of light.
(i) Which one of the following colours will suffer greatest dispersion?

(a) violet (b)indigo (c) blue (d)red

(ii) The critical angle between an equilateral prism and air is 45 0. If the
incident ray is perpendicular to refracting surface then

(a) it is reflected totally from the second surface and emerges perpendicular
from the third surface.
(b) it gets reflected from second and third surface and emerges from the first
surface.
(c) it keeps reflecting from all the three side of the prism and never emerges
out.
(d) after deviation, it gets refracted from the second surface.
(iii) Which colour is taken as the mean colour (i.e. mean refractive index for a
material

(a) yellow (b) red (c) violet (d) green

(iv) A prism with a refracting angle of 60° gives angle of minimum deviation
53°,51°,52° for blue, red, yellow light respectively. What is the dispersive
power of the material of the prism

(a) 385 (b) 0.385 (c) 0.0385 (d) 38.5

(v) The refractive angle of a prism for a monochromatic light is 60° and
refractive index is √2. For minimum deviation the angle of incidence will be

(a) 60°
(b) 45°
(c) 30°
(d) 75°
Question 3:
The lens maker’s formula relates the focal length of a lens to the refractive
index of its material and the radii of curvature of its two surfaces. This
formula is used to manufacture a lens of particular focal length from the glass
of a given refractive index. For this reason, it is called the lens maker’s
formula.
(i) For a plano-convex lens of radius of curvature 10 cm the focal length is 30
cm. If the refractive index of the material of the lens is

(a)2.0 (b)1.33 (c)1.66 (d)1.5

(ii) An image is formed on the screen by a convex lens when upper half part of
lens is covered with black paper then

(a)half image is formed

(b)full image is formed
(c)intensity of image is enhanced
(d)all of the above
(iii) A convex lens of focal length 20 cm is placed in contact with a diverging
lens of unknown focal length. The lens combination acts as a converging lens
and has a focal length of 30 cm. What is the focal length of diverging lens

(a)-90 cm (b)-60 cm
(c)-30 cm (d)-10 cm
(iv) In case of thin lens of focal length f, an object is placed at a distance X from
first focus and its image is formed at a distance X from the second focus. Find
X.

(a) f (b) 1/f (c) f√2 (d) f√3

(v) Two thin lenses of focal length 60cm and -20 cm in contact have a
resultant focal length of

(a) -30 cm (b) +15 cm (c) -15 cm (d) +30 cm 61 | P a g e

Question 4:
The object appears to be raised from its real position to apparent position (i.e.
from O to I). The distance through which the position of the object appears to
be raised is called normal shift. The normal shift in the position of the objects
depends upon the real depth of the object and the refractive index of the
refracting medium.
i (i) What is the apparent depth of a tank 3 m deep when viewed outside
(refractive index of water is 4/3).

(a)1.1 m (b)2.26 m (c)1.5 m (d)0.5 m

(ii)A rectangular block of glass ABCD has a refractive index 1.6. A pin is placed
midway on the face AB. When observed from the face AD, the pin shall

(a) appear to be near A

(b) appear to be near D
(c) appear to be at the centre of AD
(d) not to be seen at all
(iii)A short pulse of white light incident from air to a glass slab at normal
incidence after traveling through the slab the first colour to shift is

(a) blue (b) green (c) violet (d) red

(iv) A mark at the bottom of a liquid appears to rise by 0.1m. The depth of the
liquid is 1m. The refractive index of the liquid is

(a)1.33 (b) 9/10 (c)10/9 (d) 1.5

(v) A double convex lens of refractive index u1 is immersed in a liquid of
refractive index u2. The lens will act as transparent plane sheet when the lens
will act as a transparent plane sheet when

(a)u1<u2 (b)u1>u2 (c)u1=u2 (d)u1=1/u2

Question 5:
A convex or converging lens is thicker at the centre than at the edges. It
converges a parallel beam of light on refraction through it. It has a real focus.
Convex lens is of three types:
(A) Double convex lens (B) Plano-convex lens (C) Concavo-convex lens.
Concave lens is thinner at the centre than at the edges.
It diverges a parallel beam of light on refraction through it. It has a virtual
focus.
(i)A point object 0 is placed at a distance of 0.3 m from a convex lens (focal
length 0.2 m) cut into two halves each of which is displaced by 0.0005 m as
shown in figure. What will be the location of the image?

