Reflection of Light

Reflection is one of the unique properties of light. It is the reflection of light,

which enables us to see any object.

Reflection: The bouncing back of rays of light from a polished and shiny
surface is called reflection or reflection of light. It is similar to bouncing back of
a football after colliding with a wall or any hard surface.

Fig: Reflection of Light

Laws of Reflection of light:

The angle of incidence and angle of reflection is equal.
The incident ray, reflected ray and normal to the point of reflection
lie in the same plane.

The angle of incidence is denoted by 'i' and angle of reflection is denoted by 'r'.
The law of reflection is applicable to all types of reflecting surface.

Mirror and Reflection of Light:

Mirror is a shiny polished object (glass) which reflects most of the rays of light
falling upon it. One side of mirror is polished with suitable material to make the
other side reflective.

Types of Image formed by mirrors:

Real Image: Image which is formed in front of the mirror and it can be
obtained on a screen is called real image.
Virtual Image: Image which is formed behind the mirror and cannot be
obtained on a screen is called virtual image.

Types of Mirror:
Plain Mirror: A mirror having a flat surface is called plane mirror.

Formation of image in plane mirror:

Fig: Image formation in plain mirror

A plane mirror always forms virtual and erect image.

The distance of image and that of object is equal from the mirror.
The image formed by a plane mirror is laterally inverted.

Spherical Mirror
Mirrors having curved reflecting surface are called spherical mirrors. A
spherical mirror is a part of a sphere.

Types of Spherical Mirror:

Concave Mirror: Spherical mirror with reflecting surface curved inwards is

called concave mirror.

Convex Mirror: Spherical mirror with reflecting surface curved outwards is

called convex mirror.

Important terms in the case of spherical mirror:

 Fig: Concave Mirror
Pole: The centre of reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is known as Pole.
Pole lies on the surface of spherical mirror. Pole is generally represented by
P.

Centre of Curvature: The centre of sphere; of which the reflecting surface of

a spherical mirror is a part; is called the centre of curvature of the spherical
mirror. Centre of curvature is not a part of spherical mirror rather it lies outside
the mirror. Centre of curvature is denoted by letter C.

In the case of concave mirror centre of curvature lies in front of the reflecting
surface. On the other hand, centre of curvature lies behind the reflecting
surface in the case of convex mirror.

Fig: Convex Mirror

Radius of Curvature: The radius of sphere; of which the reflecting surface of
a spherical mirror is a part; is called the Radius of Curvature of the spherical
mirror. The radius of curvature of a spherical mirror is denoted by letter R.

Similar to centre of curvature, radius of curvature lies in front of concave mirror

and lies behind the convex mirror and is not a part of the mirror as it lies
outside the mirror.

Aperture: The diameter of reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is called

aperture.
Principal Axis: Imaginary line passing through the centre of curvature and
pole of a spherical mirror is called the Principal Axis.

Focus or Principal Focus: Point on principal axis at which parallel rays;

coming from infinity; converge after reflection is called the Focus or Principal
Focus of the spherical mirror. Focus is represented by letter F.

Fig: Converging Mirror

In the case of a concave mirror, parallel rays; coming from infinity; converge
after reflection in front of the mirror. Thus, the focus lies in front of a concave
mirror.

Fig: Diverging Mirror

In the case of a convex mirror, parallel rays; coming from infinity; appear to be
diverging from behind the mirror. Thus, the focus lies behind the convex
mirror.

Focal length: The distance from pole to focus is called focal length. Focal
length is denoted by letter f. Focal length is equal to half of the radius of
curvature.
Reflection from spherical mirror:
Reflection of Rays parallel to Principal Axis:

In the case of concave mirror: A Ray parallel to principal axis passes

through the principal focus after reflection from a concave mirror.

Fig: Rays parallel to principal axis

Similarly, all parallel rays to the principal axis pass through the principal focus
after reflection from a concave mirror. Since, a concave mirror converge the
parallel rays after reflection, thus a concave mirror is also known as
converging mirror.

In the case of convex mirror: A ray parallel to principal axis appears to

diverge from the principal focus after reflecting from the surface of a convex
mirror.

Fig: Rays parallel to principal axis

Similarly, all rays parallel to the principal axis of a convex mirror appear to
diverge or coming from principal focus after reflection from a convex mirror.
Since, a convex mirror diverges the parallel rays after reflection, thus it is also
known as diverging mirror.

