Class 10 Science NCERT

Summary Part - II
By Dr. Roman Saini
 Chapters
10. Light – Reflection and Refraction
11. The Human Eye and the Colourful World
12. Electricity
13. Magnetic Effects of Electric Current
14. Sources of Energy
15. Our Environment
16. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
 10. Light – Reflection and Refraction
● Light travels in straight lines.
● Diffraction - the bending of light rays around an obstacle which is very
small in size.
Laws of Reflection
1. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, and
2. 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
● It 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.
Spherical Mirror - Mirrors whose reflecting surfaces are spherical and may be
curved inward or outward.
Concave mirror - A spherical mirror, whose reflecting surface is curved inwards,
that is, faces towards the centre of the sphere.
Convex mirror - A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is curved outwards.
● Pole - The centre of the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror. It lies on the
surface of the mirror. The pole is usually represented by the letter P.
● Centre of curvature - The centre of the sphere of which the reflecting
surface forms a part. It is represented by the letter C. It is not a part of the
mirror and lies outside the reflecting surface. The centre of curvature of a
concave mirror lies in front of it. However, it lies behind the mirror in case of
a convex mirror.
● Radius of curvature - The radius of the sphere of which the reflecting
surface of a spherical mirror forms a part. It is represented by the letter R.
The distance PC is equal to the radius of curvature.
● Principal Axis - An imaginary straight line passing through the pole and the
centre of curvature of a spherical mirror.
● Principal focus of a concave mirror - The point on the principal axis where
the reflected rays from the mirror converge.
● Principal focus of a convex mirror - The point on the principal axis from
where the rays reflected from the mirror appear to diverge.
● The principal focus is represented by the letter F.
● Focal length - The distance between the pole and the principal focus of a
spherical mirror. It is represented by the letter f.
● Aperture - The diameter of the reflecting surface of spherical mirror
● For spherical mirrors of small apertures, R = 2f. This implies that the
principal focus of a spherical mirror lies midway between P and C.
Concave Mirror
Convex Mirror
Image formation by a concave mirror

Position of the Position of the Size of the image Nature of the image
object image

At infinity At the focus F Highly diminished, Real and inverted

point-sized

Beyond C Between F and C Diminished Real and inverted

At C At C Same size Real and inverted

Between C and F Beyond C Enlarged Real and inverted

At F At infinity Highly enlarged Real and inverted

Between P and F Behind the mirror Enlarged Virtual and erect

Uses of concave mirrors
● Concave mirrors are commonly used in torches, search-lights and vehicles
headlights to get powerful parallel beams of light.
● They are often used as shaving mirrors to see a larger image of the face.
● The dentists use concave mirrors to see large images of the teeth of patients.
● Large concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to produce heat in
solar furnaces.
Image formed by a convex mirror

Position of the Position of the Size of the image Nature of the

object image image
At infinity At the focus F, Highly Virtual and erect
behind the mirror diminished,
point-sized
Between infinity Between P and F, Diminished Virtual and erect
and the pole P of behind the mirror
the mirror
Uses of convex mirrors
● Convex mirrors are commonly used as rear-view (wing) mirrors in vehicles.
These mirrors are fitted on the sides of the vehicle, enabling the driver to see
traffic behind him/her to facilitate safe driving.
● Convex mirrors are preferred because they always give an erect, though
diminished, image.
● Also, they have a wider field of view as they are curved outwards.
● Thus, convex mirrors enable the driver to view much larger area than would
be possible with a plane mirror.
The New Cartesian Sign Convention for spherical mirrors
Mirror Formula

v - image distance - distance of the image from the pole of the mirror
u - object distance - distance of the object from its pole
f - focal length, distance of the principal focus from the pole
Magnification
● Magnification produced by a spherical mirror or lens gives the relative
extent to which the image of an object is magnified with respect to the
object size.
● It is expressed as the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the
object. It is usually represented by the letter m.

● 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.
Refraction of Light
● The phenomenon in which the direction of propagation of light changes
when travelling from one medium to another.
● Refraction is due to change in the speed of light as it enters from one
transparent medium to another.
Laws of refraction
1. The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface of
two transparent media at the point of incidence, 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 the light of a given colour and for the given pair of media
- Snell’s law of refraction. (This is true for angle 0 < i < 90o).
● If i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction, then,

● This constant value is called the refractive index of the second medium
with respect to the first.
● Refractive index is linked to the relative speed of propagation of light in
different media.
● Refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is
Absolute refractive index is obtained when medium 1 is air/ vacuum.

