Basics, Refraction from Plane Surface, Apparent depth & T.I.R.

1. (a) A tank is filled with water to a height of 12 cm. The apparent depth of a needle lying at the
bottom of the tank is measured by a microscope to be 9 cm. What is the refractive index of water?
(1) 1.5 (2) 1 (3) 1.33 (4) 4.2

(b) If water is replaced by a liquid of refractive index 1.5 up to the same height, by what distance
would the microscope have to be moved to focus on the needle again?
(1) 7 cm (2) 9 cm (3) 4 cm (4) 1 cm
Ans. (a)—(3), (b)—(4)

2. Figures (a) and (b) show refraction of a ray in air incident at 60° with the normal to a glass-air
and water-air interface, respectively. Predict the angle of refraction in glass when the angle of
incidence in water is 45° with the normal to a water-glass interface [Fig. (c)].

Air
30° ?°
Glass 60° Glass

Air
60° Water 45° Water
45°

(a) (b) (c)

Ans. θ = 30°

3. A small bulb is placed at the bottom of a tank containing water to a depth of 7 7 cm. What is
the area of the surface of water through which light from the bulb can emerge out? Refractive
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index of water is . (Consider the bulb to be a point source.)
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2
Ans. 1386 cm

4. A small pin fixed on a table top is viewed from above from a distance of 50 cm. By what distance
would the pin appear to be raised if it is viewed from the same point through a 15 cm thick glass
slab held parallel to the table? Refractive index of glass =1.5. Does the answer depend on the
location of the slab?
Ans. (5 cm and independent of the location of the slab)

5. (a) Figure shows a cross-section of a 'light pipe' made of a glass fibre of refractive index 2 . The
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outer covering of the pipe is made of a material of refractive index . What is the range of the
2
angles of the incident rays with the axis of the pipe for which total reflections inside the pipe take
place, as shown in the figure.

(b) What is the answer if there is no outer covering of the pipe?

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Ans. (a) i < 45°, TIR will occur in pipe
(b) i = 90° → it will graze along the glass-air boundary

6. A short pulse of white light is incident from air to a glass slab at normal incidence. After travelling
through the slab, the first colour to emerge is: [Exemplar Problem]
(a) blue (b) green (c) violet (d) red
Ans. (d)

7. You are given four sources of light each one providing a light of a single colour-red, blue, green and
yellow, Suppose the angle of refraction for a beam of yellow light corresponding to a particular
angle of incidence at the interface of two media is 90°. Which of the following statements is correct
if the source of yellow light is replaced with that of other lights without changing the angle of
incidence? [Exemplar Problem]
(a) The beam of red light would undergo total internal reflection
(b) The beam of red light would bend towards normal while it gets refracted through the second
medium.
(c) The beam of blue light would undergo total internal reflection
(d) The beam of green light would bend away from the normal as it gets refracted through the
second medium.
Ans. (c)

8. The optical density of turpentine is higher than that of water while its mass density is lower. Figure
shows a layer of turpentine floating over water in a container. For which one of the four rays incident
on turpentine in Figure, the path shown is correct? [Exemplar Problem]

(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4

Ans. (b)

9. There are certain material developed in laboratories which have a negative refractive index. A ray
incident from air (medium 1) into such a medium (medium 2) shall follow a path given by
[Exemplar Problem]

(1) (2)

(3) (4)

Ans. (a)

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10. Consider an extended object immersed in water contained in a plane trough. When seen from close
to the edge of the trough the object looks distorted because [Exemplar Problem]
(a) the apparent depth of the points close to the edge are nearer the surface of the water compared
to the points away from the edge.
(b) the angle subtended by the image of the object at the eye is smaller than the actual angle
subtended by the object in air.
(c) some of the points of the object far away from the edge may not be visible because of total
internal reflection.
(d) water in a trough acts as a lens and magnifies the object.
Ans. (a, b, c)

11. A rectangular block of glass ABCD has a refractive index 1.6. A pin is placed midway on the face AB.
When observed from the face AD, the pin shall [Exemplar Problem]

(a) appear to be near A. (b) appear to be near D.