(a) 30cm right of lens

(b) 60cm right of lens
(c) 70cm left of lens
(d) 40cm left of lens
(ii)Two thin lenses are in contact and the focal length of the combination is 80
cm. If the focal length of one lens is 20 cm, the focal length of the other would
be

(a)-26.7cm (b) 60cm (c) 80cm (d) 20cm

(iii)A spherical air bubble is embedded in a piece of glass. For a ray of light
passing through the bubble, it behaves like a

(a) converging lens (b) diverging lens (c) plano-converging lens (d) plano-
diverging lens
(iv)Lens used in magnifying glass is

(a) concave lens

(b) convex lens
(c) both
(d) none of these
(v)The magnification of an image by a convex lens is positive only when the
object is placed

(a) at its focus F (b)between F and 2F (c) at 2F (d)between F and optical

centre
Question 6:
Refraction of light is the change in the path of light as it passes obliquely from
one transparent medium to another medium. According to law of refraction
sin i /sin r =1μ2 where 1μ2 is called refractive index of second medium with
respect to first medium. From refraction at a convex spherical surface, we
have 𝜇2𝑣−𝜇1𝑢=(𝜇2−𝜇1)1𝑅. Similarly from refraction at a concave spherical
surface when object lies in the rarer medium, we have 𝜇2𝑣−𝜇1𝑢=(𝜇2−𝜇1)1𝑅 and
when object lies in the denser medium, we have 𝜇1𝑣−𝜇2𝑢=(𝜇1−𝜇2)1𝑅
(i) Refractive index of a medium depends upon

(a) nature of the medium

(b) wavelength of the light used
(c) temperature
(d) all of these
(ii) A ray of light of frequency 5 x 1014 Hz is passed through a liquid. The
waelength of light measured inside the liquid is found to be 450 x 10 -9 m. The
refractive index of the liquid is

(a)1.33 (b) 2.52 (c) 2.22 (d) 0.75

(iii) A ray of light is incident at an angle of 60° on one face of a rectangular
glass slab of refractive index 1.5. The angle of refraction is

(a) sin-1(0.95)
(b) sin-1(0.58)
(c) sin-1(0.79)
(d) sin-1 (0.86)
(iv) A point object is placed at the centre of a glass sphere of radius 6 cm and
refractive index 1.5. The distance of the virtual image from the surface of
sphere is
(a) 2cm (b) 4cm (c) 6cm (d) 12cm
(v) In refraction, light waves are bent on passing from one medium to the
second medium because in the second medium

(a) the frequency is different

(b) the coefficient of elasticity is different
(c) the speed is different
(d) the amplitude is different
Question 7:
The lens maker's formula relates the focal length of a lens to the refractive
index of the lens material and the radii of curvature of its two surfaces. This
formula is called so because it is used by manufacturers to design lenses of
required focal length from a glass of given refractive index. If the object is
placed at infinity, the image will be formed at focus for both double convex
lens and double concave lens Therefore, lens maker's formula is 1𝑓=(𝜇2−
𝜇1)(1𝑅1−1𝑅2) When lens is placed in air, The lens maker formula takes the form
1𝑓=(μ− 1)(1𝑅1−1𝑅2)
i (i) The radius of curvature of each face of biconcave lens with refractive
index 1.5 is 30 cm. The focal length of the lens in air is

(a) 12cm (b) 10cm (c) 20cm (d) -30cm

(ii) The radii of curvature of the faces of a double convex lens are 10 cm and
15 cm. If focal length is 12 cm, then refractive index of glass is

(a) 1.5
(b) 1.78
(c) 2.0
(d) 2.52
(iii) An under-water swimmer cannot see very clearly even in absolutely clear
water because of

(a) absorption of light in water

(b) scattering of light in water
(c) reduction of speed of light in water
(d) change in focal length of eye-lens
(iv) A thin lens of glass (μ = 1.5) of focal length 10 cm is immersed in water (μ
= 1.33). The new focal length is

(a) 20 cm
(b) 40 cm
(c) 48 cm
(d)12 cm
(v) An object is immersed in a fluid. In order that the object becomes invisible,
it should

(a) behave as a perfect reflector

(b) absorb all light falling on it
(c) have refractive index one
(d) have refractive index exactly matching with that of the surrounding
fluid
Question 8:
A prism is a portion of a transparent medium bounded by two plane faces
inclined to each other at a suitable angle. A ray of light suffers two refractions
on passing through a prism and hence deviates through a certain angle from
its original path. The angle of deviation of a prism is, {(δ) = μ - 1} A, through
which a ray deviates on passing through a thin prism of small refracting angle
A. If μ is refractive index of the material of the prism, then prism formula is,
𝜇= sin(𝐴+𝛿𝑚)sin𝐴2
(i) For which colour, angle of deviation is minimum?