Reflection of ray passing through the Principal Focus:

In the case of concave mirror: Ray passing through the principal focus goes
parallel to principal axis after reflection in the case of concave mirror.

Fig: Ray passing through principal focus

In the case of convex mirror: A ray directed towards principal focus goes
parallel to principal axis after reflecting from the surface of a convex mirror.

Fig: Ray through principal focus

Ray passing through the Centre of curvature:

In the case of concave mirror: Ray passing through the centre of curvature
returns at the same path after reflecting from the surface of a concave mirror.

Fig: Ray passing through C

In the case of convex mirror: Ray appears to passing through or directed
towards the centre of curvature goes parallel to the principal axis after
reflecting from the surface of a convex mirror.
 Fig: Ray passing through C
Ray incident obliquely to the principal axis: Ray obliquely to the principal
axis goes obliquely after reflecting from the pole of the both concave and
convex mirror and at the same angle.

Fig: Ray passing obliquely to

principal axis

Image Formation by Concave Mirror

Formation of image depends upon the position of the object. There are six
possibilities of the position of object in the case of concave mirror.

a. Object at infinity
b. Object between infinity and centre of curvature (C)
c. Object at centre of curvature (C)
d. Object between centre of curvature (C) and Principal focus (F)
e. Object at Principal Focus (F)
f. Object between Principal Focus (F) and Pole (P)

Object at infinity:
Since parallel rays coming from the object converge at principal focus, F of a
concave mirror; after reflection. Hence, when the object is at infinity the image
will form at F.
 Fig: Object at Infinity
Properties of image:

Point sized
Highly diminished
Real and inverted

Object between infinity and Centre of Curvature:

When object is placed between infinity and centre of curvature of a concave
mirror the image is formed between centre of curvature (C) and focus (F).

Fig: Object Between Infinity and C

Properties of image:

Diminished compared to object

Real and inverted

Object at Centre of Curvature (C):

When the object is placed at centre of curvature (C) of a concave mirror, a real
and inverted image is formed at the same position.
 Fig: Object at C
Properties of image:

Same size as object

Real and inverted

Object between Centre of curvature (C) and

Principal Focus (F):
When the object is placed between centre of curvature and principal focus of
concave mirror, a real image is formed beyond the centre of curvature (C).

Fig: Object between C and F

Properties of image:

Larger than object

Real and inverted

Object at Principal Focus (F):

When the object is placed at principal focus (F) of a concave mirror, a highly
enlarged image is formed at infinity.
 Fig: Object at F
Properties of image:

Highly enlarged
Real and inverted

Object between Principal Focus (F) and Pole (P):

When the object is placed between principal focus and pole of a concave
mirror, an enlarged, virtual and erect image is formed behind the mirror.

Fig: Object between F and P

Properties of image:

Enlarged
Virtual and erect
 Positions of Object and Image in Concave Mirror
Position of Object Position of Image Size of Image Nature of Image
At infinity At focus Point sized, highly diminished Real and inverted
Between infinity and C Between F and C Dminished 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 F and P Behind mirror Enlarged Virtual and erect

Image Formation by Convex Mirror

There are only two possibilities of position of object in the case of a convex
mirror, i.e. object at infinity and object between infinity and pole of a convex
mirror.

Object at infinity: When the object is at the infinity, a point sized image is
formed at principal focus behind the convex mirror.

Fig: Object at infinity

Properties of image: Image is highly diminished, virtual and erect.

Object between infinity and pole: When the object is between infinity and
pole of a convex mirror, a diminished, virtual and erect image is formed
between pole and focus behind the mirror.
 Fig: Object between infinity and P
Properties of image: Image is diminished, virtual and erect.

Positions and Nature of Image in Convex Mirror

Nature of
Position of Object Position of Image Size of Image
Image
Highly
At infinity At F, behind mirror Virtual and erect
diminished
Between infinity and Between F and P, behind
Diminished Virtual and erect
P mirror

Uses of Concave Mirror:

As reflector in electric torch, head lights of vehicle, search light, etc.
The source of light is put at the focus of the reflector, which
produces a strong parallel beam of light, which helps in clear
visibility.
As shaving mirror to produce larger image of face to facilitate better
viewing during shaving.
Concave mirror is used by dentists to see larger image of teeth of
the patient. When a tooth is placed between focus and pole, the
concave mirror produces a magnified image of the tooth.
As reflector in solar furnace. By using concave mirror in solar
furnace the concentrated rays of sunlight is obtained at focus which
produces enormous amount of heat because of concentration.