(c) appear to be at the centre of AD. (d) not be seen at all.
Ans. (d)

μ μ μ μ -
Refraction from Curved Surface 2 - 1 = 2 1

v u R

12. Light from a point source in air falls on a spherical glass surface (n = 1.5 and radius of curvature =
20 cm). The distance of the light source from the glass surface is 100 cm. At what position the
image is formed? [Solved Example]
(1) 50 cm (2) 100 cm (3) 150 cm (4) 200 cm
Ans. (2)

Thin Lens / Lenses in Contact / Position of Image / Lens Formula (All Lens Related)

13. A magician during a show makes a glass lens with n = 1.47 disappear in a trough of liquid. What is
the refractive index of the liquid? Could the liquid be water? [Solved Example]
Ans. nliquid = 1.47 (liquid could be glycerin)

14. (i) If f = 0.5 m for a glass lens, what is the power of the lens? [Solved Example]
(1) 0.5 m (2) 1 m (3) 2 m (4) 4 m
Ans. (3)

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 (ii) The radii of curvature of the faces of a double convex lens are 10 cm and 15 cm. Its focal length
is 12 cm. What is the refractive index of glass?
(1) 0.5 (2) 1 (3) 2 (4) 1.5
Ans. (4)

(iii) A convex lens has 20 cm focal length in air. What is focal length in water? (Refractive index of
air-water = 4/3, refractive index for air-glass = 1.5.)
(1) 80 cm (2) 56.4 cm (3) 28.6 cm (4) 64.0 cm
Ans. (1)

15. Find the position of the image formed by the lens combination given in the figure. [Solved Example]
f = +10, –10 +30 cm

30 cm

5 cm 10 cm
(1) 30 cm, right of third lens (2) 15 cm, right of third lens
(3) 30 cm, left of first lens (4) 15 cm, left of first lens
Ans. (1)

16. Double-convex lenses are to be manufactured from a glass of refractive index 1.55, with both faces
of the same radius of curvature. What is the radius of curvature required if the focal length is to be
20 cm?
(1) 36 cm (2) 22 cm (3) 58 cm (4) 64 cm
Ans. (2)

17. A beam of light converges at a point P. Now a lens is placed in the path of the convergent beam
12 cm from P. At what point does the beam converge if the lens is
(a) a convex lens of focal length 20 cm,
(1) 7.5 cm from lens, towards right (2) 12.5 cm from lens, towards right
(3) 7.5 cm from lens, towards left (4) 12.5 cm from lens, towards left
Ans. (1)
(b) a concave lens of focal length 16 cm?
(1) 36 cm from lens, towards right (2) 48 cm from lens towards left
(3) 36 cm from lens, towards left (4) 48 cm from lens towards right
Ans. (4)

18. An object of size 3.0 cm is placed 14 cm in front of a concave lens of focal length 21 cm. Describe
the image produced by the lens. What happens if the object is moved further away from the lens?
Ans. v = –8.4 (virtual & erect image) and SI = 1.8 cm

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19. What is the focal length of a convex lens of focal length 30 cm in contact with a concave lens of
focal length 20 cm? Is the system a converging or a diverging lens? Ignore thickness of the lenses.
(1) f = - 60 cm (2) f = – 40 cm (3) f = + 60 cm (4) f = + 40 cm
Ans. (1)

20. The image of a small electric bulb fixed on the wall of a room is to be obtained on the opposite
wall 3 m away by means of a large convex lens. What is the maximum possible focal length of the
lens required for the purpose?
(1) 0.75 m (2) 1.5 m (3) 2 m (4) 3 m
Ans. (1)

21. A screen is placed 90 cm from an object. The image of the object on the screen is formed by a
convex lens at two different locations separated by 20 cm. Determine the focal length of the lens.
(1) 42.3 (2) 21.4 (3) 36.7 (4) 80.2
Ans. (2)

22. (a) Determine the 'effective focal length' of the combination of the two lenses in Exercise 18, if they
are placed 8.0 cm apart with their principal axes coincident. Does the answer depend on which side
of the combination a beam of parallel light is incident? Is the notion of effective focal length of this
system useful at all?

