CHAPTER 9 – RAY OPTICS AND OPTICAL INSTRUMENTS

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Which of the following colour of white light deviated most when passes through a prism?
(a) Red light
(b) Violet light
(c) Yellow light
(d) Both (a) and (b)

2. Critical angle of glass is θ2 and that of water is θ2. The critical angle for water and glass surface would
be (μg = 3/2, μw = 4/3).
(a) less than θ2
(b) between θ1 and θ2
(c) greater than θ2
(d) less than θ1

3. An astronomical refractive telescope has an objective of focal length 20 m and an eyepiece of focal
length 2 cm. Then
(a) the magnification is 1000
(b) the length of the telescope tube is 20.02 m
(c) the image formed of inverted
(d) all of these

4. Which of the following forms a virtual and erect image for all positions of the object?
(a) Concave lens
(b) Concave mirror
(d) Convex mirror
(d) Both (a) and (c)

5. Two beams of red and violet color are made to pass separately through a prism (angle of the prism is
60°). In the position of minimum deviation, the angle of refraction will be
(a) 30° for both the colors
(b) greater for the violet color
(c) greater for the red color
(d) equal but not 30° for both the colors

6. The field of view is maximum for

(a) plane mirror
(b) concave mirror
(c) convex mirror
(d) cylindrical mirror

7. When light is refracted into a medium,

(a) its wavelength and frequency both increase
(b) its wavelength increases but frequency remains unchanged
(c) its wavelength decreases but frequency remains unchanged
(d) its wavelength and frequency both decrease

8. Which of the following phenomena is used in optical fibres ?

(a) Total internal reflection
(b) Scattering
(c) Diffraction
(d) Refraction

9. Critical angle of light passing from glass to water is minimum for

(a) red colour
(b) green colour
(c) yellow colour
(d) violet colour

10. A rod of length 10 cm lies along the principal axis of a concave mirror of focal length 10 cm in such a
way that its end closer to the pole is 20 cm away from the mirror. The length of the image is
(a) 10 cm
(b) 15 cm
(c) 2.5 cm
(d) 5 cm

11. To increase the angular magnification of a simple microscope, one should increase
(a) the focal length of the lens
(b) the power of the lens
(c) the aperture of the lens
(d) the object size

12. The angle of deviation for a prism is greatest for:

(a) violet
(b) red
(c) orange
(d) yellow

13. Two thin lenses of focal lengths 20 cm and 25 cm are placed in contact. The effective power of the
combination is:
(a) 45 D
(b) 9 D
(c) 1/9 D
(d) 6 D

14. The velocity of light in vacuum is 3 × 1010 cms-1. The velocity of light in a medium (µ = 1.5) is:
(a) 2 × 1010cms-1
(b) 4.5 × 1010cms-1
(c) 1.5 × 1010cms-1
(d) None of these

15. A convex lens is dipped in a liquid whose R.I. is equal to that of R.I. of material of the lens. Then its
focal length will:
(a) become zero
(b) become infinite
(c) reduce
(d) increase

16. A telescope has an objective lens of 10 cm diameter and is situated at a distance of 1 km from two
objects. The minimum distance between these two objects, which can be resolved by the telescope,
when seen in the light of mean λ = 5000 A is of the order of:
(a) 5 mm
(b) 5 cm
(c) 0.5 m
(d) 5 m

17. The RI. of the material of a prism is √2 and its refracting angle is 30°. One of the refracting surface of
the prism is made a mirror. A beam of monochromatic light entering the prism from the other face
retraces its path, after reflection from mirror surface. The angle of incidence on prism is:
(a) 0°
(b) 30°
(c) 45°
(d) 60°

18. The air bubble inside water shine due to:

(a) Reflection
(b) Refraction
(c) T.I.R
(d) None of these

19. Two lens of power -15 D and +5 D are placed in contact co-axially. The focal length of equivalent lens
is:
(a) -10 cm
(b) -20 cm
(c) +10 cm
(d) None

20. The branch of optics dealing with the formation of images using the concept of straight line
propagation of light is called:
(a) geometrical optics
(b) physical optics
(c) corpuscular optics
(d) quantum optics

21. A beam of light is incident at 60° to a plane surface. The reflected and refracted rays are
perpendicular to each other. What is the R.I. of the surface:
(a) 1/√3
(b) √3
(c) 1/3
(d) 3

22. The refractive indices (R.I.) of glass and water with respect to air are 3/2 and 4/3 respectively. The
R.I. of glass w.r.t water is:
(a) 8/9
(b) 9/8
(c) 7/6
(d) 2

23. Light year is the unit of:

(a) distance
(b) time
(c) intensity of light
(d) None of these
24. A ray of light travelling in air is incident of a glass slab. The ray gets partly reflected and partly
refracted. The phase difference between the reflected and the refracted waves is :
(a) π/2
(b) π/4
(c) π
(d) zero

25. Which of-the following is not a property of light?

(a) It can travel through vacuum
(b) It has a finite speed
(c) It requires a material medium for its propagation
(d) It involve transportation energy

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. A converging lens of refractive index 1.5 is kept in a liquid medium having same refractive index. What
would be the focal length of the lens in this medium?