(a) red (b) yellow (c) violet (d) blue

(ii) When white light moves through vacuum

(a) all colours have same speed (b) different colours have different speed (c)
violet has more speed than red
(d) red has more speed than violet
(iii) The deviation through a prism is maximum when angle of incidence is

(a) 45o (b) 70o (c) 90o (d) 60o

(iv) What is the deviation produced by a prism of angle 6°? (Refractive index
of the material of the prism is 1.644).

(a) 3.864o
(b) 4.595o
(c) 7.259o
(d) 1.252o
(v) A ray of light falling at an angle of 50° is refracted through a prism and
suffers minimum deviation. If the angle of prism is 60°, then the angle of
minimum deviation is

(a) 45o (b) 75o (c) 500 (d) 40 0

Question 9:
An optical fibre is a thin tube of transparent material that allows light to pass
through, without being refracted into the air or another external medium. It
makes use of total internal reflection. These fibres are fabricated in such a way
that light reflected at one side of the inner surface strikes the other at an angle
larger than critical angle. Even, if fibre is bent, light can easily travel along the
length.
(i)Which of the following is based on the phenomenon of total internal
reflection of light? (a) sparkling of diamond (b) optical fibre
(c) instrument used by doctors for endoscopy (d) all of these
(ii) A ray of light will undergo total internal reflection inside the optical fibre,
if it

(a) goes from rarer medium to denser medium

(b) is incident at an angle less than critical angle
(c) strikes the interface normally
(d) is incident at an angle greater than critical angle
(iii) If in core, angle of incidence is equal to critical angle, then angle of
refraction will be (a) 0o (b) 45o (c) 90o (d) 180o
(iv) In an optical fibre (shown), correct relation for refractive indices of core
and cladding is (a) n1 = n2 (b) n1 < n2 (c) n1 > n2 (d) n1 + n2 =2

(v) If the value of critical angle is 30° for total internal reflection from given
optical fibre, then speed of light in that fibre is

(a) 3 x 108 ms-1

(b) 1.5 x 108 ms-1
(c) 6 x 108 ms-1
(d) 45 x 108 ms-1
Question 10:
Total internal reflection is the phenomenon of reflection of light into denser
medium at the interface of denser medium with rarer medium. For this
phenomenon to occur necessary condition is that light must move from
denser to rarer and angle of incidence in denser medium must be greater than
critical angle for the pair of media in contact. Critical angle depends on nature
of medium and wavelength of light. We can show that μ=1/sinC (where C is
the critical angle).
(i) critical angle for glass air interface, where μ for glass is 3/2, is

(a)41.80 (b) 600 (c)300 (d)150

(ii) Critical angle for water air interface is 48.60, then what is the refractive
index of water

(a)1 (b)3/2 (c)4/3 (d)3/4

(iii) Critical angle for air water interface for violet colour is 49 0 its value for
red colour will be

(a)490 (b)500 (c)480 (d)can’t say

(iv) Which of the following is not due to total internal reflection?

(a) working of optical fibre

(b)difference between real depth and apparent depth of a pound.
(c)mirage on hot summer day
(d) brilliance of diamond
(v) critical angle of glass is θ1 and that of the water is θ2 critical angle for water
and glass surface would be (μg > μw)
(a) less than θ2
(b) between θ1 and θ2
(c)greater then θ2
(d)less than θ1.
Question 11:
Power (P) of a lens is given as the reciprocal of focal length (P=1/f) where f
should be in meter and P is in Diopter. for convex power is positive and
concave power is
–ve. When two or more lenses are kept in contact then power of the combined
lens is given as P= P1 + P2+P3 …….
(i) A convex and a concave lens is separated by distance d are then put in
contact then the focal length of the combination

(a) becomes 0
(b) remain the same
(c) decreases
(d)increases.
(ii) The two lenses of power +1.5D and +1.0D are placed in contact then the
effective power of the combination will be
(a)2.5D (b)1.5 D (c) 0.5D (d)3.25D
(iii) If the power of the lens is 5D then what is the focal length of the lens?
(a)10cm (b) 20cm (c)15cm (d) 5cm
(iv) Two thin lens of focal length +10cm and -5cm are kept in contact, the
power of the combination is?

