Light – Reflection and

Refraction
 REFLECTION OF LIGHT
(i) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, and
(ii) The incident ray, the normal to the mirror at the point of incidence
and the reflected ray, all lie in the same plane.
Image formed by a plane mirror is always virtual and erect. The size of
the image is equal to that of the object. The image formed is as far
behind the mirror as the object is in front of it. Further, the image is
laterally inverted.
Concave mirror Convex mirror
Spherical mirrors
Concave mirror
A part of a spherical surface in which reflection
takes place at concave surface.
Convex mirror
A part of a spherical surface in which reflection
takes place at convex surface
 concave mirror

Centre of Principal axis

curvature pole

Radius of
curvature
 convex mirror

Principal axis Centre of

pole curvature

Radius of
curvature
Pole
Geometric centre of the mirror is called pole.
Centre of curvature
Centre of the sphere of glass which the mirror forms a part.
Radius of curvature
Radius of the sphere of glass which the mirror forms a part.
Pincipal axis
The straight line passing through pole and centre of curvature
is called principal axis.
Aperture
The diameter of the reflecting surface of spherical mirror is
called its aperture.
Principal focus of a concave mirror

c F p
concave mirror
Principal focus of a convex mirror

p F
convex mirror
 Principal focus

The rays parallel to the principal axis

incident on a concave mirror after reflection
converge to a point on the principal axis. This
point is called principal focus of a concave
mirror.
The rays parallel to the principal axis
incident on a convex mirror after reflection
appears to diverge from a point on the principal
axis. This point is called principal focus of a
convex mirror.
 Focal length

F
Focal length
p

The distance between pole and

principal focus is called focal length.
Relation between Radius of curvature (R) and focal length(f)

C F p
f

R=2f
Rules for the formation of image by a concave mirror
Rule 1

Principal axis
c F p
 Rule 2

Principal axis
c F p
 Rule 3

Principal axis
c F p
 Rule 4

Principal axis
c F p
Rules for the formation of image by a spherical mirror
Rule 1

A ray parallel to the principal axis, after reflection, will

pass through the principal focus in case of a concave
mirror or appear to diverge from the principal focus in
case of a convex mirror.
Rule 2

A ray passing through the principal focus of a

concave mirror or a ray which is directed towards the
principal focus of a convex mirror, after reflection, will
become parallel to the principal axis.
Rule 3

A ray passing through the centre of curvature

of a concave mirror or directed in the direction
of the centre of curvature of a convex mirror,
after reflection, is reflected back along the
same path.
Rule 4

A ray incident obliquely at the pole of a concave mirror

or a convex mirror is reflected obliquely by obeying law
of reflection.
1. A ray parallel to the principal axis after reflection
passes through the principal focus.
2. A ray passes through the principal focus becomes
parallel to the principal axis.
3.A ray passes through the centre of curvature gets
reflected back along the same path.
4.A ray incident obliquely at the pole is reflected
obliquely by obeying law of reflection.
 Object is at infinity

F p

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
At infinity At F Real and inverted Highly diminished
Distant Object
Beyond centre of curvature

c F p

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
Beyond C Between C&F Real and inverted Diminished
Beyond centre of curvature
At centre of curvature

c F p

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
At C At C Real and inverted Same size
At centre of curvature
Between focus and centre of curvature

c F p

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
Between F&C Beyond C Real and inverted Enlarged
Between focus and centre of curvature
At focus

c F p

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
At F At infinity Real and inverted Highly enlarged
Between pole and focus

c F p

Position of the Position of the Nature Size

object image

Between F&P Behind the mirror Virtual and erect Enlarged

Between pole and focus

http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/mirrors/convexmirrors
Image formation by a concave mirror for different
positions of the object
Uses of concave mirrors
 Used in torches, search-lights and vehicles headlights.
 Used as shaving mirrors .
 Dentists use concave mirrors.
 Used in solar furnaces.
 Image formation by a convex mirror

Object is at infinity

p F

Position of Position of Nature Size

the object the image
At infinity At F Virtual and Erect Highly diminished
Between pole and infinity

p F c

Position of Position of the Nature Size

the object image
Between Between P & F Virtual and diminish
infinity & P erect ed
Image formation by a convex mirror

