Chapter 16

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1. a. Equal b. Mirror c. Multiple reflections
d. 30° e. 0°
2. a. Visual aids b. Blind spot c. Concave lens
d. Iris e. Braille

Assessment Zone
A. 1. a 2. a 3. a 4. c 5. d
6. b 7. c 8. a 9. d
B. 1. Normal 2. Retina 3. Cataract 4. Optic nerve
5. Sclera 6. Rarer medium, Denser medium 7. Regular
C. 1. False 2. True 3. True 4. False 5. False
6. True 7. False 8. False 9. True 10. False
D. 1. d 2. e 3. a 4. b 5. c
E. 1. When we see an object, its image persists at our retina for 1/16th of second, even after
the removal of the object. This is called persistence of vision.
2. Characteristics of image formed by a plane mirror:
• Upright or inverted: The image formed in a plane mirror is always upright or erect
and is never inverted.
• Size: When the image of an object is formed in a plane mirror, the size of the image
formed is the same as the size of the object.
• Distance of the image: The image formed in a mirror is at the same distance as the
object is from the mirror.
• Lateral inversion: The image formed in a plane mirror displays lateral inversion.
• Virtual image: All plane mirrors produce virtual images.
3. The reflection of light from any reflecting surface is governed by two simple laws.
• The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in
the same plane.
• The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, i.e., i = r.
4. When two mirrors are placed facing each other such that they are parallel to each other
and an object is placed between the two, then the number of images formed are infinite.
This is the phenomenon of multiple reflections of light. The number of images formed
depends on the angle between the mirrors.
To find the number of images we use a formula, n = 360°/θ – 1. Here, n is the number of
images and θ is the angle between the two mirrors.
5. This ability of the lens of the eye to self-adjust its focal length is termed as the power
of accommodation. The human eye has the unique ability to quickly adjust itself to see
nearby and distant objects in quick succession.

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 6. a
Myopia Hypermetropia
In myopia, a person is not able to see In hypermetropia, a person is not able to
distant objects clearly. clearly see the nearby objects.
In this defect, lens is not able to produce
sharp image of the distant objects on the In this defect, image is formed behind the
retina instead the image is formed in front retina.
of the retina.
The reduction in the focal length of the The increase in focal length of the eye lens
eye lens may be a possible cause. may be a cause.
Another cause can be the elongation of eye It may also be caused due to flattening of
ball. the eyeball.
Myopia can be corrected by using concave Hypermetropia may be corrected using
lens of suitable focal length. convex lens of suitable focal length 
b. R efraction is the bending of light, frequently due to a change in the propagation
velocity of light. Dispersion results from different frequencies of light having
different velocities.  
In practice, all materials that refract light will disperse it to some degree. All
dispersive materials will refract light.  
The key difference between the two is that dispersion is referring to the frequency
dependence (which is the ability to separate different colours of light) while
refraction is referring to the bending of light in a material.
7. To find the number of images we use a formula, n = 360°/θ – 1. Here, n is the number of
images and θ is the angle between the two mirrors.
a. 8 b. 7 c. 5
8. Eye lens functions for power of accommodation. When we look at a nearby object, the
ciliary muscles contract and make the eye lens bulge so that the focal length of the lens
decreases. When we see a faraway object, the ciliary muscles relax and flatten the lens
so that its focal length increases.
9. Iris controls the size of the pupil through which the light rays enter the eye ball. When
the light is too bright, the iris expands to reduce the size of the pupil.
10. The white light splits into a band of seven constituent colours. The separation of a beam
of light into its constituent colours is known as dispersion of light.
11. The main use of periscope is in submarines that remain underwater. While the vessel
is in the submerged state, the periscope is used to see things above the surface of the
water. This instrument may also be used to view things at a different level, for example,
above the heads of a crowd.
12. Kaleidoscope and periscope.
F. 1. Refer to fig 16.12 on page no. 236
2. Ways to take care of eyes:
• Wash and clean your eyes with cold water at least twice daily.
• Avoid reading in too dim or too bright light.
• Do not read in moving vehicle as it strains the eyes.

