CHAPTER 6 : ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES AND SPECTRUM
2012
1. (a) What is meant by ‘Dispersion of light’?
(b) In the atmosphere which colour of light gets scattered the least?
Ans. (a) The phenomenon due to which white light splits into component colours on passing through a prism is called dispersion
of light.
(b) Red colour scatters least in the atmosphere.
2013
2. Name the radiations :
(a) that are used for photography at night.
(b) used for detection of fracture in bones.
(c) whose wavelength range is from 100 Å to 4000 Å (or 10 nm to 400 nm).
Ans. (a) Infrared radiation (b) X-rays (c) Ultraviolet radiation
2014
3. (a) (i) Name the prism required for obtaining spectrum of ultraviolet light.
(ii) Name the radiation which can be detected by a thermopile.
(b) A type of electromagnetic wave has wavelength 50 Å.
(i) Name the wave
(ii) What is the speed of this wave in vacuum?
(iii) State one use of this type of wave.
Ans. (a) (i) A quartz prism is best for obtaining ultraviolet spectrum.
(ii) The radiations detected by thermopile are infrared radiations.
(b) (i) The wavelength of 50Å is X-ray.
(ii) The speed of X-ray in vacuum is 3 × 108 ms–1.
(iii) It is used for locating bone fractures.
4. Why is red colour used as a sign of danger?
Ans. Red colour has maximum wavelength. It does not scatter easily even in dense fog. It is on account of its non-scattering
nature it is used as a danger sign.
2015
5. (a) Why does the Sun appear red at sunrise?
(b) Name the subjective property of light related to its wavelength.
Ans. (a) During sunrise the sun rays travel obliquely through maximum length of atmosphere and in doing so get scattered. The
violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange scatter in the upper layers of atmosphere in the order of their increasing wave-
length. The red light having the longest wavelength scatters close to the earth atmosphere and hence the sun appears red.
(b) The wavelength of light is responsible for the phenomenon of scattering.
6. (a) Name the high energetic invisible electromagnetic waves which help in the study of the structure of crystals.
(b) State an additional use of the waves mentioned in part (a).
Ans. (a) X-rays
(b) X-rays are used for locating bone fractures.
232 A New Approach to I.C.S.E. Physics-Class X
2016
7. What do you understand by the term “Scattering of light”? Which colour of white light is scattered least and why?
Ans. Scattering of light is the phenomenon due to which a particle having a diameter greater than the wavelength of light incident
on it absorbs the light and then transmits it in all possible directions.
Red colour of white light is scattered least. It is because the red light has the largest wavelength in visible spectrum and
hence meets very few particles bigger in diameter than its own wavelength.
2017
8. (a) Name the radiations which are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere.
(b) A radiation X is focused by a particular device on the bulb of a thermometer and mercury in the thermometer shows a
rapid increase. Name the radiation X.
(c) Name two factors on which the heat energy liberated by a body depends.
Ans. (a) Infrared radiations.
(b) Infrared radiation.
(c) 1. It is directly proportional to the fall in temperature of the body.
2. It is directly proportional to the mass of the body.
2018
9. (i) Define scattering.
(ii) The smoke from a fire looks white. Which of the following statements is true?
1. Molecules of the smoke are bigger than the wavelength of light.
2. Molecules of the smoke are smaller than the wavelength of light.
Ans. (i) The phenomenon in which an incident light strikes a particle which has a diameter greater than the wavelength of incident
light, then the incident light is absorbed by the particle and transmitted in all possible directions, is called scattering.
(ii) Molecules of the smoke are smaller than the wavelength of light.
2019
10. An electromagnetic radiation is used for photography in fog.
(i) Identify the radiation.
(ii) Why is this radiation mentioned by you, ideal for this purpose?
Ans. (i) Infrared radiation
(ii) Infrared radiations are not much scattered, so they can penetrate appreciably through fog.
Question Bank 233