Between pole and focus

Nature, position and relative size of the image
formed by a convex mirror
Uses of convex mirrors
Convex mirrors are commonly used as rear-view
mirrors in vehicles. Convex mirrors are preferred
because they always give an erect image. Also, they
have a wider field of view. Thus, convex mirrors enable
the driver to view much larger area.
Question
1.The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is 20 cm. What
is its focal length?
2. Name a mirror that can give an erect and enlarged image of
an object.
3. Why do we prefer a convex mirror as a rear-view mirror in
vehicles?
Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical
Mirrors
Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical
Mirrors
(i) The object is always placed to the left of the mirror.
(ii) All distances are measured from the pole of the mirror.
(iii) All the distances measured in the direction of incident ray
are taken as positive while those measured in the opposite
direction are taken as negative.
(iv) Distances measured in the upward direction are taken as
positive while those measured in the downward direction are
taken as negative.
 Mirror Formula
The distance of the object from its pole is called the object distance
(u). The distance of the image from the pole of the mirror is called the
image distance (v). The distance of the principal focus from the pole is
called the focal length (f). There is a relationship between these three
quantities given by the mirror formula which is expressed as,

1 1 1
+ =
𝑣 𝑢 𝑓
Magnification
It is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object.
Height of the image
m=
Height of the object
h
m=
h′
v
m=-
u
h v
=-
h′ u
A negative sign in the value of the magnification indicates that the
image is real. A positive sign in the value of the magnification indicates
that the image is virtual.
Questions
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 focused image can
be obtained? Find the size and the nature of the image.

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.
REFRACTION
REFRACTION
REFRACTION
When a ray of light travels from optically rarer medium
to denser medium, the ray bend towards the normal.
When a ray of light travels from optically denser medium to
rarer medium, the ray bends away from the normal.
REFRACTION
When a ray of light travels from one medium to
another medium a change of direction takes
place. This phenomenon is called refraction.
LAWS OF REFRACTION
1.The incident ray, refracted ray and normal to the surface of
separation , all lie in the same plane.
2.The ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of
refraction is a constant for a given pair of media and for given
colour of light.

sin i
= a constant
sin r
This is called Snell’s law
REFRACTIVE INDEX
sin i
= n21
sin r

sin i n2
=
sin r n1
n2
= n (Refractive index of the second medium w.r.t first medium)
n1 21

sin i n2 v1
= =
sin r n1 v2
Refractive index is defined as the ratio of speed of light
in air to the speed of light in a medium.

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 × 108 m s–1.
 RETRACTION THROUGH A GLASS SLAB

i
Air
Glass
r

r<i
i=e e

Angle of incidence = Angle of emergence Lateral

shift
Refraction of light
through a rectangular
glass slab

i=e

Angle of incidence = Angle of emergence

Refraction by Spherical Lenses
Principal focus
 Principal focus

The rays parallel to the principal axis

incident on a convex lens after refraction
converge to a point on the principal axis. This
point is called principal focus of a convex lens.
The rays parallel to the principal axis
incident on a concave lens after refraction
appears to diverge from a point on the principal
axis. This point is called principal focus of a
concave lens .
Rules for the formation of image by a spherical lens

A ray parallel to the principal axis, after refraction, will

pass through the principal focus in case of a convex
lens or appear to diverge from the principal focus in
case of a concave lens.
A ray passing through the principal focus of a convex
lens or a ray which is directed towards the principal
focus of a concave lens, after refraction, will become
parallel to the principal axis.
A ray of light passing through the optical
centre of a lens will emerge without any
deviation.
 IMAGE FORMATION BY CONVEX LENS

Object is at infinity Beyond 2F

At 2F Between F and 2F
At F Between O and F
Nature, position and relative size of the image formed by
a convex lens for various positions of the object
IMAGE FORMATION BY CONCAVE LENS

Object is at infinity Between Optic center and infinity

Nature, position and relative size of the image
formed by a concave lens
 Lens Formula and Magnification
This formula gives the relationship between object distance
(u), image-distance (v) and the focal length (f ).
1 1 1
− =
𝑣 𝑢 𝑓
Magnification
It is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object.
Height of the image
m=
Height of the object
h
m=
h′
v
m=
u
h v
=
h′ u
An object 5 cm in length is held 25 cm away from a converging
lens of focal length 10 cm. Find the position, size and the
nature of the image formed.

