LIGHT REFRACTION PRIORITY - 1

I. ACADEMIC SKILL-DEMONSTRATE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

1. Name the phenomenon due to which a swimming pool appears less deep than it really is.
Refraction
2. Which phenomenon of light makes the water to appear shallower than it really is?
Refraction
3. a) State Laws of refraction.
b) A ray of light enters from a medium A into a slab made up of a transparent substance B (as
shown in the figure). Refractive indices of medium A and B are 2.42 and 1.65 respectively.
Complete the path of ray of light till it emerges out of the slab.

n is constant called refractive index of second medium with respect to first medium.

4. a) Define absolute refractive index of a medium. Can refractive index of a medium be less
than unity?
b) Absolute refractive indices of medium ' A' and medium ' B' are nA and nB respectively
what is the refractive index of medium 'B' with respect to medium "A"? How does the
velocity of light vary with change in the optical density of the media?
a. Refractive index: The ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in a
medium is called refractive index of medium.
Refractive index n=c/v
It is also called absolute refractive index.

Refractive index cannot be less than unity. Because the velocity of the medium cannot be
greater than that of the light
5. Define the following terms in the case of spherical lenses? a) Optic centre
b) Centre of curvature c) Radius of curvature d) Principal axis e) Principal focus f. focal length
a. Optic centre: The midpoint of a thin lens is called optic centre of lens (O).
b. centre of curvature: Each curved surface of a lens is a part of a sphere. The centre of the
sphere which contains the part of the curved surface is called centre of curvature.
c. Radius of curvature: The radius of the sphere which contains the part of the curved
surface is called radius of curvature.
d. Principal axis: The line joining the two centres of the curvature is called principal axis.
e. Principal focus: The point F at which a parallel beam of light incident on a lens, converges
to a point or seems to emanate from a point on the principal axis is called focal point or
focus.
f. Focal length – The distance between the focal point and optic centre is called the focal
length of lens and is denoted by ‘f’.

6. Draw a ray diagram to show that path of the refracted ray in each of the following cases: A
ray of light incident on a concave lens and convex lens.
i) passing through its optical centre. iii) directed towards its principal focus.
ii) parallel to its principal axis.

7. Complete the path of ray in the given diagrams.

8. Draw the ray diagram for the formation of image by a convex lens when the object is placed
i) at infinity ii) beyond 2F iii) at 2F1. State the characteristics of image formed in each
case.

1. When the object is placed beyond 2F, the real image is formed between F and 2F
2. The size of the image is diminished.
9. Draw the ray diagram for the formation of image by a convex lens when the object is placed
1) between 2F, and F, ii) at between optic centre and F. State the characteristics of image
formed in each case.
10. Draw the ray diagram for the formation of image by a concave lens when the object is placed
i) At infinity
ii) Between the infinity and optical centre of the lens (CBSE 2019)
State the characteristics of image formed in each case.

11. Name the lens which always gives an erect and diminished image.
Concave lens
12. Name the lens which can concentrate sun's rays to a point and burn a hole in a piece of
paper.
Convex lens
13. Define power of a lens and write its SI unit.
Reciprocal of focal length in meter is called power. Its S.I unit is dioptre.
14. What happens to the speed of light when it undergoes
i) reflection from a surface
ii) refraction in a medium?
i. No change in the speed of light
ii. As it moves from rare to denser, speed of light decreases. As it moves from denser to
rarer, the speed of light increases.
15. What are the factors on which the lateral displacement of an emergent ray from a glass slab
depends?
i) Thickness of glass slab
ii) Refractive index of glass slab.
iii) The angle of incidence.
16. A ray of light travelling in water emerges into air. Draw a ray diagram indicating the its path.

17. Why does a ray of light bend when it travels from one medium to another?
This is because the speed of light changes. Speed of light depends on the refractive index of
medium.
18. What will happens to ray of light, when it travel from rarer medium to a denser medium?
When the light enters from rarer to denser medium, its speed decresses and bends towards
the normal.
19. Explain why is the coin lying at the bottom of a bucket of water appear at less depth, than a
actual depth?