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 • A  void looking directly at too bright objects such as the Sun and wear sunglasses to
protect eyes from harmful sunrays.
• Rest your eyes frequently while working on computers or reading books. Reading
books and looking at computers for longer durations may harm your eyes.
3. a. When an object is seen through prism it appears coloured because as light passes
through a prism, the light is scattered and it displays a rainbow (dispersion of light).
What we see as colour is just light, which bounces off objects and into our eyes.
b. The amount of light entering the eye through pupil is controlled by iris. But this
adjustment takes some time. Our eyes cannot see everything clearly when we enter
a dark room from a bright light. The reason for this is that in bright light the size of
pupil of our eye is small. When we enter the dark room, due to small size of pupil,
very little light enters our eyes. But after some time, the pupil expands and we
become able to see things as more light enter our eyes now.
c. It is very useful to us that all surfaces do not give regular reflection because diffused
reflection of light enables us to see objects around us.
4. Refer to fig 16.3 & 16.4 on page no. 230
If a beam of light is incident on a smooth and highly polished surface, the rays of light
remain parallel even after reflection as they strike the surface at the same angle of
incidence. Thus, their angles of reflection will also remain same. Such type of reflection
in which the parallel rays of light remain parallel after reflection is called regular
reflection. Plane mirrors, polished metals, etc. show parallel reflection.
If a beam of parallel rays of light falls on a rough surface, the rays of light do not
remain parallel after reflection from the surface. The rays of light get scattered in
different directions, as they strike the surface at different angles of incidence. Such
type of reflection in which the parallel rays of incident light do not remain parallel after
reflection is called irregular or diffused reflection
5. a. Function of pupil: The whole job of the iris and pupil is to control the amount of light
that gets into the eye. It is called a pupillary reflex. You have probably noticed that a
person’s pupils are smaller in bright light and bigger in low light.
b. Function of iris: In humans and most mammals and birds, the iris is a thin,
circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of
the pupil and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. Eye colour is defined by that
of the iris.
c. Function of optic nerve: The optic nerve is located in the back of the eye. It is also
called the second cranial nerve or cranial nerve II. It is the second of several pairs of
cranial nerves. The job of the optic nerve is to transfer visual information from the
retina to the vision centers of the brain via electrical impulses.
d. Function of retina: The retina is a light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye that covers
about 65 percent of its interior surface. Photosensitive cells called rods and cones in the
retina convert incident light energy into signals that are carried to the brain by the optic
nerve.
6. Using the law, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, i.e., i = r
Given, angle of incidence = 40°
Therefore, angle of reflection = 40°
So, angle between incident ray and reflected ray would be = i + r = 40° + 40° = 80°.
7. Using the law, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, i.e., i = r
If, angle between incident ray and reflected ray is= 70°.

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 Therefore, angle of incidence = angle of reflection = 70°/2 =35°
8. Refer to fig. 16.11 on page no. 236.
9. A distorting mirror, funhouse mirror or carnival mirror is a popular attraction
at carnivals and fairs. Instead of a normal plane mirror that reflects a perfect mirror
image, distorting mirrors are curved mirrors, often using convex and concave sections to
achieve the distorted effect. If you look in a circular concave mirror, your image will be
magnified. Or a convex mirror will show an image smaller than the object.
Based on the above, funny mirrors are mirrors with a combination of flat, concave and/
or convex surfaces, thus showing distorted images.
10. To increase number and intricacies of designs increase the number of items using
in kaleidoscope to make designs. Use variety of items in it having different shapes
and size. Use small items for making variety of designs. Another way is increase the
number of mirror which we use to make kaleidoscope. This will increase the number of
reflections which will result in increase in number of intricacies.

Worksheet 1
A. 1. Luminous 2. Equal 3. Virtual 4. Irregular
5. Multiple 6. Periscope 7. Point of incidence
B. 1. Incident ray 2. Normal 3. Plane mirror
4. Real 5. Kaleidoscope
C. 1. This because plane mirror have smooth surfaces. So, the reflection from their surface is
a regular reflection which causes glare.
2. Periscope can see things above the surface of water.
D. 1. A, H, O, T, U
2. The angle between the incident ray and the normal at the point of incidence is known as
angle of incidence.
3. a. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in
the same plane.
b. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Worksheet 2
A. 1. False 2. True 3. False 4. True 5. False
B. ACROSS
2. Prism 5. Retina 6. Spectrum
DOWN
1. Myopia 3. Sclera 4. Braille
C. 1. It focuses the light passing through it on to the retina.
2. It is used in the spectacles to diverge the light before it enters the eye.
3. They protects from any object entering the eye.
D. 1. Splitting up of white light into seven colours when it passes through a glass prism is
known as dispersion of light.
2. By removing the opaque lens and inserting a new artificial lens.
3. These aids include electrical devices which possess the capability to help visually
challenged people in different ways such as talking calculators and watches.

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 Worksheet 3
A. 1. d 2. b 3. a 4. b 5. c
B. 1. Normal 2. Virtual 3. Dispersion 4. Spectrum
C. 1. Ciliary 2. 25 cm 3. Myopia
4. Visual 5. Ophthalmologist
D. 1. The image formed by plane mirror is erect, virtual same size as the object, laterally
inverted.
2. Number of images formed is given by the formula:
n = 360°/θ -1, Here θ = 30
n = 360°/30 -1
n = 12 – 1
n = 11 images
3. When light ray strike on opaque surface and rebound into the same medium, reflection
occurs, while refraction occurs when a ray of light passes from one transparent to
another having different densities.

Differentiated Worksheet
1. False; A reflected ray is a light ray that bounces back from the mirror surface.
2. False; The size of an image is the same as the size of object and is not affected by the
distance.
3. False; The letters of ‘AMBULANCE’ are laterally inverted with right and lefts sides
appearing to be reversed on the plane mirrors.
4. False; A rough and uneven surface forms diffused reflection and enables us to see objects
around us.
5. False; The angle between the two mirrors is denoted as ‘θ’ in the formula to find the number
of images in a multiple reflection theory.
6. False; The plane mirrors are placed at an angle of 60° in a kaleidoscope tube to form
multiple images of an object.
7. False; A light refraction is produced when a light beam bends across two media with
different densities.
8. True
9. False; An object image stays in our retina for about 1/16th of a second in a vision persistence
phenomenon.
10. False; a blurred vision is formed in the hypermetropia disorder by reducing of the eyeball
size.
11. False; A dot pattern embossed on a sheet is used in tactual non-optical aids to help visually
challenged people read.

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