(b) An object 1.5 cm in size is placed on the side of the convex lens in the arrangement (a) above.
The distance between the object and the convex lens is 40 cm. Determine the magnification
produced by the two-lens system, and the size of the image.
(1) m = 0.65, hI = 0.98 (2) m = 1.25, hI = 1.86
(3) m = 0.38, hI = 0.42 (4) m = 2.50, hI = 2.20
Ans. (a) feq = –300 cm ; (b) 1

23. Figure shows an equiconvex lens (of refractive index 1.50) in contact with a liquid layer on top of a
plane mirror. A small needle with its tip on the principal axis is moved along the axis until its
inverted image is found at the position of the needle. The distance of the needle from the lens is
measured to be 45.0 cm. The liquid is removed and the experiment is repeated. The new distance
is measured to be 30.0 cm. What is the refractive index of the liquid?

(1) 1.5 (2) 2.5 (3) 4.2 (4) 1.33

Ans. (1)

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24. An object approaches a convergent lens from the left of the lens with a uniform speed 5 m/s and
stops at the focus. The image: [Exemplar Problem]
(a) moves away from the lens with an uniform speed 5 m/s
(b) moves away from the lens with an uniform acceleration
(c) moves away form the lens with a non-uniform acceleration
(d) moves towards the lens with a non-uniform acceleration
Ans. (c)

25. The radius of curvature of the curved surface of a plano-convex lens is 20 cm. If the refractive
index of the material of the lens be 1.5, it will [Exemplar Problem]
(a) act as a convex lens only for the objects that lie on its curved side.
(b) act as a concave lens for the objects that lie on its curved side.
(c) act as a convex lens irrespective of the side on which the object lies.
(d) act as a concave lens irrespective of side on which the object lies.
Ans. (c)

Prism

26. A prism is made of glass of unknown refractive index. A parallel beam of light is incident on a face
of the prism. The angle of minimum deviation is measured to be 60°. What is the refractive index
of the material of the prism? The refracting angle of the prism is 60°. If the prism is placed in liquid
3
(refractive index µl = ), predict the new angle of minimum deviation of a parallel beam of light.
2
Ans. µ = 3 and δ'm = 30°

27. At what angle should a ray of light be incident on the face of a prism of refracting angle 75° so that
it just suffers total internal reflection at the other face? The refractive index of the material of the
prism is 2.
Ans. i = 45°

28. A ray of light incident at an angle θ on a refracting face of a prism emerges from the other face
normally. If the angle of the prism is 5° and the prism is made of a material of refractive index 1.5,
the angle of incidence is: [Exemplar Problem]
(a) 7.5° (b) 5° (c) 15° (d) 2.5°
Ans. (a)

Mirror

29. Suppose that the lower half of the concave mirror's reflecting surface is covered with an opaque
(non-reflective) material. What effect will this have on the image of an object placed in front of the
mirror? [Solved Example]
Ans. Intensity of the image will be low

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30. A mobile phone lies along the principal axis of a concave mirror, as shown in Figure. Explain why
the magnification is not uniform. Will the distortion of image depend on the location of the phone
with respect to the mirror? [Solved Example]

Ans. The image will be distorted

31. An object is placed at (i) 10 cm, (ii) 5 cm in front of a concave mirror of radius of curvature 15 cm.
Find the position, nature, and magnification of the image in each case. [Solved Example]
Ans. (i) v = –30 cm, m = –3 (image is magnified real & inverted)
(ii) v = 15 cm, m = 3 (image is magnified, real and inverted)

32. Suppose while sitting in a parked car, you notice a jogger approaching towards you in the side view
–1
mirror of R = 2 m. If the jogger is running at a speed of 5 m s , how fast the image of the jogger
appear to move when the jogger is (a) 39 m, (b) 29 m, (c) 19 m, and (d) 9 m away. [Solved Example]
1 1 1 1
Ans. (a) ms–1 , (b) ms–1 , (c) ms–1 , (d) ms–1
280 150 60 10

33. A small candle, 2.5 cm in size is placed at 27 cm in front of a concave mirror of radius of curvature
36 cm. At what distance from the mirror should a screen be placed in order to obtain a sharp
image? Describe the nature and size of the image. If the candle is moved closer to the mirror, how
would the screen have to be moved?
Ans. screen distance = 54 cm ; hI = – 5 cm (real & Inverted)

