LIGHT- REFLECTION AND REFRACTION

NOTES

REFLECTION

Reflection of Light: The phenomenon of bouncing back of light into the same
medium by the smooth surface is called reflection.

Incident light: Light which falls on the surface is called incident light

Reflected light: Light which goes back after reflection is called reflected light.

The angle of incidence: The angle between the incident ray and the normal.

An angle of reflection: The angle between the reflected ray and the normal.

Mirror: The surface which can reflect the light is a mirror.

Plane Mirror: If the reflecting surface is a plane then the mirror is plane.

Spherical Mirror: If the reflecting surface is part of the hollow sphere then the
mirror is a spherical mirror.

The spherical mirror is of two types:

Convex mirror: In this mirror reflecting surface is convex. It diverges the light
so it is also called a diverging mirror.

Concave mirror: In this mirror reflecting surface is concave. It converges the

light so it is also called converging mirror.
Parameters of Mirror:

Center of Curvature: The centre of hollow sphere of which mirror is a part.

The radius of curvature: The radius of hollow sphere of which mirror is a part.

Pole: The centre of mirror (middle point) is pole.

Principal axis: The line joining the pole and center of curvature is called
principal axis.

Aperture: Size of mirror is called aperture of mirror.

Principal Focus: The point on the principal axis, where all the incident rays
parallel to principal axis converge or diverge after reflection through mirror.

Focal Length: The distance between pole and focus point is focal length.

Special Rays for Formation of Image:

A ray of light which is parallel to the principal axis of a spherical mirror, after
reflection converges or diverges from focus.

A ray of light passing through or appearing from the center of curvature of

spherical mirror is reflected back along the same path.

A ray of light passing through or appearing from the focus of spherical mirror
becomes parallel to the principal axis.

A ray of light which is incident at the pole of a spherical mirror is reflected

back making same angle with principal axis.

Use of Concave Mirror: It is used as a makeup mirror, the reflector in torches,

in headlights of cars and searchlights, doctor’s head-mirrors, solar furnace,
etc.

Sign Conventions of Spherical Mirror

All the distances are measured from the pole of the mirror as the origin.
Distances measured in the direction of incident rays are taken as positive.

Distances measured opposite to the direction of incident rays are taken as

negative.

Distances measured upward and perpendicular to the principal axis are taken
as positive.

Distances measured downward and perpendicular to the principal axis are

taken as negative.

1f=1v+1u …where f, v and u are focal length, image distance, object

distance

Linear Magnification: This is the ratio of the height of the image to the height
of the object.

M=h‘h …where m = magnification, h = height of image, h’ = height of object

Use of Convex Mirror: Convex mirror used as rear view mirror in vehicles, as
shop security mirrors, etc.

REFRACTION

Refraction of Light: The bending of light at the interface of two different

mediums is called Refraction of light.

If the velocity of light in medium is more, then medium is called optical rarer.

Example, air or vacuum is more optical rarer.

If the velocity of light in medium is less, then medium is called optical

denser.

Example, glass is more denser than air.

Refractive Index: It represents the amount or extent of bending of light when

it passes from one medium to another.

There are two types of refractive index

Relative refractive index and Absolute refractive index.

Refractive index of medium with respect to other medium is called Relative

Refractive Index.

Refractive index of medium 1 with respect to medium 2 =

Speedoflightinmedium2(V2)Speedoflightinmedium1(V1)

Refractive index of medium with respect to air or vacuum is called Absolute

Refractive Index.

Absolute refractive index of medium (m) =

Speedoflightinair©Speedoflightinmedium(Vm)

Incident ray: It is incoming ray on the refracting surface.

Refracted ray: It is an outgoing ray from the refracting surface.

An angle of incidence (i): It is the angle between incident rays and

perpendicular line (normal) at the point of incidence.

An angle of refraction ®: It is the angle between refracted rays and

perpendicular line (normal) at the point of incidence.

Law of Refraction: According to this law

“The incident ray, refracted ray and normal at the point of incidence all lie in
the same plane.”

“The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of
refraction is constant.”

Sinisinr = constant (µ)

Lens: The transparent refracting medium bounded by two surfaces in which

at least one surface is curved is called lens.

Lenses are mainly two type

Convex lens and Concave lens.

Center of Curvature: The centres of two spheres, of which lens is part is

called the centre of curvature.

Radii of Curvature: The radii of spheres, of which lens is part is called radius
of curvature.

Principal Axis: The line joining the centres of curvature of two surfaces of lens
is called principal axis.

Optical Center: It is a special point on the principal axis. Light incident on the
optical centre passes through the lens without deviation.

Principal Focus: The point on the principal axis at which all incident rays
parallel to the principal axis converge or appear to diverge after refraction
through the lens.

Special Rays for Image Formation by Lens:

An incident ray, parallel to the principal axis, after refraction passes through
(or appears to come from), second focus of the lens.

An incident ray, passing through the optical center of the lens, goes
undeviated from the lens.

An incident ray, passing through the (first) principal focus of the lens, or
directed toward it, becomes parallel to the principal axis after refraction
through lens.