Answer:

∴ Its focal length will be infinite (∞)

The lens in the liquid will act like a plane sheet of glass

2. Why does the bluish colour predominate in a clear sky?

Answer:
Blue colour of the sky : The scattering of light by the atmosphere is a colour dependent. According to
Rayleigh’s law, the intensity of scattered light I∝1/λ4, blue light is scattered much more strongly than red
light. Therefore, the colour of sky becomes blue. The blue component of light is proportionately more in
the light coming from different parts of the sky. This gives the impression of the blue sky.

3. Two thin lenses of power + 4D and – 2D are in contact. What is the focal length of the combination?

Answer:

4. State the conditions for the phenomenon of total internal reflection to occur.
Answer:
Two essential conditions for total internal reflection are :

A. Light should travel from an optically denser medium to an optically rarer medium.

B. The angle of incidence in the denser medium must be greater than the critical angle for the two media.

5. When monochromatic light travels from one medium to another its wavelength changes but
frequency remains the same. Explain.

Answer:
If v1 and v2 denote the velocity of light in medium 1 and medium 2 respectively and λ 1 and λ2 denote the
wavelength of light in medium 1 and medium 2. Thus

The above equation implies that when a wave gets refracted into denser medium (v 1 > v2) the wavelength
and the speed of propagation decreases but the frequency v (=v/λ) remains the same.

6. Two thin lenses of power -4D and 2D are placed in contact coaxially. Find the focal length of the
combination.

Answer:
Power of combination = – 4D + 2D = – 2D

∴ Focal length, f = – 50 cm

7. A convex lens is placed in contact with a plane mirror. A point object at a distance of 20 cm on the axis
of this combination has its image coinciding with itself. What is the focal length of the lens?

Answer:
Focal length of lens = 20 cm

(Hint: Rays coming out of lens are incident normally on plain mirror and hence reflected rays will trace the
path of incident ray, hence forming image on the object itself, thus object and image overlapping each
other at F of convex lens.)

8. How does the angle of minimum deviation of a glass prism vary, if the incident violet light is replaced
by red light? Give reason.

Answer:
The angle of minimum deviation decreases, when violet light is replaced by red light because refractive
index for violet light is more than that for red light.
9. The objective lenses of two telescopes have the same apertures but their focal lengths are in the ratio

1: 2. Compare the resolving powers of the two telescopes.

Answer:
Ratio of resolving power = 1 : 1
Resolving power is same because it does not depend on focal length of the objective.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS AND NUMERICALS

1. Draw a ray diagram of a reflecting type telescope. State two advantages of this telescope over a
refracting telescope.

Answer:

(ii) Advantages of reflecting telescope over a refracting telescope:

A) Due to large aperture of the mirror used, the reflecting telescopes have high resolving power.

B) This type of telescope is free from chromatic aberration (formation of coloured image of a white object).

C) The use of paraboloidal mirror reduces the spherical aberration (formation of non-point, blurred image
of a point object).

D) Image formed by reflecting telescope is brighter than refracting telescope.

E) A lens of large aperture tends to be very heavy and therefore difficult to make and support by its edges.
On the other hand, a mirror of equivalent optical quality weights less and can be supported over its entire
back surface.

2. (a) Draw a ray diagram of a compound microscope. Write the expression for its magnifying power.

Answer:
When the final image is formed at the least distance of distinct vision

(b) Calculate the distance of an object of height h from a concave mirror of focal length 10 cm, so as to
obtain a real image of magnification 2.

Answer:
Given : f = -10 cm; Magnification, m = 2
To calculate : u = ?

3. The radii of curvature of the faces of a double convex lens are 10 cm and 15 cm. If focal length of the
lens is 12 cm, find the refractive index of the material of the lens.

Answer:
Given : R1 = 10 cm,
R2 = -15 cm,
f = 12 cm
Using lens maker’s formula, we have

4. (i) Out of blue and red light which is deviated more by a prism? Give reason.
(ii) Give the formula that can be used to determine refractive index of material of a prism in minimum
deviation condition.

Answer:

5. Deduce, with the help of ray diagram, the expression for the mirror equation in the case of convex
minor.
Answer:

6. A convex lens of focal length 25 cm is placed coaxially in contact with a concave lens of focal length 20
cm. Determine the power of the combination. Will the system be converging or diverging in nature?
Answer:

7. A ray of light passes through an equilateral prism in such a way that the angle of incidence is equal to
the angle of emergence and each of these angles is 3/4 times the angle of the prism. Determine
(i) the angle of deviation and
(ii) the refractive index of the prism.

Answer:

We know, that δ + A = i + e

∴ 8 = 45° + 45° – 60° = 30°

=> δ = z + e – A

(i) angle of deviation = 30°

8. Draw a ray diagram for the formation of image by a compound microscope. Write the expression for
total magnification when the image is formed at infinity.