34. A 4 cm needle is placed 10 cm away from a convex mirror of focal length 15 cm. Give the location
of the image and the magnification. Describe what happens as the needle is moved farther from
the mirror.
Ans. v = 6 cm, m = +0.6 cm, hi = 2.4 cm Image is virtual, erect & diminished

35. Use the mirror equation to deduce that:

(a) an object placed between f and 2f of a concave mirror produces a real image beyond 2f.
(b) a convex mirror always produces a virtual image independent of the location of the object.
(c) the virtual image produced by a convex mirror is always diminished in size and is located
between the focus and the pole.
(d) an object placed between the pole and focus of a concave mirror produces a virtual and enlarged
image.
Ans. Based on theory

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36. Light incident normally on a plane mirror attached to a galvanometer coil retraces backwards as
shown in Fig. A current in the coil produces a deflection of 3.5° of the mirror. What is the
displacement of the reflected spot of light on a screen placed 1.8 m away?

1.8 m

(1) 0.07π m (2) 1.36 m (3) 1.42 m (4) 0.84 m

Ans. (1)

37. The direction of ray of light incident on a concave mirror is shown by PQ while directions in which
the ray would travel after reflection is shown by four rays marked 1, 2, 3 and 4. Which of the four
rays correctly shows the direction of reflected ray? [Exemplar Problem]

(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4

Ans. (b)

Optical Instrument

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38. A card sheet divided into squares each of size 1 mm is being viewed at a distance of 9 cm through
a magnifying glass (a converging lens of focal length 10 cm) held close to the eye.
(a) What is the magnification produced by the lens? How much is the area of each square in the
virtual image?

(b) What is the angular magnification (magnifying power) of the lens?

(1) 4.2 (2) 1.4 (3) 6.8 (4) 2.8

(c) Is the magnification in (a) equal to the magnifying power in (b)? Explain.
2
Ans. (a) m = 10 and area 1 cm
(b) Option (4) 2.8
(c) Only when v = D

39. (a) At what distance should the lens be held from the card sheet in previous exercise in order to
view the squares distinctly with the maximum possible magnifying power?
(1) 14.2 cm (2) 28.4 cm (3) 7.14 cm (4) 38.26 cm
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 (b) What is the magnification in this case?
(1) 3.5 (2) 2 (3) 6.5 (4) 8.2

(c) Is the magnification equal to the magnifying power in this case? Explain.
Ans. (a) (3), (b) (1), (b) Yes

40. What should be the distance between the object in previous exercise and the magnifying glass if
2
the virtual image of each square in the figure is to have an area of 6.25 mm . Would you be able to
see the squares distinctly with your eyes very close to the magnifier?
Sol. image is produced at 15 cm from lens (or eye) which is less than D = 25 cm
image produced will be blurred & com not be seen directly.

41. A compound microscope consists of an objective lens of focal length 2.0 cm and an eyepiece of
focal length 6.25 cm separated by a distance of 15 cm. How far from the objective should an object
be placed in order to obtain the final image at (a) the least distance of distinct vision (25 cm), and
(b) at infinity? What is the magnifying power of the microscope in each case?
Ans. (a) u = –2.5 cm & m = 20
70
(b) u = − cm & m = 13.5
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42. A person with a normal near point (25 cm) using a compound microscope with objective of focal
length 8.0 mm and an eyepiece of focal length 2.5 cm can bring an object placed at 9.0 mm from
the objective in sharp focus. What is the separation between the two lenses? Calculate the
magnifying power of the microscope.
(1) L = 12.34 cm and m = 44 (2) L = 9.47 cm and m = 88
(3) L = 18.28 cm and m = 52 (4) L = 4.63 cm and m = 36
Ans. (2)

43. A small telescope has an objective lens of focal length 144 cm and an eyepiece of focal length
6.0 cm.
(a) What is the magnifying power of the telescope?
(1) -48 (2) +56 (3) -24 (4) +62

(b) What is the separation between the objective and the eyepiece?
(1) 300 cm (2) 120 cm (3) 280 cm (4) 150 cm
Ans. (a)—(3), (b)—(4)