Optical density
● The ability of a medium to refract light.
● The medium with the larger refractive index is optically denser medium
than the other medium of lower refractive index which is optically rarer.
● The speed of light is higher in a rarer medium than a denser medium.
● Thus, a ray of light travelling from a rarer medium to a denser medium
slows down and bends towards the normal. When it travels from a denser
medium to a rarer medium, it speeds up and bends away from the normal.
Lenses
● Convex lens - two spherical surfaces, bulging outwards; thicker at the
middle as compared to the edges; also called converging lenses.
● Concave lens - two spherical surfaces, curved inwards; thicker at the edges
than at the middle; also called diverging lenses.
● Each of the surfaces has a centre of curvature each.
● An imaginary straight line passing through the two centres of curvature of a
lens is called its principal axis.
● The central point of a lens is its optical centre; represented by O.
● The effective diameter of the circular outline of a spherical lens is called its
aperture.
● A lens has two principal foci. They are represented by F1 and F2.
● The distance of the principal focus from the optical centre of a lens is called
its focal length; represented by f.
Image formed by a convex lens

Position of the Position of the Size of the image Nature of the

object image image
At infinity At focus F2 Highly Real and inverted
diminished,
point-sized
Beyond 2F1 Between F2 and Diminished Real and inverted
2F2
At 2F1 At 2F2 Same size Real and inverted
Position of the Position of the Size of the Nature of the
object image image image
Between F1 and Beyond 2F2 Enlarged Real and
2F1 inverted
At focus F1 At infinity Infinitely large Real and
or highly inverted
enlarged
Between focus On the same side Enlarged Virtual and erect
F1 and optical of the lens as the
centre O object
Image formed by a concave lens

Position of the Position of the Size of the image Nature of the

object image image

At infinity At focus F1 Highly Virtual and erect

diminished,
point-sized

Between infinity Between focus F1 Diminished Virtual and erect

and optical centre and optical centre
O of the lens O
Lens formula

u - object distance
v - image distance
f - focal length
Magnification
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. It is
represented by the letter P.
● The power P of a lens of focal length f is given by