When the coin is under water, then due to refraction of light, a virtual image of the coin is
formed which is slightly above its actual position nearer to the water surface as shown in the
fig. Thus the coin becomes visible at its apparent position.
20. Explain why a pencil placed obliquely in a beaker half-filled with water appears to be bent
at the surface when seen from side. ii. Given below are the refractive indices of a few media.
Identify the media in which the speed of light will be highest and lowest respectively.
Medium Refractive index
Diamond 2.42
Glass 1.5
Water 1.3
Kerosene oil 1.4
 iii. At diamond it will be lowest because the refractive index is highest among the given
medium.
At water it will be highest because the refractive index is lowest among the given medium.

21. a)In refraction of light through a rectangular glass slab, the emergent ray is parallel to the
direction of the incident ray. Why?
b) What happens when a light ray is incident normally on one of the faces of a rectangular
glass slab?

a. In the case of rectangular slab, the light ray undergoes refraction two times at opposite
faces.
At first refracting face, the light rays enters glass from air so that it bends towards the
normal, whereas at the second refracting face, the light ray bends away from the normal
where it enters air from glass.
As the light ray undergoes refraction two times in opposite directions, the emergent ray
is parallel to the incident ray.
b.

22. A student wants to project the image of a candle flame on the walls of school laboratory by
using a lens a) Which type of lens should be use and why? b) At what distance in terms of
 focal length F of the lens should be place the candle flame s0 as to get (i) a magnified, and
(ii) a diminished image respectively on the wall?
c) Draw ray diagram to show the formation of the image in each case?

23. What happens after refraction, when

i) a ray of light parallel to the principal axis passes through a concave lens?
ii) a ray of light falls on a convex lens while passing through its principal focus?
iii) a ray of light passes through the optical centre of a convex lens?
i. When a ray of light parallel to the principal axis passes through a
concave lens, then it gets diverged and appears to be coming from its
focus.
ii. hen a ray of light falls on a convex lens while passing through its
principal focus, then it appears parallel to the principal axis after
refraction through the lens.
 iii. When a ray of light passes through the optical centre of a convex lens,
then it goes straight after refraction through the lens.

24. Define the following terms:

1) Power of a lens ii) Principal focus of a concave mirror,
b) Write the relationship among the object distance (u), image distance (v) and the
focal length (f) of a
i) Spherical lens ii) Spherical mirror
c)An object is placed at a distance of 10 cm from optical centre of a convex lens of
focal length 15 cm. Draw a labelled ray diagram to show the formation of image in this
case.

25.
 II. ACADEMIC SKILL – APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND CONCEPT

1. What is meant by refractive index? If the speed of light in a medium is 2/3 of the speed
of light in vacuum, find the refractive index of that medium
2. The refractive index of a dense flint glass is 1.5 and for alcohol it is 1.36 with respect
to air. Find the refractive index of dense flint glass with respect to alcohol.

3. An object of height 4.0 cm is placed at a distance of 30 cm from the optical centre ' O'
of a convex lens of focal length 20 cm draw the ray diagram to find the position and
size of image formed mark optic centre 'O' and principal focus 'F' on the diagram. Also
find the approximate ratio of size of image to the object.