(a)-10D (b)-20D (c)10D (d)15D

(v) A convex lens of focal length 25cm is placed coaxially in contact with a
concave lens of focal length 20cm the system will be;
(a) converging in nature (b) diverging in nature
(c) can be converging or diverging (d) None of the above.
Question 11:
If we drop a small stone on a calm pool of water, waves spread out from the
point of impact. Wave propagate in the form of crest and trough. At any
instant, a photograph of the surface would show circular rings as shown in
diagram below. Clearly, all points on such a circle are oscillating in phase
because they are at the same distance from the source. Such a locus of points,
which oscillate in phase is called a wavefront; thus, a wavefront is defined as a
surface of constant phase.
(i) What is the mean of term ‘phase’?
(a) It indicates the distance of wavefront from source
(b) It is the velocity of particles
(c) It is the position of a point at a time in a cycle of waveform
(d) It is acceleration of point at a time

(ii) Crests are the point of

(a) Maximum displacement
(b) Minimum displacement
(c) Zero displacement
(d) Maximum and minimum displacements

(iii) Wavelength is given by

(a) Distance between 2 crests
(b) Distance between 2 troughs
(c) One crest + one trough
(d) All of the above

(iv) Here, shape of the wavefront depends upon the

(a) Size of source
(b) Shape of source
(c) Velocity with which source is dropped
(d) Size and shape of the source

(v) Similar to the wavefronts in water, an electric bulb and tubelight will give
(a) Spherical and cylindrical wavefronts respectively
(b) Cylindrical and spherical wavefronts respectively
(c) both will give cylindrical wavefront
(d) both will give spherical wavefronts
Question 12:
According to Huygens principle, each point of the wavefront is the source of a
secondary disturbance. The wavelets from every point of a wavefront spread
out in all directions. These wavelets emanating from the wavefront are called
‘secondary wavelets. If we wish to determine the shape of the wavefront at
time t, we draw spheres of radius ct from each point on the spherical
wavefront where c represents the speed of the waves in the medium. If we
draw common tangent to all these spheres, we obtain a new position of
wavefront. Huygens principle could satisfactorily explain the phenomenon of
reflection and refraction. Amplitude of wavelets is given by Aἀ (1+cosθ), For
wavefront in forward direction θ= 00 For wavefront in backward direction θ =
1800
(i) We get spherical wavefront from point source, cylindrical wavefront from
line source, similarly plane wavefront from
(a) source at infinity (b) a point source (c) a plane (d) a circle
(ii) If the velocity of light emerging from source is ‘v’, the velocity of secondary
wavelets in that medium will be
(a) less than v (b) greater than v (c) equal to v (d)may increase or decrease
(iii) From a point source light emerges with a velocity of 3 x 108m/s. For
getting secondary wavelets after 1x10-3s, we apply an arc of radius
(a) 3 x 108 m (b) 1.5 x 108 m (c) 3 x 105 m (d)1.5 x 105 m
(iv) According to Huygens we get wavelets in
(a) forward direction only
(b) backward direction only
(c) both forward and backward direction
(d)none of the above
Question 13:
When two light waves of the same frequency and having zero or constant
phase difference travelling in the same direction superpose each other, the
intensity in the region of superposition gets redistributed, becoming
maximum at some points and minimum at others. This phenomenon is called
interference of light. The two sources of light are said to be coherent only
when the phase difference between the light waves produced by them is zero
or constant. The point at which two waves are in phase or if trough of one
wave coincides with the trough of other or crest of one wave coincides with
the crest of other then the resultant intensity produced at that point will be
larger and amplitude also maximum. Such points are the points where
‘constructive interference’ takes place. While there are some points where
two light waves are not in phase with each other and crest of one wave
coincides with the trough of other and vice versa due to which resultant
intensity at that point is minimum and amplitude also get decreased. Such
points are the points where ‘destructive interference’ takes place.
For constructive interference, the path difference is equal to integral multiple
of wavelengths and resultant intensity will be maximum at that points. While
for destructive interference, the path difference is (n + 1/2) multiple of
wavelengths and where resultant intensity is zero.
(i) Two waves having a phase difference of 90o between them, will interfere
(a) Constructively
(b) Destructively
(c) Will not interfere
(d) Both (i) and (ii)

(ii) For two sources to be coherent, path difference between them should be
(a) Integral multiple of λ
(b) Even multiple of λ
(c) Odd multiple of λ
(d) Zero or constant

(iii) Two coherent sources should have

(a) Same frequency
(b) Same wavelength
(c) Zero or constant phase difference
(d) All of the above

