1. What is Light?
Answer: Light is a form of energy that enables us to see objects. It travels in a straight line and does not require a material medium (it can travel in vacuum).
2. State the two laws of reflection of light.
Answer:
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The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
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The angle of incidence (i) is equal to the angle of reflection (r):
3. What is the difference between regular and diffused reflection?
Answer:
Regular Reflection | Diffused Reflection |
|---|---|
Occurs on smooth surfaces. | Occurs on rough surfaces. |
Forms clear images. | Forms blurred or no image. |
Example: Plane mirror. | Example: Paper, wall. |
4. What is the mirror formula?
Answer: For spherical mirrors:
where
-
f = focal length
-
u = object distance
-
v = image distance
5. Define refraction of light.
Answer: Refraction is the bending of light when it travels from one medium to another due to change in its speed.
Example: Pencil in water appears bent.
6. State Snell’s Law of Refraction.
Answer: Snell’s Law states that:
where
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i = angle of incidence
-
r = angle of refraction
-
= refractive index of second medium w.r.t first
7. What is refractive index?
Answer: Refractive Index (n) is the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in the medium:
More refractive index → light bends more.
8. Why does a coin placed in water appear raised?
Answer: Due to refraction, light bends away from the normal when it comes from water to air, making the coin appear at a higher position (virtual image).
9. What is total internal reflection (TIR)?
Answer: TIR occurs when
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Light travels from a denser to rarer medium, and
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Angle of incidence is greater than critical angle.
Example: Sparkling of diamonds, optical fibres.
10. Define power of a lens and its unit.
Answer: Power of a lens refers to its ability to converge or diverge light.
Unit: Dioptre (D)
Positive power → convex lens
Negative power → concave lens
11. Why does a convex lens form real and inverted images?
Answer: Because light rays passing through a convex lens converge and meet at a point (real focus), forming a real image on a screen.
12. Write any two applications of refraction.
Answer:
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Formation of rainbow
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Working of magnifying glass
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Stars appear twinkling
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Lenses in spectacles
13. Why does the sky appear blue?
Answer: Due to scattering of light. Blue light is scattered more than red because its wavelength is shorter.
14. Why do stars appear twinkling but planets do not?
Answer: Stars are far away, so the atmosphere causes variations in refraction → twinkling.
Planets appear larger → effect averages out → no twinkling.
15. Explain why the sun appears red during sunrise/sunset.
Answer: Blue light is scattered away; red light (long wavelength) reaches our eyes → sun looks red.