44. (a) A giant refracting telescope at an observatory has an objective lens of focal length 15 m. If an
eyepiece of focal length 1.0 cm is used, what is the angular magnification of the telescope?
(1) 2000 (2) 1500 (3) 2500 (4) 4000
Ans. (2)

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 (b) If this telescope is used to view the moon, what is the diameter of the image of the moon
6
formed by the objective lens? The diameter of the moon is 3.48 × 10 m, and the radius of lunar
8
orbit is 3.8 × 10 m.
(1) 13.7 cm (2) 27.3 cm (3) 34.6 cm (4) 48.2 cm
Ans. (1)

45. Answer the following questions:

(a) The angle subtended at the eye by an object is equal to the angle subtended at the eye by the
virtual image produced by a magnifying glass. In what sense then does a magnifying glass provide
angular magnification?
(b) In viewing through a magnifying glass, one usually positions one's eyes very close to the lens.
Does angular magnification change if the eye is moved back?
(c) Magnifying power of a simple microscope is inversely proportional to the focal length of the
lens. What then stops us from using a convex lens of smaller and smaller focal length and
achieving greater and greater magnifying power?
(d) Why must both the objective and the eyepiece of a compound microscope have short focal
lengths?
(e) When viewing through a compound microscope, our eyes should be positioned not on the
eyepiece but a short distance away from it for best viewing. Why? How much should be that
short distance between the eye and eyepiece?
Ans. Based on theory

46. An angular magnification (magnifying power) of 30X is desired using an objective of focal length
1.25 cm and an eyepiece of focal length 5 cm. How will you set up the compound microscope?
(1) object should be 5.5 cm away from objective lens
(2) separation between objective and eyepiece should be 11.67 cm
(3) object should be 7.5 cm away from objective lens
(4) separation between objective and eyepiece should be 5.48 cm
Ans. (2)

47. A small telescope has an objective lens of focal length 140 cm and an eyepiece of focal length
5.0 cm. What is the magnifying power of the telescope for viewing distant objects when
(a) the telescope is in normal adjustment (i.e., when the final image is at infinity)?
(1) 42 (2) 56 (3) 70 (4) 28
(b) the final image is formed at the least distance of distinct vision (25 cm)?
(1) 33.6 (2) 22.4 (3) 42.8 (4) 18.0
Ans. (a)—(4) ; (b)—(1)

48. (a) For the telescope described in previous exercise (a), what is the separation between the
objective lens and the eyepiece?
(1) 70 cm (2) 145 cm (3) 82 cm (4) 122 cm

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 (b) If this telescope is used to view a 100 m tall tower 3 km away, what is the height of the image
of the tower formed by the objective lens?
(1) 2.4 cm (2) 4.7 cm (3) 13.2 cm (4) 8.6 cm

(c) What is the height of the final image of the tower if it is formed at 25 cm?
(1) 28.2 cm (2) 46.8 cm (3) 36.6 cm (4) 52.4 cm
Ans. (a) — (2) ; (b) — (2) ; (c) — (1)

49. A Cassegrain telescope uses two mirrors as shown in Fig. Such a telescope is built with the mirrors
20 mm apart. If the radius of curvature of the large mirror is 220 mm and the small mirror is 140
mm, where will the final image of an object at infinity be?

(1) 31.5 cm away from secondary mirror (2) 25.5 cm away from secondary mirror
(3) 56.0 cm away from secondary mirror (4) 48.2 cm away from secondary mirror
Ans. (1)

50. A magnifying glass is used, as the object to be viewed can be brought closer to the eye than the
normal near point. This results in [Exemplar Problem]
(a) a larger angle to be subtended by the object at the eye and hence viewed in greater detail.
(b) the formation of a virtual erect image.
(c) increase in the field of view.
(d) infinite magnification at the near point.
Ans. (a, b)

51. An astronomical refractive telescope has an objective of focal length 20 m and an eyepiece of focal
length 2 cm. [Exemplar Problem]
(a) The length of the telescope tube is 20.02 m.
(b) The magnification is 1000
(c) The image formed is inverted.
(d) An objective of a larger aperture will increase the brightness and reduce chromatic aberration
of the image.
Ans. (a, b, c)

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