● 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 whose focal length is 1 metre. 1D = 1m–1.
● Power of a convex lens is positive and that of a concave lens is negative.
 11. The Human Eye and the Colourful World
The Human eye
● The image of an object is formed on the retina.
● Light enters the eye through a thin membrane called the cornea.
● Most of the refraction for the light rays entering the eye occurs at the
outer surface of the cornea.
● The crystalline lens merely provides the finer adjustment of focal length
required to focus objects at different distances on the retina.
● Iris is a dark muscular diaphragm behind the cornea that controls the size of
the pupil.
● The pupil regulates and controls the amount of light entering the eye.
[You cannot see for sometime while entering a dim lit room from a bright lit
room as the iris contracts the pupil in bright light and expands the pupil in
dim light.]
● The eye lens forms an inverted real image of the object on the retina.
● The retina is a delicate membrane having enormous number of
light-sensitive cells.
● The light-sensitive cells get activated upon illumination and generate
electrical signals which are sent to the brain via the optic nerves.
● The brain interprets these signals, and finally, processes the information so
that we perceive objects as they are.
Power of Accommodation
● The ability of the eye lens to adjust its focal length is called
accommodation. This is done using the ciliary muscles by changing its
curvature.
● Contraction of ciliary muscles increases the curvature of the eye lens making
it thicker thereby decreasing the focal length and making nearby objects
clear.
● Distant objects become clear when the focal length increases due to
expansion of ciliary muscles.
● The minimum distance, at which objects can be seen most distinctly
without strain, is called the least distance of distinct vision. It is also
called the near point of the eye.
● For a young adult with normal vision, the near point is about 25 cm.
● The farthest point upto which the eye can see objects clearly is called the far
point of the eye. It is infinity for a normal eye.
● Cataract is a condition when the crystalline lens of people at old age
becomes milky and cloudy. It causes partial or complete loss of vision and
can be corrected by cataract surgery.
● Humans have two eyes which enables wider field of view (180o).
● The brain combines the images produced by both eyes to produce a 3D
image and determines how close or far away things are - stereopsis.
Defects of vision and their correction
1. Myopia or near-sightedness
● A person with myopia can see nearby objects clearly but cannot see distant
objects distinctly.
● A person with this defect has the far point nearer than infinity.
● The image of a distant object is formed in front of the retina
● This defect may arise due to
(i) excessive curvature of the eye lens, or (ii) elongation of the eyeball.
● This defect can be corrected by using a concave lens of suitable power.
2. Hypermetropia or far-sightedness
● A person can see distant objects clearly but cannot see nearby objects
distinctly.
● The near point, for the person, is farther away from the normal near point (25
cm).
● The image is formed behind the retina.
● This defect arises either because
(i) the focal length of the eye lens is too long, or (ii) the eyeball has
become too small.
● This defect can be corrected by using a convex lens of appropriate power.
3. Presbyopia
● Ageing reduces the power of accommodation of the eye.
● For most people, the near point gradually recedes away.
● They find it difficult to see nearby objects comfortably and distinctly
without corrective eye-glasses.
● It arises due to the gradual weakening of the ciliary muscles and
diminishing flexibility of the eye lens.
● Bifocal lens is required for people suffering from both myopia and
hypermetropia. It consists of concave lens in the upper portion of the lens
for distant vision and convex lens in the lower portion for near vision.
Refraction of light through a prism
● AB is the incident ray.
● BC is the refracted ray.
● CD is the emergent ray.
● The angle between the incident B
ray and the emergent ray is called C
the angle of deviation. A D
Dispersion of white light by a prism
● White light is dispersed by a prism into a sequence of seven colours.
● The various colours seen are Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange
and Red.
● The splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion.
● The band of the coloured components of a light beam is called its spectrum.
● Different colours of light bend through different angles with respect to the
incident ray, as they pass through a prism.
● The red light bends the least while the violet the most.
Rainbow
● 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
1. Wavering or flickering of objects seen through a turbulent stream of hot air
rising above a fire or a radiator
● It is an effect of atmospheric refraction (refraction of light by the earth’s
atmosphere) on a small scale in our local environment.
● The air just above the fire becomes hotter than the air further up.
● The hotter air is lighter (less dense) than the cooler air above it, and has
a refractive index slightly less than that of the cooler air.
● Since the physical conditions of the refracting medium (air) are not
stationary, the apparent position of the object, as seen through the hot air,
fluctuates.
2. Twinkling of stars
● It is due to the continuous atmospheric refraction of starlight which
occurs in a medium of gradually changing refractive index.
● Since the stars are very distant, they approximate point-sized sources of light.
● Since the atmosphere bends starlight towards the normal, the apparent
position of the star is slightly higher (above) than its actual position when
viewed near the horizon.
● Further, this apparent position of the star keeps on changing slightly with
the changing path of rays of light coming from the star. Thus, the amount
of starlight entering the eye flickers – the star sometimes appears brighter,
and at some other time, fainter, which is the twinkling effect.
Planets don’t 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
Due to atmospheric refraction, Sun is visible to us about 2 minutes before the
actual sunrise, and about 2 minutes after the actual sunset.
Scattering of light
● Some of the phenomena due to scattering are blue colour of the sky, colour