(iv) A phase difference of 2π is associated with a path difference of

(a) λ
(b) 2 λ
(c) 3 λ
(d) λ/2

(v) Interference of light follows law of

(i) Conservation of momentum
(ii) Conservation of angular momentum
(iii) Conservation of energy
(iv) Conservation of mass
Question 14:
Displacement of two light waves from two coherent sources S 1 and S2 at time t
are
Y1= a1sinωt. Y2=a2sin(ωt+ἀ) Displacement of resultant wave Y=Asin(ωt+θ)
Resultant wave is also a harmonic wave of amplitude A
A = √ (a₁² + a₂² + 2a₁a₂ cos θ) As we know Intensity α (Amplitude) 2
I₁ = ka₁²; I₂ = ka₂² and I = kA² (k is a proportionality constant)
Resultant Intensity I= I₁ + I₂ + 2√I₁I₂ cos θ for two identical sources, I₁ = I₂ = I₀
⇒ I = I₀ + I₀ + 2√I₀I₀ cos θ = 4 I₀ cos² (θ /2).
If interference is constructive interference cosϕ= 1 ϕ (Phase Difference) = 0,
±2π, ±4π, ±6π.....2nπ. δ (Path Difference) = 0, ±λ, ±2λ, ±3λ, ±4λ..... ±λ.
If interference is destructive interference cosϕ = −1, ϕ = π, ±3π, ±5π, ±7π ....
(2n+1) π. (Path Difference) = ±2λ, ±23λ, ±25λ, ±27λ..... ±2(2n+1) λ.
(i) When two identical waves from two identical sources interfere, intensity of
resultant wave is given by
(a) 4I₀ cos² (θ /2).
(b) I₀ cos² (θ /2).
(c) I₀ sin² (θ /2).
(d) 2I₀ sin² (θ /2)
(ii) Four waves are expressed as
(A) y1=a1sinωt (B) y2=a2sin2ωt (C) y3=a3cosωt (D) y4=a4sin(ωt+θ)
Here an observable interference is possible between
(a) (A), (C), (D)
(b) (A), (B)
(c) (B), (D)
(d) Not possible

(iii) The resultant intensity for two identical waves of intensity I with a phase
difference
of π/3 is
(a) R= 2√3I
(b) R= √3I
(c) R= 4√3I
(d) R= 3√3I
(iv) Find the ratio of intensities of two points P and Q on the screen in a
Young’s double slit experiment when waves from sources have path
difference of π/3 and π/2 respectively
(a) 1:1
(b) 1:2
(c) 3:2
(d) 2:3

(v) Two coherent monochromatic light beams of intensities I and 4I are

superposed. What will be the maximum and possible intensity?
(a) I
(b) 2I
(c) 5I
(d) 9I

Question 15:
We know that, in Young’s double slit experiment,
Position of Bright Frindge
For maximum intensity or bright fringe to be formed at P
Path difference, Δz = nλ (n = 0, ±1, ±2, . . ..)
i.e., xd/D = nλ
x = nλD/d
The distance of the nth bright frindge from the center is
xn = nλD/d
Frindge width, β = xn – x (n-1) = nλD/d – (n -1) λD/d = λD/d
(n = 0, ±1, ±2, . . ..)
Position of Dark Frindge
For minimum intensity or dark frindge to be formed at P,
Path difference, Δz = (2n + 1) (λ/2) (n = 0, ±1, ±2, . . ..)
i.e., x = (2n +1) λD/2d
The distance of the nth dark frindge from the center is
xn = (2n+1) λD/2d
Fringe width, β = xn – x (n-1) = (2n + 1) λD/2d – (2(n -1) + 1) λD/2d = λD/d
(n = 0, ±1, ±2, . . ..)
Frindge Width
Distance between two adjacent bright (or dark) frindges is called the frindge
width.
β = λD/d
(i) If the apparatus of Young’s double slit experiment is immersed in a liquid
of refractive index (μ), then frindge width becomes
(a) β/ μ
(b) β μ
(c) μ/ β
(d) β

(ii) If the linear distance of the nth bright frindge from the center is xn= nλD/d,
then
what will be the angular distance of it from central bright frindge
(a) Θn= nλ/d
(b) Θn= nD/d
(c) Θn= (n-1) D/d
(d) Θn= nλD/d

(iii) If, instead of using one monochromatic source S, we use two different
independent sources on S1 and S2, then
(a) Position of bright and dark frindges remain same
(b) We will not get steady interference pattern
(c) Interference pattern does not depend upon wavelength of light used
(d) We will get two separate interference patterns

(iv) In a two-slit experiment with monochromatic light, frindges are obtained

on a screen placed at some distance from the slits. If screen is moved by 5 ×
10–2 m towards the slits, then change in frindge width is 3 × 10–5 m. If the
distance between slits is 10–3 m then wavelength of the light used will be
(a) 4000 Å (b) 6000 Å (c) 5890 Å (d) 8000 Å
(v)In a Young's double slit experiment, angular width of a frindge formed on a
distant screen is 0.1o. If wavelength of light used is 6000 Å, then distance
between the slits will be
(a) 0.241 mm (b) 0.344 mm (c) 0.519 mm (d) 0.413 mm