Answer:
Compound Microscope :

Magnifying power : The magnifying power of a compound microscope is defined as the ratio of the angle
subtended at the eye by the final virtual image to the angle subtended at the eye by the object, when both
are at the least distance of distinct vision from the eye.

9. Why does white light disperse when passed through a glass prism?
Using lens maker’s formula, show how the focal length of a given lens depends upon the colour of light
incident on it.

Answer:
(i) The white light disperses when passed through a prism, because the refractive index of the glass of the
prism is different for different wavelengths (colours). Hence, different colours get bent along different
directions.

(ii) Using lens maker’s formula,

As the refractive index of the medium (n2) (glass) with respect to air (n1) depends on the wavelength or
colour of light, therefore focal length of the lens would change with colour.

10. Draw a ray diagram to show how a right angled isosceles prism may be used to “bend the path of
light rays by 90°”.
Write the necessary condition in terms of the refractive index of the material of this prism for the ray to
bend to 90°.
Answer:
(a) Ray diagram

11. A convex lens is used to obtain a magnified image of an object on a screen 10 m from the lens. If the
magnification is 19, find the focal length of the lens.

Answer:
Given : u = -10 m, m = 19
For real image m = -19

12. Deduce the expression for the refractive index of glass in terms of angle of prism and angle of
minimum deviation.

Answer:
Ray diagram : The minimum deviation Dm, the refracted ray inside the prism becomes parallel to its base,
we have

13. Define power of a lens. Write its S.L units. Two thin convex lenses of focal lengths f 1 and f2 are placed
in contact coaxially. Derive the expression for the effective focal length of the combination.

Answer:
Power of a lens is defined as the ability to converge a beam of light facing on the lens

Its S.I. unit is dioptre (D)

Let C1, C2 be the optical centres of two thin convex lenses L1 and L2 held co-axially in contact with each
other in air.
Suppose f1 and f2 are their respective focal lengths Let a point object O be placed on the common principal
axis at a distance OC1 = u
The lens L1 alone would form its image at I’ where C1I’ = v’
From the lens formula for L1,

I’ would serve as a virtual object for lens L2, which forms a final image I at a distance of
C1 I = v
As the lenses are thin, therefore, for the lens L2,
u = i2I’ = C1I’ = v’
From the lens formula for L2,

Adding equations (i) and {ii), we get

Let the two lenses be replaced by a single lens of focal length f which forms image I at distance v, of an
object at distance u from the lens

14. Draw a schematic ray diagram of reflecting telescope showing how rays coming from a distant object
are received at the eye-piece. Write its two important advantages over a refracting telescope.

Answer:
Reflecting telescope. Telescope with mirror objectives is called reflecting telescope. This is also known as
Cassegrain telescope / Newtonian telescope. The ray diagram of reflecting type telescope is shown in
figure.

Advantage over refracting telescope :

 1. Since reflecting telescope has mirror objective, so the image formed is free from chromatic
aberration.
2. Since the spherical mirrors are parabolic mirrors, free from spherical aberration, they produce a very
sharp and distinct image.

15. Trace the rays of light showing the formation of an image due to a point object placed on the axis of
a spherical surface separating the two media of refractive indices n 1 and n2.

Establish the relation between the distances of the object, the image and the radius of curvature from the
central point of the spherical surface.

Hence derive the expression of the lens maker’s formula.

Answer:

By applying Cartesian sign convention,

OM = -M, MI = -v, MC = +R
Substituting these values in (iii), we get

This equation gives us a relation between object and image distance in terms of refractive index of the
medium and the radius of the curvature of the curved spherical surface. It holds for any curved spherical
surface.
Lens maker’s formula:

(a) Lens maker’s formula: Consider a thin double convex lens of refractive index n2 placed in a medium of
refractive index n1. Here, n1 < n2. Let B and D be the poles, C1 and C2 be the centres of curvature and R1 and
R2 be the radii of curvature of the two lens surfaces ABC and ADC, respectively. For refraction at surface
ABC, we can write the relation between the object distance u, image distance v 1 and radius of curvature
R1 as

For refraction at surface ADC, we can write the relation between the object distance v 1, image distance v
and radius of curvature R2, as

16. How is the working of a telescope different from that of a microscope?

The focal lengths of the objective and eyepiece of a microscope are 1.25 cm and 5 cm respectively. Find
the position of the object relative to the objective in order to obtain an angular magnification of 30 in
normal adjustment.

Answer:

Telescope Microscope

Resolving power should be higher for certain Resolving power is not so large but the
1.
magnification. magnification should be higher.

Focal length of objective should be kept larger

Both objective and eyepiece should have less
2. while eyepiece focal length should be small
focal length for better magnification.
for better magnification.

3. Objective should be of large aperture. Eyepiece should be of large aperture.

Distance between objective and eyepiece is

Distance between objective and eyepiece is
4. fixed, for focusing an object the distance of the
adjusted to focus the object at infinity.
objective is changed.
17. Draw a schematic diagram of simple microscope and write its magnification formula?