of water in deep sea and the reddening of the sun at sunrise and the
sunset.
● 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.
● If the size of the scattering particles is large enough, then, the scattered light
may even appear white.
1. Tyndall effect
● The phenomenon of scattering of light by the particles in the atmosphere
making the the path of the beam visible.
● It is also seen when light passes through a canopy of a dense forest.
2. Blue colour of the sky
● The molecules of air and other fine particles in the atmosphere have size
smaller than the wavelength of visible light. These are more effective in
scattering light of shorter wavelengths at the blue end than light of longer
wavelengths at the red end.
● If the earth had no atmosphere, there would not have been any scattering.
Then, the sky would have looked dark.
3. Colour of the sun at sunrise and sunset
● Light from the Sun near the horizon passes through thicker layers of air and
larger distance in the earth’s atmosphere before reaching our eyes. Most of
the blue light and shorter wavelengths are scattered away by the
particles. Therefore, the light that reaches our eyes is of longer wavelengths
giving a reddish appearance of the Sun.
● However, light from the Sun overhead would travel relatively shorter
distance. At noon, the Sun appears white as only a little of the blue and
violet colours are scattered.
 12. Electricity
● Electric current is the amount of charge flowing through a particular area
in unit time or it is the rate of flow of electric charges.
● A continuous and closed path of an electric current is called an electric
circuit.
● If a net charge Q, flows across any cross-section of a conductor in time t,
then the current I, through the cross-section is I = Q/t.
● The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C), which is equivalent to the
charge contained in nearly 6 × 1018 electrons.
● The electric current is expressed by a unit called ampere (A).
● One ampere is constituted by the flow of
one coulomb of charge per second.
● An instrument called ammeter measures
electric current in a circuit. It is always
connected in series in a circuit through
which the current is to be measured.
● Electric current flows in the circuit from
the positive terminal of the cell to the
negative terminal of the cell through the
ammeter.
Electric potential and potential difference
● Electric potential difference between two points in an electric circuit
carrying some current is the work done to move a unit charge from one
point to the other.
● Potential difference (V) between two points = Work done (W)/Charge (Q)
V = W/Q
● The SI unit of electric potential difference is volt (V).
● One volt is the potential difference between two points in a current carrying
conductor when 1 joule of work is done to move a charge of 1 coulomb from
one point to the other.
● 1 V = 1 J C–1
● The potential difference is measured by means of an instrument called the
voltmeter.
● The voltmeter is always connected in parallel across the points between
which the potential difference is to be measured.
Circuit diagram
● It consists of a cell (or a battery), a plug key, electrical component(s), and
connecting wires.
● The components of the circuit are represented by the symbols conveniently
used.
Symbols used in an
electric circuit
Ohm’s Law
● The potential difference, V, across the ends of a given metallic wire in an
electric circuit is directly proportional to the current flowing through it,
provided its temperature remains the same.
V∝I
or V/I = constant
⇒ V/I = R
or V = IR
● R is a constant for the given metallic wire at a given temperature and is
called its resistance.
Resistance
● It is the property of a conductor to resist the flow of charges through it.
● Its SI unit is ohm, represented by Ω.
● According to Ohm’s law,
R = V/I
● If the potential difference across the two ends of a conductor is 1 V and the
current through it is 1 A, then the resistance R, of the conductor is 1 .
● That is, 1 ohm = 1 volt/ 1 ampere.
● Hence, current is inversely proportional to its resistance. If the resistance
is doubled the current gets halved.
● A component used to regulate current without changing the voltage source is
called variable resistance.
● A device called rheostat is used for variable resistance.
● A component of a given size that offers a low resistance is a good
conductor.
● A conductor having some appreciable resistance is called a resistor.
● A component of identical size that offers a higher resistance is a poor
conductor.
● An insulator of the same size offers even higher resistance.
Resistance of a conductor depends
(i) on its length,
(ii) on its area of cross-section
(iii) on the nature of its material.
● It is given by R = ⍴ l/A.
● Where l is the length, A is the area and ⍴ is the electrical resistivity of the
material of the conductor.
● The SI unit of resistivity is m. It is a characteristic property of the material.
● The metals and alloys which are good conductors of electricity have very low
resistivity in the range of 10–8 m to 10–6 m.
● Insulators like rubber and glass have resistivity of the order of 1012 to 1017
m.
● Both the resistance and resistivity of a material vary with temperature.
● The resistivity of an alloy is generally higher than that of its constituent
metals. Alloys do not oxidise (burn) readily at high temperatures. For this
reason, they are commonly used in electrical heating devices, like electric
iron, toasters etc.
● Tungsten is used almost exclusively for filaments of electric bulbs,
whereas copper and aluminium are generally used for electrical transmission
lines.
Resistance of a system of resistors
The are two methods of joining resistors
1. Resistance in series
● In a series combination of resistors, the current is the same in every part of
the circuit or the same current through each resistor.
● The total potential difference across a combination of resistors in series is
equal to the sum of potential difference across the individual resistors.
● Total resistance = sum of all resistances
R = R1 + R2 + R3 + …. Rn
Resistance in series Resistance in parallel
2. Resistance in parallel
● The total current, is equal to the sum of the separate currents through
each branch of the combination.
● The potential difference is the same across every resistor in the circuit.
● The reciprocal of the equivalent resistance of a group of resistances joined in
parallel is equal to the sum of the reciprocals of the individual resistances.