4. You are given kerosene, turpentine and water. In which of these does the light travel
fastest? Given refractive indices of kerosene, turpentine and water are 1.44, 1.47 and
1.33 respectively

5. What is the value of 1n2 X 2n1 ?

6. The refractive index of diamond is 2.42. What is the meaning of this statement?
 7. With the help of a ray diagram, state what is meant by refraction of light. State Snell's
law for refraction of light and also express it mathematically.

b) The refractive index of air with respect to glass is 2/3 and the refractive index of
water with respect to air is 4/3 If the speed of light in glass is 2 * 10 ^ 8 m / s find the
speed of light in (a) air. (b) water.

a. The refraction of light is the bending of light from it's path as it passes from
one medium to another. In the figure, the light ray passes from Substance 1 to
Substance 2, and it can be seen that the the light ray bends towards the normal.

b)
8. Using snell’s law and with the help of a diagram illustrate the path of a ray of light incident
normally from a medium of refractive index n1, to medium of refractive index n2.
Refraction takes place at the surface separating the two media when light passes
obliquely from one medium to another medium of different optical density. No deviation
takes place in the case of a light ray falling normally on a medium i.e., no refraction
occurs when the light is incident normally on a boundary between two media.
9. List the sign conventions that are followed in case of refraction of light through spherical
lenses Draw a diagram and apply these conventions in determining the nature and focal
length of spherical lens which forms three times magnified real image of an object placed 16
cm from the lens.

10. A student focused the image of a candle flame on a white screen by placing the flame at
various distances from a convex lens. He noted his observations:
11. a) Two lenses have power of (i) + 2D(ii) - 4D What is the nature and focal length of each lens?
b) An object is kept at a distance of 100 cm from each of above lenses. Calculate
i) image distance and ii) magnification in each of the two cases.
12. What is the speed of light in a transparent medium which has a refractive index of 1.7 (the
speed of light in vacuum is 3 * 10 ^ 8 m s ^ - 1 ) .

13. The following table shows the absolute refractive index of some material media: Using the
below table answer the following questions:
14. The focal length of a lens is-20 cm. Calculate its Power. What is the nature of the lens?
Power = 1/f x 100 = 1/-20 x 100 = -5 Dioptre. The nature of the lens is diverging . ( concave
lens)
15. Two thin lenses of power + 35 D and -2.5 D are placed in contact. Find the power and focal
length of the lens combination

16. For the same angle of incidence of 45,̊ the refraction angle in two transparent media
P and Q is 20˚and 30˚respectively. Which of the two is optically denser and why?
b) Define I dioptre power of a lens
c) Find the focal length of a lens of power +0.5 D.
a) P is optically denser than 'Q' because in 'P' medium light ray bends more towards the
normal
So the angle of refraction is less in medium P
b) 1 dioptre of power of a lens is defined, as the power of a lens of focal length 1 m.
1 dioptre is SI unit of the power of a lens whose focal length is 1 metre. It is denoted by
the letter D . thus 1 D=1 m−1
c)

17. A convex lens forms a real and inverted image of finite size at a distance of 50 cm from it.
Where is the object placed in front of the lens? Give all possible positions of the object
stating reason in each case.
When you place the object in front of a convex lens at beyond 2f, at 2f and between f and 2f
it forms finite real and inverted image.
18. Define power of a lens. The focal length of a lens is 10 cm. Write the nature of the lens and
find its power. If an object is placed at a distance of 20 cm from the optical centre of this
lens. according to the New Cartesian Sign Convention, what will be the sign of magnification
in this case?
 At 20 cm means the object is place at C. We get the real and inverted image and the image
size is same as that of the object. So magnification is -1.
19. Rishi went to a palmist to show his palm. The palmist used a special lens for this purpose. i)
State the nature of the lens and reason for its use.
ii) Where should the palmist place/hold the lens so as to have a real and magnified
image of an object? iii) If the focal length of this lens is 10 cm and the lens is held at
a distance of 5 cm from the palm, use lens formula to find the position and size of
the image.