Uses of Convex Mirror:

Convex mirror is used in rear view mirror of vehicles; so that the
driver can see the traffic coming from behind. The field of view is
widest in case of a convex mirror, which enables it to show a wider
area from behind.
Convex mirror is used on hairpin bends on the road; so that the
driver can see the traffic approaching from another side of the bend.
Sign Convention for Spherical
Mirror:
Cartesian Sign Convention: In the case of spherical mirror all signs are
taken from Pole of the spherical mirror, which is often called origin or origin
point. This sign convention is known as New Cartesian Sign Convention.

Sign is taken as (negative) from pole of a spherical mirror towards

object along the principal axis. This means sign is always taken as
(negative) in front of a spherical mirror. For example; the distance of
object is always taken as (negative) in case of both types of spherical
mirror, i.e. concave and convex mirrors.

Sign is taken as + (positive) behind the spherical mirror. For

example if an image is formed behind the mirror, the distance of
image is taken as + (positive) from pole along the principal axis.
The height of is taken as + (positive) above the principal axis and
taken as (negative) below the principal axis.

Fig: Cartesian Sign Convention

Sign in the case of concave mirror:

Since, object is always placed in front of the mirror hence the sign
of object is taken as negative.
Since, the centre of curvature and focus lie in front of the concave
mirror, so signs of radius of curvature and focal length are taken as
negative in the case of concave mirror.
When image is formed in front of the mirror, the distance of image is
taken as (negative) and when image is formed behind the mirror,
the distance of image is taken as + (positive).
Height of image is taken as positive in the case of erect image and
taken as negative in the case of inverted image.
Sign in the case of a convex mirror:
Since, object is always placed in front of the mirror hence the sign
of object is taken as negative.
Since, the centre of curvature and focus lies behind the convex
mirror, so sign of radius of curvature and focal length are taken as +
(positive) in the case of convex mirror.
In the case of convex mirror, image always formed behind the
mirror, thus the distance of image is taken as positive.
In the case of a convex mirror, always an erect image is formed,
thus the height of image is taken as positive.

Mirror Formula:

Mirror formula shows the relation among distance of object, distance of image
and focal length in case of spherical mirror. All distances are measured from
pole of the mirror.

The distance of object is denoted by u

The distance of image is denoted by v
Focal length is denoted by f

By knowing any two, the third can be calculated using the mirror formula.

Magnification:

Magnification is the relative ratio of size of image formed by a spherical mirror

to the size of object. Magnification is generally denoted by letter m.

Relation among magnification, distance of object and distance of image:

Where; m = magnification, h' = height of image, h = height of object, v = image
distance and u = object distance.

Light: NCERT Exercise Solution

We wish to obtain an erect image of an object, using a concave mirror of focal
length 15 cm. What should be the range of distance of the object from the
mirror? What is the nature of the image? Is the image larger or smaller than
the object? Draw a ray diagram to show the image formation in this case.

Answer: When object is between principal focus and pole of a concave mirror,
an erect, enlarged and virtual image is formed. So, we need to keep the object
at a distance which is less than 15 cm (the given focal length).

1. Which one of the following materials cannot be used to make a

lens?
a. Water
b. Glass
c. Plastic
d. Clay

Answer: (d) Clay

2. The image formed by a concave mirror is observed to be virtual,
erect and larger than the object. Where should be the position of
the object?
a. Between the principal focus and the centre of
curvature
b. At the centre of curvature
 c. Beyond the centre of curvature
d. Between the pole of the mirror and its principal
focus.

Answer: (d) Between the pole of the mirror and

its principal focus
3. Where should an object be placed in front of a convex lens to
get a real image of the size of the object?
a. At the principal focus of the lens
b. At twice the focal length
c. At infinity
d. Between the optical centre of the lens and its
principal focus.

