Refractive Index

Question
1. Refractive index of glass is 1.5. If the speed of light in vacuum is 3 X 10 8
m/s, find velocity of light in medium.

Solution: Refractive index, µ = C / v

= Velocity of light in vacuum / Velocity of light in medium
v=C/µ
= 3 X 108 / 1.5
= 2 X 10 m/s. (Ans.)
Question
2. Speed of light in glass is 2 X 108 m/s. Find the refractive index of glass.

Solution: Refractive Index of glass (µ) = C / v

= 3 X 10 8 / 2 X 108
= 1.5 (Ans.)

Question
3. If active index of water is 4/3 and that of glass is 3/2. Find the refractive index of glass w.r.t.
water.

Solution: µw = 4/3, µg = 3/2

Refractive index of glass w.r.t. water ( wµg ) = aµg / aµw
= 3/2 / 4/3
= 3/2 X 3/4
= 9/8 (Ans.)
Question
4. An object at the bottom of a beaker filled with a liquid up to height of 10 cm. If the refractive
index of liquid w.r.t. air ( aµw ) is 4/3, find the apparent depth of the object.

Solution: Real depth = 10 cm

aµw = 4/3
µ = Real depth / Apparent depth
4/3 = 10 / Apparent depth
Apparent depth = 10 X 3 / 4
= 30 / 4
= 7. 5 cm (Ans.)

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. The refractive index of a material depends upon

(a) Temperature (b) Wavelength of light
(c) Nature of the material (d) All the above

2. When light travels from glass to water separated by a sharp boundary then it
(a) proceeds undeviated (b) bends towards the normal
(c) bends away from the normal (d) is reflected back

3. A cut diamond sparkles because of

(a) it's hardness
(b) it's high refractive index and small value of the critical angle
(c) it's high refractive index and high value of the critical angle
(d) it's very low refractive index

4.Velocity of light is maximum in

(a) diamond (b) water
(c) glass (d) vacuum

5. Refractive index of glass with respect to air is 1.9. What is the refractive index of air with
respect to glass
(a) 1 (b) 1.9
(c) 0.523 (d) 0.776

6. The cause of twinkling of stars is :

(a) periodic bursts of light from the stars
(b) interference of sunlight with the star light
(c) partial absorption of light in the atmosphere
(d) refractive index fluctuation in the atmosphere

7. When a light ray travels from air to water separated by a sharp boundary it:
(a) proceeds undeviated
(b) bends towards the normal
(c) bends away from the normal
(d) is totally internally reflected

8.The sun becomes visible before the actual sunrise and remains visible even after the actual
sunset. It is because of
(a) scattering of light
(b) diffraction of light
(c) refraction of light
(d) dispersion of light

9. just before setting, the sun may appear to be elliptical. This happens due to
(a) reflection (b) refraction
(c) dispersion (d) diffraction

10. The refractive index of glass with respect to air is 3/2. The refractive index of air with
respect to glass is :
(a) 3/1 (b) 3/2
(c) 2/3 (d) 1/3

Answers :
1. d 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. C 6. D 7. B 8. C 9. B 10. C

ADDITIONAL
1. The refractive index of medium ‘X’ with respect to medium ‘Y’ is 2/3 and refractive index of
medium ‘Y’ with respect to medium ‘Z’ is 4/3. Find the refractive index of medium ‘Z’ with
respect to medium ‘X’.
2. The refractive index of water with respect to air is 4/3. What is the refractive index of air with
respect to water?
3. The refractive index of glass with respect to air is 1.65 and that of water w.r.t air is 1.33. Calculate
refractive index of water w.r.t to glass.
4. In an experiment with a glass slab, a student observed that a ray of light incident at an angle of 60 ͦ
with the normal on one face of the slab, after refraction, strikes the opposite face of the slab
before emerging out in air making an angle of 42 ͦ with the normal. Draw a labelled diagram to
show the path of this ray. What would be the value of angle of refraction and angle of emergence?
5. Refractive index of water and benzene w.r.t air are 1.33 and 1.50 respectively. Calculate
refractive index of benzene w.r.t water?
6. The absolute refractive index of 2 media ‘A’ and ‘B’ are 2.0 and 1.5 respectively. If the speed of
light in medium ‘B’ is 2 × 10 8 m/s, calculate the speed of light in: (i) vacuum (ii) medium ‘A’.
7. The absolute refractive index of glass and water are 4/3 and 3/2 respectively. If the speed of light
in glass is 2 × 10 8 m/s, calculate the speed of light in:
(i) vacuum (ii) water.
8. If the angle of incidence (i) for a light ray in air be 45 ͦ and the angle of refraction (r) in glass be
30 ͦ, find the refractive index of glass w.r.t air.