Use of Lens: In photographic cameras, magnifying glass, microscope,

telescope, the human eye.
NCERT SOLUTIONS

Question 1

Define the principal focus of a concave mirror.

Answer:

The principal focus of a concave mirror is a point on its principal axis to

which all the light rays which are parallel and close to the axis, converge
after reflection from the concave mirror.

Question 2

The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is 20 cm. What is its focal

length?

Answer:

Focal length = 12 x Radius of curvature = 12 x 20 cm = 10 cm

Question 3

Name a mirror that can give an erect and enlarged image of an object.

Answer:

Concave mirror.

Question 4

Why do we prefer a convex mirror as a rear-view mirror in vehicles ?

Answer:

We prefer a convex mirror as a rear-view mirror in vehicles because of two

reasons :
  A convex mirror always produces an erect image of the objects.
 The image formed in a convex mirror is highly diminished or much
smaller than the object, due to which a convex mirror gives a wide
field of view of the traffic behind. A convex mirror enables the driver to
view such larger area of the traffic behind him.

Question 5
Find the focal length of a convex mirror whose radius of curvature is 32 cm.
Solution:
R = +32 cm and f=R2=+322=+16cm

Question 6
A concave mirror produces three times magnified (enlarged) real image of an
object placed at 10 cm in front of it. Where is the image located ?
Solution:
Because the image is real, so magnification m must be negative.

Thus the image is located at a distance of 30 cm from the mirror on the

object side of the mirror.

Question 7
A ray of light travelling in air enters obliquely into water. Does the light ray
bend towards the normal or away from the normal ? Why ?
Answer:
The light-ray bends towards the normal because the ray of light goes from a
rarer medium to a denser medium.

Question 8
Light enters from air to glass having refractive index 1.50. What is the speed
of light in the glass ? The speed of light in vacuum is 3 x 10 8 ms-1.
Solution:
Refractive index of glass, n8 = 1.50
Question 9
Find out, from Table 10.3, the medium having highest optical density. Also
find the medium with lowest optical density.
Answer:
From table 10.3, diamond has highest refractive index (= 2.42), so it has
highest optical density.
Air has lowest refractive index (= 1.0003),
so it has lowest optical density.

Question 10
You are given kerosene, turpentine and water. In which of these does the
light travel fastest ? Use the information given in Table 10.3.
Answer:
For kerosene, n = 1.44
For turpentine, n = 1.47
For water, n = 1.33
Because water has the lowest refractive index, therefore light travels fastest
in this optically rarer medium than kerosene and turpentine oil.

Question 11
The refractive index of diamond is 2.42. What is the meaning of this
statement?
Answer:
By saying that the refractive index of diamond is 2.42, we mean that the
speed of light in diamond is lower by a factor of 2.42 relative to that in
vacuum.

Question 12
Define 1 dioptre of power of a lens.
Answer:
One dioptre is the power of a lens whose focal length is 1 metre.

Question 13
A convex lens forms a real and inverted image of a needle at a distance of
50 cm from it. Where is the needle placed in front of the convex lens if the
image is equal to the size of the object ? Also, find the power of the lens. ,
Sol. Here, u — +50 cm ..
Solution:
Here ν = +50cm
Because the real image is of the same size as the object,

Question 14
Find the power of a concave lens of focal length 2 m.
Solution:
Because the focal length of a concave lens is negative,
therefore f = -2 m

Question 15
Which one of the following materials cannot be used to make a lens ?
(a) Water
(b) Glass
(c) Plastic
(d) Clay
Answer:
(d) Clay

Question 16
The image formed by a concave mirror is observed to be virtual, erect and
larger than the object. Where should be the position of the object ?
(a) Between the principal focus and the centre of curvature
(b) At the centre of curvature
(c) Beyond the centre of curvature
(d) Between the pole of the mirror and its principal focus.
Answer:
(d) Between the pole of the mirror and its principal focus.

Question 17
Where should an object be placed in front of a convex lens to get a real
image of the size of the object ?
(a) At the principal focus of the lens (b) At twice the focal length
(c) At infinity
(d) Between the optical centre of the lens and its principal focus.
Answer:
(b) At twice the focal length.

Question 18

A spherical mirror and a thin spherical lens have each a focal length of -15
cm. The mirror and the lens are likely to be :
(a) Both concave.
(b) Both convex.
(c) the mirror is concave and the lens is convex.
(d) the mirror is convex, but the lens is concave.
Answer:
(a) Both concave

Question 19
No matter how far you stand from mirror, your image appears erect. The
mirror is likely to be
(a) plane
(b) concave
(c) convex
(d) either plane or convex.
Answer:
(d) Either plane or convex.

Question 20
Which of the following lenses would you prefer to use while reading small
letters found in a dictionary ?
(a) A convex lens of focal length 50 cm.
(b) A concave lens of focal length 50 cm.
(c) A convex lens of focal length 5 cm.
(d) A concave lens of focal length 5 cm.
Answer:
(c) A convex lens of focal length 5 cm.