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?
Power of a Lens
The degree of convergence or divergence of light rays
achieved by a lens is expressed in terms of its power.
The power of a lens is defined as the reciprocal of its focal
length(in meters).
1
P=
𝑓
The SI unit of power of a lens is ‘dioptre’. It is denoted by the
letter D.
1 dioptre is the power of a lens of focal length is 1 metre.
Power of a convex lens is positive and that of a concave lens is
negative.
Find the focal length of a lens of power – 2.0 D. What type
of lens is this?
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.
One-half of a convex lens is covered with a black paper.
Will this lens produce a complete image of the object?
REFRACTION OF LIGHT THROUGH A PRISM
A Prism has two triangular bases and three
rectangular lateral surfaces. These surfaces are
inclined to each other.
The angle between its two lateral faces is called
the angle of the prism.
DISPERSION OF WHITE LIGHT BY A GLASS PRISM
The phenomenon of splitting of white light into its
constituent colours is called dispersion.
Wavelength is different for different colours, so
bending of light is different for different colours.
Therefore, dispersion takes place in a prism.
The red light is deviated least while the violet light
is devited most.
RAINBOW
RAINBOW
A rainbow is a natural spectrum appearing in the sky after a
rain shower. It is caused by dispersion of sunlight by tiny water
droplets, present in the atmosphere. A rainbow is always
formed in a direction opposite to that of the Sun. The water
droplets act like small prisms. They refract and disperse the
incident sunlight, then reflect it internally, and finally refract it
again when it comes out of the raindrop.
ATMOSPHERIC
REFRACTION
ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION
Twinkling of stars
The twinkling of a star is due to atmospheric refraction of
starlight. The starlight undergoes continuous refraction when it
passes through the atmosphere. The atmospheric refraction
occurs in a medium of gradually changing refractive index. The
apparent position of the star changes due to changes in the
physical conditions of the atmosphere. Since the stars are very
distant, they approximate point-sized sources of light. As the
path of rays of light coming from the star goes on varying
slightly, the apparent position of the star fluctuates and the
amount of starlight entering the eye flickers – the star
sometimes appears brighter, and at some other time, fainter,
which is the twinkling effect.
Why don’t the planets twinkle?
Why don’t the planets twinkle?
The planets are much closer to the earth, and are thus
seen as extended sources. If we consider a planet as a
collection of a large number of point-sized sources of
light, the total variation in the amount of light entering
our eye from all the individual point-sized sources will
average out to zero, thereby nullifying the twinkling
effect.
Advance sunrise and delayed sunset

The Sun is visible to us

about 2 minutes before
the actual sunrise, and
about 2 minutes after
the actual sunset
because of atmospheric
refraction.
SCATTERING OF LIGHT
SCATTERING OF LIGHT
Tyndall Effect
The phenomenon of scattering of light by the colloidal
particles is called Tyndall effect.
Why is the colour of the clear Sky Blue?
The colour of the scattered light depends on the size of the
scattering particles. Very fine particles scatter mainly blue light
while particles of larger size scatter light of longer wavelengths.
The blue colour of sky is due to scattering of light by fine
atmospheric particles.
When sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the violet and
blue colour of shorter wavelengths get scattered more strongly
than that of red colour of longer wavelength. The blue colour is
very sensitive our eye. Therefore, the sky appear blue in colour.
The Sun appears reddish at Sunrise and Sunset.

It is due to scattering of light by atmospheric particles.

At sunset and at sunrise, the sun is at the horizon.
Therefore, light ray has to travel longer path through
thicker layers of air in the atmosphere. So violet and blue
colour of shorter wavelength are scattered away by the
atmospheric particles. Therefore, light of longer
wavelength (red olour) reaches our eye. This gives rise to
the reddish appearance of the Sun.
At noon, the Sun appears white.
At noon , light from the Sun overhead would travel relatively
shorter distance. Therefore , the Sun appears white as only a
little of the blue and violet colours are scattered.

For An Astronaut flying at high altitudes the sky appear

dark, why?

At high altitudes, there is no atmosphere. Therefore , no

scattering of light.
‘Danger’ signal lights are red in colour,.why?
The red is least scattered by fog or smoke. Therefore, it
can be seen in the same colour at a distance.