It is useful when each device in the circuit has a different resistance and requires
a different current.
Heating effect of electric current
● If the electric circuit is purely resistive, that is, a configuration of resistors
only connected to a battery; the source energy continually gets dissipated
entirely in the form of heat. This is known as the heating effect of electric
current.
● This effect is utilised in devices such as electric heater, electric iron etc.
● Joule’s law of heating - Consider a current I flowing through a resistor of
resistance R in time t. The amount of heat, H produced in time t is
H = I2Rt
⇒ H ∝ I2, H ∝ R and H ∝ t
Disadvantage of heating - it converts useful electrical energy into heat; increases
the temperature of the components and alter their properties.
Practical applications
● Electric laundry iron, electric toaster, electric oven, electric kettle and
electric heater.
● It is used in electric bulbs to heat the filament which produces light. strong
metal with high melting point such as tungsten (melting point 3380°C) is
used for making bulb filaments. The bulbs are usually filled with chemically
inactive nitrogen and argon gases to prolong the life of filament.
● Electric fuse - for protecting circuits, placed in series; high resistance and
low melting point.
Electric power
● The rate at which electric energy is dissipated or consumed in an electric
circuit.
● The power P is given by P = VI Or P = I2R = V2/R.
● The SI unit of electric power is watt (W). It is the power consumed by a
device that carries 1 A of current when operated at a potential difference of 1
V. Thus, 1 W = 1 volt × 1 ampere = 1 V A.
● The unit of electric energy is watt hour (W h). One watt hour is the energy
consumed when 1 watt of power is used for 1 hour.
● The commercial unit of electric energy is kilowatt hour (kW h),
commonly known as ‘unit’. 1Kwh = 3.6 x 106 Joule.
 13. Magnetic Effects of Electric Current
● An electric wire carrying current behaves like a magnet.
● Hans Christian Oersted proved that electricity and magnetism are linked to
each other.
● The unit of magnetic field strength is named the oersted in his honor.
● A compass needle is a small magnet. Its one end, which points towards
north, is called a north pole, and the other end, which points towards south,
is called a south pole.
● A magnetic field exists in the region surrounding a magnet, in which the
force of the magnet can be detected.
● Magnetic field is a quantity that has both direction and magnitude.
● The direction of the magnetic field is taken to be the direction in which a
north pole of the compass needle moves inside it.
● Therefore it is taken by convention that the field lines emerge from north
pole and merge at the south pole.
● Inside the magnet, the direction of field lines is from its south pole to its
north pole. Thus the magnetic field lines are closed curves.
● The relative strength of the magnetic field is shown by the degree of
closeness of the field lines.
● The field is stronger, that is, the
force acting on the pole of another
magnet placed is greater where the
field lines are crowded.
● No two field lines will cross each
other. Otherwise, at the point of
intersection, the compass needle
would point towards two
directions, which is not possible.
● The magnitude of the magnetic field produced at a given point depends on
○ the current passing through the conductor - as the current increases,
the magnetic field also increases.
■ if there is a circular coil having n turns, the field produced is n times
as large as that produced by a single turn. This is because the current
in each circular turn has the same direction, and the field due to
each turn then just adds up.
○ the distance from the conductor - as the distance increases, the
magnetic field decreases.
○ the shape of the conductor
Magnetic field due to current in a circular loop
Right Hand Thumb Rule
● The field lines about the conductor
consist of a series of concentric circles
whose direction is given by the right
hand rule.
● Imagine that you are holding a
current-carrying straight conductor in
your right hand such that the thumb
points towards the direction of
current. Then your fingers will wrap
around the conductor in the direction
of the field lines of the magnetic field.
● This rule is also called Maxwell’s corkscrew rule.
● If we consider ourselves driving a corkscrew in the direction of the current,
then the direction of the rotation of corkscrew is the direction of the magnetic
field.
Magnetic field due to current in a solenoid
● A coil of many circular turns of insulated copper wire wrapped closely in
the shape of a cylinder is called a solenoid.
● The pattern of magnetic field produced by a solenoid is similar to a bar
magnet.
● One end of the solenoid behaves as a magnetic north pole, while the other
behaves as the south pole.
● The field lines inside the solenoid are in the form of parallel straight
lines. This indicates that the magnetic field is the same at all points inside the
solenoid or is uniform inside the solenoid.
● An electromagnet is formed by placing a piece of magnetic material like a
soft iron inside the coil of a solenoid.
● A current carrying conductor when placed in a magnetic field
experiences a force.
● The direction of the force on the conductor depends upon the direction of
current and the direction of the magnetic field.
● The magnitude of the force is the highest when the direction of current is
at right angles to the direction of the magnetic field.
● The three directions can be given by the Fleming’s Left Hand Rule.
Fleming’s Left Hand Rule
● According to this rule, stretch the
thumb, forefinger and middle finger
of your left hand such that they are
mutually perpendicular.
● If the first finger points in the
direction of magnetic field and
the second finger in the direction
of current, then the thumb will
point in the direction of motion or
the force acting on the conductor.
Electric Motor
● An electric motor is a device that converts electrical energy into
mechanical energy.
● If the direction of the field and that of the current are mutually
perpendicular to each other, then the force acting on the conductor will
be perpendicular to both and will be given by Fleming’s left hand rule.
This is the basis of an electric motor.
● The commercial motors use
(i) an electromagnet in place of permanent magnet;
(ii) large number of turns of the conducting wire in the current carrying coil
(iii) a soft iron core on which the coil is wound.
● The soft iron core, on which the coil is wound, plus the coils, is called an
armature. This enhances the power of the motor.
Electromagnetic Induction
● This process, by which a changing magnetic field in a conductor induces
a current in another conductor, is called electromagnetic induction.
● The magnetic field may change due to a relative motion between the coil
and a magnet placed near to the coil.
● If the coil is placed near to a current carrying conductor, the magnetic field
may change either due to a change in the current through the conductor or
due to the relative motion between the coil and conductor.
● The induced current is found to be the highest when the direction of
motion of the coil is at right angles to the magnetic field.
● The direction of the induced current is given
by the Fleming’s right hand rule.
Fleming’s Right Hand Rule
● Stretch the thumb, forefinger and middle
finger of right hand so that they are
perpendicular to each other.
● If the forefinger indicates the direction of
the magnetic field and the thumb shows