Question 21
We wish to obtain an erect image of an object, using a concave mirror of
focal length 15 cm. What should be the range of distance of the object from
the mirror ? What is the nature of the image ? Is the image larger or smaller
than the object ? Draw a ray diagram to show the image formation in this
case.
Answer:
A concave mirror gives an erect image when the object is placed between
the focus F and the pole P of the concave mirror, i.e., between 0 and 15 cm
from the mirror. The image thus formed will be virtual, erect and larger than
the object.

Question 22
Name the type of mirror used in the following situations.
(a) Headlights of a car.
(b) Side/rear-view mirror of a vehicle.
(c) Solar furnace.
Support your answer with reason.
Answer:
(a) Concave mirrors are used as reflectors in headlights of cars. When a bulb
is located at the focus of the concave mirror, the light rays after reflection
from the mirror travel over a large distance as a parallel beam of high
intensity.

(b) A convex mirror is used as a side/rear-view mirror of a vehicle because

 A convex mirror always forms an erect, virtual and diminished

image of an object placed anywhere in front it.
 A convex mirror has a wider field of view than a plane mirror of
the same size.
(c) Large concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to produce heat in
solar furnaces.

Question 23
One-half of a convex lens is covered with a black paper. Will this lens produce
a complete image of the object ? Verify your answer experimentally. Explain
your observations.
Answer:
A convex lens forms complete image of an object, even if its one half is
covered with black paper. It can be explained by considering following two
cases.
Case I : When the upper half of the lens is covered
In this case, a ray of light coming from the object will be refracted by the
lower half of the lens. These rays meet at the other side of the lens to form
the image of the given object, as shown in the following figure.

Case II: When the lower half of the lens Is covered

In this case, a ray of light coming from the object is refracted by the upper
half of the lens. These rays meet at the other side of the lens to form the
image of the given object, as shown in the given figure.

Question 24
An object 5 cm in length is held 25 cm away from a converging lens of focal
length 10 cm. Draw the ray diagram and find the position, size and the
nature of the image formed.
Answer:
Here : Object distance, u= -25 cm,
Object height, h = 5 cm,
Focal length, f = +10 cm
According to the lens formula, 1f=1ν−1u , we have
⇒ 1ν=1f−1u=110−125=15250orν=25015=16.66cm
The positive value of v shows that the image is formed at the other side of
the lens.

The negative value of image height indicates that the image formed is
inverted.
The position, size, and nature of image are shown alongside in the ray
diagram.

Question 25
A concave lens of focal length 15 cm forms an image 10 cm from the lens.
How far is the object placed from the lens ? Draw the ray diagram.
Solution:
Focal length, f = -15 cm, Image distance, ν = -10 cm (as concave lens forms
the image on the same side of the lens)
From the lens formula 1f=1ν−1u , we have

Object distance, u = -30 cm

The negative value of u indicates that the object is placed in front of the lens.
Question 26
An object is placed at a distance of 10 cm from a convex mirror of focal
length 15 cm. Find the position and nature of the image.
Solution:
Object distance, u = -10 cm, Focal length, f = +15 cm, Image distance, ν = ?

Thus, image distance, ν = + 6 cm

Because ν is +ve, so a virtual image is formed at a distance of 6 cm behind
the mirror.
Magnification, m=−υu=−6−30=15 (i.e. < 1)
The positive value of m shows that image erect and its value, which is less
than 1, shows that image is smaller than the object. Thus, image is virtual,
erect and diminished.

Question 27
The magnification produced by a plane mirror is +1. What does this mean ?
Answer:
Since magnification, m=h‘h=−νu. Given, m = +1, so h’ = h and ν = -u
(i) m = 1 indicates the size of image is same as that of object.
(ii) positive sign of m indicates that an erect image is formed.

The opposite signs of ν and u indicate that image is formed on the other side
of the mirror from where the object is placed i.e., image is formed behind the
mirror and thus image formed is virtual.

Question 28
An object 5.0 cm in length is placed at a distance of 20 cm in front of a
convex mirror of radius of curvature 30 cm. Find the position of the image, its
nature and size.
Solution:
Since object size, h = +5 cm,
object distance, u = -20 cm
and radius of curvature, R = +30 cm
A virtual, erect image of height 2.2 cm is formed behind the mirror at a
distance of 8.6 cm from the mirror.

Question 29
An object of size 7.0 cm is placed at 27 cm in front of a concave mirror of
focal length 18 cm. At what distance from the mirror should a screen be
placed, so that a sharp focussed image can be obtained ? Find the size and
the nature of the image.
Answer:
Here, object size, h = +7.0 cm,
object distance, u = -27 cm
and focal length, f = -18 cm
Image distance, ν = ?
and image size, h’ = ?
From the mirror formula, 1f=1ν−1u, we have

The screen should be placed at a distance of 54 cm on the object side of the

mirror to obtain a sharp image.

The image is real, inverted and enlarged in size.

Question 30
Find the focal length of a lens of power -2.0 D. What type of lens is this ?
Answer:
Here, P = -2.0 D
The type of lens is concave because the focal length is negative.

Question 31
A doctor has prescribed a corrective lens of power +1.5 D. Find the focal
length of the lens. Is the prescribed lens diverging or converging ?
Answer:
Here, P = +1.5 D

Because the focal length is positive, the prescribed lens is converging.