20. The focal length of a lens is -20 cm. Calculate its power. What is the nature of the lens?

III. ACADEMIC SKILL – FORMULATE, ANALYSE, EVALUATE AND CREATE

1. Refractive indices of carbon disulphide and ethyl alcohol are 1.63 and 1.36 respectively.
Which is optically denser ?
 Carbon disulphide, because the medium which has grater refractive index is consider as
optically denser medium with respect to other medium.
2. A ray of light travelling from a medium X enters obliquely into another mediumY. If it
bends away from the normal then state which one of the two is relatively optically
denser
x - denser medium
y - rarer medium
because light ray bent away from the normal when it is enter from denser medium to
rarer medium.
3. A concave mirror and a convex lens are held separately in water. What changes, if any, do
you expect in the focal length of either?
Concave mirror → no change in foal length
Convex lens → change in focal length
The focal length of lens depends on nature of the surrounding medium present when it
is placed in water its focal length increases.
4. We wish to obtain an equal sized inverted image of a candle flame on a screen kept at
distance of 4m from the candle flame.
a) Name the type of lens that should be used.
b) What should be the focal length of the lens and at what distance from the candle
flame the lens be placed. c) Draw a labelled diagram to show the image formation in this
case.

5. a) Water has refractive index 1.33 and alcohol has refractive index 1.36. Which of the
two medium is optically denser? Give reason for your answer.
b) Draw a ray diagram to show the path of a ray of light passing obliquely from water to
alcohol. c) State the relationship between angle of incidence and angle of refraction in
the above case.
6. Many optical instruments consist of a number of lenses. They are combined to increase
the magnification and sharpness of the image. The net power (P) of the lenses placed in
contact is given by the algebraic sum of the powers of the individual lenses P1, P2 , P3 …
as the
P =P 1 +P2 +P 3 ...
This is also termed as the simple additive property of the power of lens, widely used to
design lens systems of cameras, microscopes and telescopes. These lens systems can
have a combination of convex lenses and also concave lenses.
a) What is the nature (convergent/ divergent) of the combination of a convex lens of +4
D and a concave lens of power-2 D?
b) Calculate the focal length of a lens of power-2.5 D.
c) Draw a ray diagram to show the nature and position of an image formed by a convex
lens of power 0.1D when an object is placed at a distance of 20 cm from its optical
centre.
(OR)
c) How is a virtual image formed by a convex lens different from that formed by a
concave lens? Under what conditions do a convex and a concave lens form virtual
images?
a.

+ sign indicates that it is a convergent lens (convex lens)

 c. P = + 0.1 D
F= 1/0.1=10m = 1000cm
The object is placed at 20 cm that means it is placed between o and F, so the image
formed will virtual and erect .

Or
c.

Virtual image formed by a convex lens is erect and magnified but the virtual image formed
by a concave lens is always erect and diminished one.

The image formed by the convex lens can be real or virtual depending on the distance
between the object and the lens. Real images only occur for objects which are placed
outside and far from the convex lens. Virtual images are formed by placing an object
between focus and pole of the lens.

7. For the same angle of incidence in media P. Q and R the angles of refraction are
45° 35° and 15" respectively. In which medium will the velocity of light be
minimum ? Give reason for your answer? .
 8. a) The image of an object formed by a lens 'is of same size but inverted. If the
object distance is 30 cm, calculate i) The distance between the object and its
image ii) Focal length of the lens.b) Draw a ray diagram to show the image
formed in above case.

Image formed by the lens is same size of object, So it is convex lens and the
image is formed on the other side of the lens of 30 cm . So the distance between
object and image is 30+30 = 60 cm

Focal length of the lens = 30/2 = 15 cm

b.

9. 9. a) An object is placed in front of a convex lens of focal length f. If the distance of

the object from the lens is 2f, draw a ray diagram to show the formation of the image.
Write the value of magnification in this case.

b) A student has focussed the image of a candle flame on a white screen using a convex
lens. The situation is as given below:
Length of the frame- 2cm , Focal length of the Iens = 12cm Distance of the flame
from the lens = 16cm
If the flame is perpendicular to the principal axis of the lens, calculate the values of the
Following i) Distance of the image from the lens ii) Length of the image formed
a. Magnification = -1

b.
10.