the direction of motion of conductor, then
the middle finger will show the direction of
induced current.
Galvanometer
● A galvanometer is an instrument
that can detect the presence of a
current in a circuit.
● The pointer remains at zero (the
centre of the scale) for zero current
flowing through it.
● It can deflect either to the left or to
the right of the zero mark
depending on the direction of
current.
Electric Generator
● In an electric generator, mechanical energy is used to rotate a conductor in
a magnetic field to produce electricity.
● A current, which changes direction after equal intervals of time, is called an
alternating current (abbreviated as AC). The device which generates AC
current is called an AC generator.
● A current which does not change direction or is unidirectional is called direct
current (DC). The device which generates DC current is called a DC
generator.
● Most power stations produce AC. In India, the AC changes direction after
every 1/100 second, that is, the frequency of AC is 50 Hz.
● An important advantage of AC over DC is that electric power can be
transmitted over long distances without much loss of energy.
Domestic Electric Circuits
● In our houses we receive AC electric power of 220 V with a frequency of 50
Hz.
● One of the wires in this supply is with red insulation, called live (or
positive) wire.
● The other one is of black insulation, which is a neutral (or negative) wire.
● The potential difference between the two is 220 V.
● The third is the earth wire that has green insulation and this is connected to
a metallic body deep inside earth. It is used as a safety measure to ensure that
any leakage of current to a metallic body does not give any severe shock to a
user.
● Fuse is the most important safety device, used for protecting the circuits
due to shortcircuiting or overloading of the circuits.
● The Joule heating that takes place in the fuse melts it to break the electric
circuit.
Overloading
● Overloading can occur when the live wire and the neutral wire come into
direct contact. (This occurs when the insulation of wires is damaged or there
is a fault in the appliance.) In such a situation, the current in the circuit
abruptly increases. This is called short-circuiting.
● Overloading can also occur due to an accidental hike in the supply voltage.
● Sometimes overloading is caused by connecting too many appliances to a
single socket.
 14. Sources of Energy
● Law of conservation of energy - Energy is neither created nor destroyed.
It is converted from one form to another.
● Energy in the usable form, is dissipated to the surroundings in less usable
forms. Energy that is once consumed to do work cannot be used again.
● A good source of energy would be one
○ which would do a large amount of work per unit volume or mass,
○ be easily accessible,
○ be easy to store and transport, and
○ perhaps most importantly, be economical.
Conventional Sources of energy
Fossil fuels
● Coal and petroleum are the major fossil fuels used in the world today.
● They are non-renewable sources of energy and there are only limited reserves
available today.
● Burning fossil fuels causes air pollution and also increases the greenhouse
effect thus contributing to global warming.
● The oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur that are released on burning fossil
fuels are acidic oxides. These lead to acid rain which affects our water and
soil resources.
Thermal Power plants
● Fossil fuels are burnt in in power stations to heat up water to produce steam
which further runs the turbine to generate electricity.
● The transmission of electricity is more efficient than transporting coal or
petroleum over the same distance. Therefore, many thermal power plants are
set up near coal or oil fields.
● The term thermal power plant is used since fuel is burnt to produce heat
energy which is converted into electrical energy.
Hydro power plants
● Hydro power plants convert the potential energy of falling water into
electricity.
● They are located near dams as there are few waterfalls whose potential
energy can be used.
● High-rise dams are constructed on the river to obstruct the flow of water and
thereby collect water in larger reservoirs.
● The water level rises and in this process the kinetic energy of flowing water
gets transformed into potential energy.
● The water from the high level in the dam is carried through pipes, to the
turbine, at the bottom of the dam, which is turned to produce electricity.
Advantage - renewable source of energy.
Disadvantages
● Dams can be constructed only in a limited number of places, preferably in
hilly terrains.
● Large areas of agricultural land and human habitation get submerged.
● Large ecosystems are destroyed when submerged under the water in dams.
● The vegetation which is submerged rots under anaerobic conditions and
gives rise to large amounts of methane which is also a green-house gas.
● It creates the problem of satisfactory rehabilitation of displaced people.
Non-conventional sources of energy
Biomass
● The plant and animal products that can be used as fuel form biomass. This
includes wood and cattle dung.
● These fuels, however, do not produce much heat on burning and a lot of
smoke is given out when they are burnt.
● Therefore, technology is used to improve their efficiency.
● Charcoal obtained from wood burned in a limited supply of oxygen burns
without flames and has higher heat generation efficiency.
● Biogas is obtained from plant and animal residue decomposed in the absence
of oxygen.
● A slurry of cow-dung and water is made in the mixing tank from where it is
fed into the digester.
● The digester is a sealed chamber in which there is no oxygen. Anaerobic
micro-organisms that do not require oxygen decompose or break down
complex compounds of the cow-dung slurry.
● It takes a few days for the decomposition process to be complete and
generate gases like methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and hydrogen
sulphide.
● The bio-gas is stored in the gas tank above the digester from which they are
drawn through pipes for use.
Advantages
● Bio-gas is an excellent fuel as it contains up to 75% methane. It burns
without smoke, leaves no residue like ash in wood, charcoal and coal
burning.
● Its heating capacity is high.
● Bio-gas is also used for lighting.
● The slurry left behind is removed periodically and used as excellent manure,
rich in nitrogen and phosphorous.
● The large-scale utilisation of bio-waste and sewage material provides a safe
and efficient method of waste-disposal besides supplying energy and manure.
Wind energy
● The unequal heating of the landmass and water bodies by solar radiation
generates air movement and causes winds to blow.
● A windmill essentially consists of a large electric fan that is erected at some
height on a rigid support.
● Winds cause the rotatory motion of the blades which is used to turn the
turbine of the electric generator thus generating electricity.
● A number of windmills erected over a large area is known as wind energy
farm.
● The energy output of each windmill in a farm is coupled together to get
electricity on a commercial scale.
Advantages
● Renewable source of energy.
● Environment friendly and efficient.
Limitations
● Wind energy farms can be established only at those places where wind blows
for the greater part of a year.
● The wind speed should also be higher than 15 km/h to maintain the required
speed of the turbine.
● There should be some back-up facilities (like storage cells) to take care of the
energy needs during a period when there is no wind.
