Std.

:- XI
Subject :- Physics Chapter 9. Optics
Q.1) State the New Cartesian sign Convention used At a particular angle of incidence ic in denser
in optics. medium , the corresponding angle of refraction in rarer
Ans. i) All ray diagrams are drawn with incident light medium is 900. For angles of incidence greater than ic ,
travelling from left to right.
angle of refraction become larger than 900 and ray does
ii) All distances are measured from the optical centre or
not enter into rarer medium at all but is reflected totally
pole.
into denser medium. This phenomenon is known as total
iii) X-axis can be considered as principal axis with origin
internal reflection.
at pole.
Critical angle : The angle of incidence in denser
iv) Distances to left of pole of mirror (optical centre) are
medium for which angle of refraction in rarer medium is
negative and those to the right are positive.
900 is called critical angle ( ic ).
v) Distances measured above the principal axis are taken
as positive while tose below it are negative. Let be the relative refractive index of denser
medium with respect to rarer medium. Applying Snell’s
Q.2) What is the relation between focal length , law at critical angle of incidence ( ic ) , we can write
object distance and image distance for a small sin (900) 1
 =  sin (ic ) =
spherical mirror. sin (ic ) 
Ans. For a point object , focal length of a small Q.4) Describe construction and working of an
spherical mirror is related to object distance and image optical fibre.
distance as Ans.
1
= 1 + 1
f u v

Q.3) Under what conditions is total internal

reflection is possible? Explain it with suitable ex-
ample. Define critical angle of incidence and obtain
an expression for it.
Ans. Conditions for total internal reflection :
1) The light should travel from denser to rarer medium.
2) The angle of incidence must be greater than critical
angle for given pair of media.
Total internal reflection : Construction :
An optical fibre consists of an extremely thin ,
transparent , flexible core surrounded by optically rarer
flexible cover called cladding. This system is coated by a
buffer and a jacket for protection. Entire thickness of
fibre is less than half a mm.
Working :
The working of optical fibre is based on the
principal of total internal reflection. An optical signal (ray)
entering the core suffers multiple total internal reflections
and emerges after several kilometers with extremely low
Fig. shows refraction of light emerging from a loss travelling with highest possible speed in that material.
denser medium into a rarer medium for various angles of
incidence. The angles of refraction in rarer medium are
larger than corresponding angles of incidence.
Q.5) For a prism , prove the relation , where the  i + e - ( r1 + r2 ) = 
symbols have their usual meaning.
 i + e - A =  ............. Using Equation (3)
OR
With the help of neat ray diagram , obtain an  A +  = i + e .............(4)
expression for refractive index of material of prism. The graph of vs i is shown below :
Ans.

P

N
E

From the graph ,

If  = m then i = e and so r1 = r2 = r (say)
ABC = Principal section of prism Using these values in equation (4) , we get
A = Refracting angle i + i = A + m
PQ = Incident ray
QR = Refracted ray  2 i = A + m
RS = Emergent ray (A + m) ...............(5)
MD = Normal to face AB  i =
2
MD = Normal to face AC Similarly, from equation (3) , we get
MQP = i = Angle of incidence r + r = A
NRS = e = Angle of emergence  2r = A
PES =  = Angle of deviation  r = A /2 ...............(6)
r1 and r2 = angles of refraction at the two faces The Snell’s law of refraction is
Consider a principal section ABC of prism as shown sin i
n =
in fig. Let A be the refracting angle of prism. Draw normals sin r
MD and ND to the refracting faces AB and AC resp. A + m
Let PQ be the incident ray on face AB. After first sin ( )
2
refraction, the ray travels along QR through the prism. The  n = ...............(7)
ray again gets refracted at the face AC and emerges out A
sin ( 2 )
along RS. Produce ray PQ to P and SR back to E. The
angle between incident ray and emergent ray is called angle
This is known as Prism formula.
of deviation ().
In cyclic quadrilateral AQDR , Q.6) Define thin prism and derive an expression for
A + QDR = 1800 .............(1) deviation due to thin prism.
In QDR, Ans. Thin Prism : A prism having refracting angle less
r1 + r2 + QDR = 1800 .............(2) than 100 are called thin prism.
From equations (1) and (2) , • Deviation due to thin prism :-
r1 + r2 + QDR =  A + QDR From prism formula,
A + m
 r1 + r2 = A .............(3) sin ( )
2
From fig. P’ES is an exterior angle of EQR. n =
A
 EQR + ERQ =  P’ES sin ( )
2
 ( i - r1 ) + (e - r2 ) =  For thin prism, A is very small. So m is also small.
We know that, if is very small then sin  = .
 The ratio of angular dispersion between extreme
A + m A + m colours to the deviation of mean colour is called dispersive
 sin ( ) =
2 2 power of material of a prism.
A A For thin prism ,
and sin ( ) =
2 2 V - R
=
Substituting these values in above equation, we get Y
A + m But  = n - 1)
 n = 2
A (nV - nR )
A  =
2 ny - 1)
A + m (nV -nR )
 n =  =
A nY - 1)
 nA = A + m
Thus , dispersive power depends only on the material of
m = nA - A prism. It is independent of the angle of prism. It is unitless
m = n- 1) and dimensionless quantity.

Let m = 
 = n- 1)
This gives deviation due to thin prism.

Q.7) Define angular dispersion for a prism. Obtain

its expression for a thin prism. Relate it with the
refractive indices of material of prism for
corresponding colours.
Ans. The angular separation between two extreme
colours in the dispersed beam of light is called angular
dispersion.
For white light, red and violet are the extreme
colours and yellow is mean colour.
 Angular dispersion = V - R
But V = nV - 1) and R = nR - 1)
 Angular dispersion = nV - 1) - nR - 1)
= A (nV - 1 -nR + 1)
 Angular dispersion = A (nV -nR )
Unit for angular dispersion is degree or radian.
It is clear that angular dispersion depends upon
1) refracting angle of prism and
2) refractive index i.e. material of prism.

Q.8) Explain and define dispersive power of a

transparent material. Obtain its expression in terms
of angles of deviation and refractive indices.
Ans. Dispersive power :The ability of an optical material
to disperse constituent colours is its dispersive power.