Answer: (b) At twice of the focal length

4. A spherical mirror and a thin spherical lens have each a focal
length of 15 cm. The mirror and the lens are likely to be
a. both concave
b. both convex
c. the mirror is concave and the lens is convex
d. the mirror is convex, but the lens is concave

Answer: (a) both concave

5. No matter how far you stand from a mirror, your image appears
erect. The mirror is likely to be
a. plane
b. concave
c. convex
d. either plane or convex

Answer: (d) either plane or convex

6. Which of the following lenses would you prefer to use while
reading small letters found in a dictionary?
a. A convex lens of focal length 50 cm
b. A concave lens of focal length 50 cm
c. A convex lens of focal length 5 cm
d. A concave lens of focal length 5 cm

Answer: (c) A convex lens of focal length 5 cm

7. Name the type of mirror used in the following situations.
a. Headlights of a car.

Answer: When a source of light is kept at focus

of a concave mirror, the reflected rays form a
parallel beam of light and go to infinity. Hence,
concave mirror is used as reflector in the
 headlights. This helps in getting a parallel beam
of light.
b. Side/rear-view mirror of a vehicle.

Answer: A convex mirror can show image of a

wider area, because of its wide field of view. This
enables the driver to see more of traffic coming
from behind. Hence, convex mirror is used as
rear-view mirror in vehicles.
c. Solar furnace.

Answer: The light rays coming from infinity

converge at the focus after reflection from a
concave mirror. Hence, a concave mirror is used
in solar furnace because it helps in concentrating
the solar energy at a point.
8. One-half of a convex lens is covered with a black paper. Will this
lens produce a complete image of the object? Verify your
answer experimentally. Explain your observations.

Answer: Covering the half portion of a convex lens will not

affect the image making ability of the lens. The following two
figures illustrate this.

Condition 1: When upper half of the lens is covered:

Condition 2: When the lower half of the lens is covered

9. An object 5 cm in length is held 25 cm away from a converging

lens of focal length 10 cm. Draw the ray diagram and find the
position, size and the nature of the image formed.
Answer: Given, height of object = 5cm

Position of object, u = - 25cm

Focal length of the lens, f = 10 cm

Hence, position of image, v =?

We know that;

Thus, distance of image is 16.66 cm on the opposite side of

lens.

Now, magnification = v/u

 The negative sign of height of image shows that an
inverted image is formed.

Thus, position of image = At 16.66 cm on opposite side of

lens

Size of image = - 3.3 cm at the opposite side of lens

Nature of image Real and inverted.

10. A concave lens of focal length 15 cm forms an image 10 cm

from the lens. How far is the object placed from the lens? Draw
the ray diagram.

Answer: Given, focal length, f = - 15 cm

Distance of image, v = - 10 cm

Distance of object, v =?
 Object distance can be calculated using the lens formula

Negative sign shows that object is at 30cm in front of the

lens.

1. An object is placed at a distance of 10 cm from a convex mirror

of focal length 15 cm. Find the position and nature of the image.

Answer: Given, distance of object, u = -10cm

Focal length, f = 15cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:
 The positive sign of image shows that image is formed at
the other side of lens at 6 cm

Magnification can be calculated as follows:

m = v/u

Or, m = -6 cm/-10 cm = 3/5 cm = 0.6 cm

The positive sign of magnification shows that image is

erect. Image is erect and virtual and is formed 6 cm behind
the mirror.

2. The magnification produced by a plane mirror is +1. What does

this mean?

Answer: The magnification of +1 means that the image size is

same as object size.
3. An object 5.0 cm in length is placed at a distance of 20 cm in
front of a convex mirror of radius of curvature 30 cm. Find the
position of the image, its nature and size.

Answer: Given, distance of object, u = - 20 cm

Height of object = 5.0 cm

Radius of curvature, R = 30cm.

Hence, focal length = R/2 = 30/2 cm = 15 cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:

The positive sign of height of image is erect. Therefore,

position of image 8.57 cm behind the mirror.

Nature of image erect and virtual.

 Size of image 2.14 cm, this means image is smaller than
object.

4. An object of size 7.0 cm is placed at 27 cm in front of a concave

mirror of focal length 18 cm. At what distance from the mirror
should a screen be placed, so that a sharp focussed image can
be obtained? Find the size and the nature of the image.

Answer: Given, size of object, h = 7.0 cm

Distance of object, u = - 27 cm

Focal length, f = - 18 cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:
 Height of image can be calculated as follows:

Negative sign of height of image shows, that image in

inverted. Thus, screen should be placed at 54 cm in front of
mirror.

The size of image = 14cm

Nature of image real and inverted.

5. Find the focal length of a lens of power 2.0 D. What type of

lens is this?

Answer: Power P = -2.0D

Since, P = 1/f

Hence, -2.0 D = 1/f

Or, f = 1/(-2D) = -0.5 m

Since focal length is negative hence, it is a concave lens.