● Establishment of wind energy farms requires large area of land.
● The initial cost of establishment of the farm is quite high.
● Moreover, since the tower and blades are exposed to the vagaries of nature
like rain, Sun, storm and cyclone, they need a high level of maintenance.
Solar energy
● A solar cell converts solar energy into electricity.
● It develops a voltage of 0.5–1 V and can produce about 0.7 W of electricity
when exposed to the Sun.
● A large number of solar cells are, combined in an arrangement called solar
cell panel that can produce enough electricity.
● It is estimated that during a year India receives the energy equivalent to more
than 5,000 trillion kWh.
● The solar energy reaching unit area at outer edge of the earth’s atmosphere
exposed perpendicularly to the rays of the Sun at the average distance
between the Sun and earth is known as the solar constant.
● It is estimated to be approximately 1.4 kJ per second per square metre or 1.4
kW/m2.
Advantages
● Solar cells have no moving parts, require little maintenance and work quite
satisfactorily without the use of any focussing device.
● They can be set up in remote and inaccessible hamlets or very sparsely
inhabited areas in which laying of a power transmission line may be
expensive and not commercially viable.
Disadvantages
● A special grade silicon is used to manufacture solar cells which is limited.
● The entire process of manufacture is still very expensive, silver used for
interconnection of the cells in the panel further adds to the cost.
Uses
● Roof top solar panels are used for the production of electricity for domestic
and commercial purposes.
● Artificial satellites and space probes like Mars orbiters use solar cells as the
main source of energy.
● Radio or wireless transmission systems or TV relay stations in remote
locations use solar cell panels.
● Traffic signals, calculators and many toys are fitted with solar cells.
Energy from the sea
1. Tidal energy
● It is caused by the difference in sea-levels (high tides and low tides) which is
in turn caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.
● A turbine fixed at the opening of the dam constructed across a narrow
opening to the sea converts tidal energy to electricity.
2. Wave energy
● Sea waves are generated by strong winds blowing across the sea.
● It possesses kinetic energy which can used to turn a turbine thus producing
electricity.
3. Ocean thermal energy
● The difference in the temperature of the ocean water at the surface and at the
depths caused by heating of the Sun can be used to harness energy in
ocean-thermal-energy conversion plants.
● These plants can operate if the temperature difference between the water at
the surface and water at depths up to 2 km is 20 K (20°C) or more.
● The warm surface-water is used to boil a volatile liquid like ammonia.
● The vapours of the liquid are then used to run the turbine of generator.
● The cold water from the depth of the ocean is pumped up and condense
vapour again to liquid.
Geothermal energy
● Due to geological changes, molten rocks formed in the deeper hot regions of
earth’s crust are pushed upward and trapped in certain regions called ‘hot
spots’.
● When underground water comes in contact with the hot spot, steam is
generated.
● Sometimes hot water from that region finds outlets at the surface. Such
outlets are known as hot springs.
● The steam trapped in rocks is routed through a pipe to a turbine and used to
generate electricity.
Nuclear energy
● In nuclear fission, the nucleus of a heavy atom (such as uranium, plutonium
or thorium), can be split apart into lighter nuclei when bombarded with
low-energy neutrons.
● If the mass of the original nucleus is just a little more than the sum of the
masses of the individual products, a tremendous amount of energy is
released.
● Nuclear energy reactors are used to control the fission reaction to produce a
controlled amount of energy which can be used to produce steam and further
generate electricity.
● In a nuclear fission, the difference in mass, m, between the original nucleus
and the product nuclei gets converted to energy E at a rate governed by the
famous equation, E = Δm c2 (Einstein’s equation), where c is the speed of
light in vacuum.
● Nuclear energy is often expressed in units of electron volts (eV):
1 eV = 1.602 × 10–19 joules.
● 1 atomic mass unit (u) is equivalent to about 931 mega electron volts
(MeV) of energy.
● Nuclear Fusion - joining lighter nuclei to make a heavier nucleus (hydrogen
or hydrogen isotopes to create helium); source of energy in the Sun and other
stars; requires high temperature and pressure; principle of hydrogen bomb.
Disadvantages
● storage and disposal of spent or used fuels – the uranium still decaying
into harmful subatomic particles (radiations)
● high risk of environmental contamination due to improper storage
● accidental leakage of nuclear radiation
● high cost of installation of a nuclear power plant
● limited availability of uranium
 15. Our Environment
Ecosystem
● All the interacting organisms in an area together with the non-living
constituents of the environment form an ecosystem.
● Components
○ Biotic - living organisms
○ Abiotic - physical factors like temperature, rainfall, wind, soil and
minerals.
● Natural ecosystems - forests, ponds, lakes, etc.
● Artificial ecosystems - gardens, crop-fields, etc.
● According to the manner of sustenance, organisms can be classified as
○ Producers - organisms which produce their own food using sun’s energy.
○ Consumers - organisms which consume the food produced, either
directly from producers or indirectly by feeding on other consumers.
They can be further classified as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and
parasites.
○ Decomposers - microorganisms that break-down the complex organic
substances into simple inorganic substances.
Food chains and Food webs
● A series of organisms feeding on one another at various biotic levels form a
food chain.
● Each step or level of the food chain forms a trophic level.
● The autotrophs or the producers are at the first trophic level.
● The herbivores or the primary consumers come at the second, small
carnivores or the secondary consumers at the third and larger carnivores or
the tertiary consumers form the fourth trophic level.
● A food web consists of many food chains.
Example of a food chain
Example of a food web
In a food chain,
● The flow of energy is unidirectional. Energy moves progressively from one
trophic level to the the next trophic level and is then not available for the
previous level.
● The energy available at each trophic level gets diminished progressively due
to loss of energy at each level.
● Also, harmful substances enter a food chain from the soil to plants and move
through the various trophic levels increasing in concentration at successive
trophic levels as they are non-biodegradable. This phenomenon is known as
biological magnification. Human beings have the maximum concentration
of these chemicals as they occupy the top level in any food chain.
Ozone layer
● Ozone (O3) is a molecule formed by three atoms of oxygen.
● Ozone is a poison. However, ozone forms a protective layer in the higher
levels of the atmosphere against the ultraviolet (UV) rays of the Sun.
How is ozone formed?
● The higher energy UV radiations split apart some molecular oxygen (O2) into
free oxygen (O) atoms. These atoms then combine with the molecular
oxygen to form Ozone.
● O2 O+O
● O + O2 O3 (ozone)
Damage to ozone
● Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used as refrigerants and in fire extinguishers
caused damage to the ozone layer producing holes in the layer.
● Therefore, CFCs were phased out under the Montreal protocol.
● It is now mandatory for all the manufacturing companies to make CFC-free
refrigerators throughout the world.
Garbage
● The waste we generate may be biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
○ Biodegradable - Substances that are broken down by biological
processes.
○ Non-biodegradable - substances which may be inert and simply persist
in the environment for a long time or may harm the various members of
the ecosystem.
● As non-biodegradable substances cannot be disposed safely, biodegradable
substances should be used to minimise harm to the environment.
 16. Sustainable Management of Natural Resources
5 Rs to save the environment - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and
Recycle
● Refuse - Say No to single use plastics and products that harm the
environment.
● Reduce - Minimise the wastage of resources like food, water, electricity, etc.
● Reuse - Use things again and again, eg. - plastic bottles for storage, etc.
● Repurpose - Make use of an item for another purpose when it cannot be used
for its original purpose. Eg. - broken bowls for growing plants, etc.
● Recycle - collect plastic, paper, glass and metal items and recycle these
materials to make required things.
Why manage our resources?
● Human population is increasing with the improvements in healthcare.
● Resources are limited.
● The demand for all resources is increasing at an exponential rate.
Sustainable development
● The concept of sustainable development encourages forms of growth that
meet current basic human needs, while preserving the resources for the needs
of future generations.
● It implies a change in all aspects of life.
● It depends upon the willingness of the people to change their perceptions of
the socio-economic and environmental conditions around them, and the
readiness of each individual to alter their present use of natural resources.
Sustainable management
● It ensures equitable distribution of resources irrespective of the rich and
the poor.
● It demands the safe disposal of the wastes generated from the use of natural
resources.
● It is also mentioned in ancient texts like the Atharva veda, Upanishads and
Smritis.
Forests and Wildlife
● Forests are ‘biodiversity hotspots’.
● It is measured by the number and the range of different species found.
Stakeholders
● Local people who depend on forests for wood, bamboo etc for making huts
and materials, hunting and fishing and fodder for their cattle.
● Forest Department which converts large tracts of forest land to plantations
for industries to access specific products and to generate income.
● The industrialists – from those who use ‘tendu’ leaves to make bidis to the
ones with paper mills – who use various forest produce, but are not
dependent on the forests in any one area.
● The wildlife and nature enthusiasts who want to conserve nature in its
pristine form. Local people also become a part of the conservation efforts.
Eg. - the Bishnois community living in western Rajasthan on the border of
the Thar desert for whom conservation has been a religious tenet.
● Damage to forests is caused by
○ Keeping away local people from the management of resources which is
destructive in the long run.
○ deforestation caused by industrial needs or development projects
○ tourists or the arrangements made for their convenience
Management of forests
● Local people have played important roles in the conservation of forests.
Eg. - Chipko Andolan in which people hugged trees to prevent them from
being cut by industrialists.
● Participation of local people ensures protection and conservation of
forests, employment for the local people in return and a part of the forest
produce.
Eg. - recovery of sal trees in Arabari forest in Midnapore district with the
help of local community in return for employment in both silviculture and
harvesting operations, 25 per cent of the final harvest, and collection of
fuelwood and fodder on payment of a nominal fee.
Water
● Water is a basic necessity for all terrestrial forms of life.
● Water maintains itself in the environment through the hydrological cycle.
● However, human intervention also changes the availability of water in
various regions.
● Rains in India are largely due to the monsoons. Most of the rain falls in a
few months of the year.
● However, the failure to sustain water availability underground has resulted
largely from the loss of vegetation cover, diversion for high water demanding
crops, and pollution from industrial effluents and urban wastes.
Dams
● Large dams can ensure the storage of adequate water not just for
irrigation, but also for generating electricity.
● Canal systems leading from these dams can transfer large amounts of water
over great distances.
● Problems caused by the construction of large dams
1. Social problems because they displace large number of peasants and
tribals without adequate compensation or rehabilitation,
2. Economic problems because they swallow up huge amounts of public
money without the generation of proportionate benefits
3. Environmental problems because they contribute enormously to
deforestation and the loss of biological diversity.
Water Harvesting
● Watershed management emphasises scientific soil and water conservation
in order to increase the biomass production.
● The aim is to develop primary resources of land and water, to produce
secondary resources of plants and animals for use in a manner which will
not cause ecological imbalance.
● Watershed management not only increases the production and income of
the watershed community, but also mitigates droughts and floods and
increases the life of the downstream dam and reservoirs.
Ancient water harvesting techniques
● Khadins, tanks and nadis in Rajasthan
● bandharas and tals in Maharashtra
● bundhis in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh
● ahars and pynes in Bihar
● kulhs in Himachal Pradesh
● ponds in the Kandi belt of Jammu region
● Eris (tanks) in Tamil Nadu
● surangams in Kerala
● kattas in Karnataka
● The main aim of water harvesting is to recharge underground water.
● Advantages of underground water
○ It does not evaporate, but spreads out to recharge wells and provides
moisture for vegetation over a wide area.
○ In addition, it does not provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes like
stagnant water collected in ponds or artificial lakes.
○ The groundwater is also relatively protected from contamination by
human and animal waste.
Coal and Petroleum
● Coal and petroleum were formed from the degradation of bio-mass,
millions of years ago.
● These are limited and will be exhausted in the near future.
● Since coal and petroleum have been formed from bio-mass, in addition to
carbon, these contain hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur.
● When these are burnt, the products are carbon dioxide, water, oxides of
nitrogen and oxides of sulphur.
● When combustion takes place in insufficient air (oxygen), then carbon
monoxide is formed instead of carbon dioxide.
● Of these products, the oxides of sulphur and nitrogen and carbon
monoxide are poisonous at high concentrations and carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas.
● The increasing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere contributes to global
warming.
● Hence, these resources should be used judiciously to ensure their
sustainability and minimise environmental pollution.