6. A doctor has prescribed a corrective lens of power +1.5 D. Find

the focal length of the lens. Is the prescribed lens diverging or
converging?

Answer: Given, power = +1.5 D

 Since, P = 1/f

Hence, 1.5 D = 1/f

Or, f = 1/1.5 D = 0.66 m

The positive sign shows it is a converging lens.

Refraction: Introduction
The change of direction of light because of change of medium is known as
Refraction or Refraction of Light. The ray of light changes its direction or
phenomenon of refraction takes place because of difference in speed in
different media.

The light travels at faster speed in rare medium and at slower speed in denser
medium. The nature of media is taken as relative. For example air is a rarer
medium than water or glass.

When ray of light enters from a rarer medium into a denser medium, it bends
towards normal at the point of incidence. On the contrary, when ray of light
enters into a rarer medium from a denser medium it bends away from the
normal.

Ray emerging after the denser medium goes in the same direction and parallel
to the incident ray.

The angle between incident ray and normal is called Angle of Incidence and it
is denoted as i. The angle between refracted ray and normal is called the
Angle of Refraction. Angle of refraction is denoted by r.
 Fig: Refraction of Light

Laws of Refraction:
a. The incident ray, refracted ray and normal to the interface of
given two transparent media, all lie in same plane.
b. The ratio of sine of angle of incidence and sine of angle of
refraction is always constant for the light of given colour and for
the pair of given media.

The Second Law of Refraction is also known as Snells Law of

Refraction.

The constant is called refractive index of the second medium in relation to the
first medium.

Refractive Index:
A ray of light changes its direction when it enters from one medium to another
medium. This happens because speed of light is different in different media.
For example; the speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s (2.99x108 m/s) in vacuum and it
is 2.98 x 108 m/s in air.

Refractive Index is the extent of change of direction of light in a given pair of

media. The refractive index is a relative value of speed of light in the given pair
of media. Thus, to calculate the refractive Index the speed of light in two media
is taken.

Let the speed of light in medium 1 is v1 and in medium 2 is v2

Therefore; refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 (n21)

Above expression gives the refractive index of medium 2 with respect to

medium 1. This is generally denoted by n21.

Similarly, the refractive index of medium 1 with respect to medium 2 is

denoted by n12.

Absolute Refractive Index:When one medium is taken as vacuum and speed

of light is taken in it, then the refractive index of second medium with respect
to vacuum is called Absolute Refractive Index and it is generally denoted by
n2.

The speed of light in vacuum is slightly faster than in air. Let speed of light in
air is c and the speed of light in given medium is v. Therefore, refractive
index of the given medium:

Since, Refractive Index is the relative value of the speed of light of a medium
with respect to the speed of light in vacuum, thus light will travel faster in the
medium having lower value of refractive index.
Optical Density: Medium having greater value of refractive index is called
optically denser medium, this means light will travel at slower speed in
optically denser medium compared to in an optically rarer medium.

Spherical Lens
Lens is an optical device which converges or diverges the rays of light before
transmitting. A lens has similar shape to lentils and genus of lentil is called
Lens, thus a lens got its name after the shape and name of genus of lentils. A
lens is made by combining at least one part of sphere made of transparent
material, generally glass.

Spherical Lens: Most of the lenses are made by the combination of parts of
transparent sphere. Concave and Convex lens are most commonly use
spherical lens.

Convex lens is the most commonly used lens in our day to day life.

Convex lens:
A lens having two spherical surface bulging outwards is called Convex Lens. It
is also known as biconvex lens because of two spherical surface bulging
outwards.

Fig: Spherical Lens

Concave lens:
A lens having two spherical surface bulging inwards is called Concave Lens. It
is also known as biconcave lens because of two spherical surface bulging
inwards.

Important terms for spherical lens:

Fig: Convex Lens

Centre of curvature: The centre of sphere of part of which a lens is formed is
called the centre of curvature of the lens. Since concave and convex lenses
are formed by the combination of two parts of spheres, therefore they have
two centres of curvature.

One centre of curvature is usually denoted by C1 and second is denoted by

C2.

Focus: Point at which parallel rays of light converge in a concave lens and
parallel rays of light diverge from the point is called Focus or Principal Focus
of the lens.

Fig: Converging Lens Fig:

Diverging Lens
Similar to centres of curvature; convex and concave lenses have two Foci.
These are represented as F1 and F2.

Principal Axis: Imaginary line that passes through the centres of curvature of
a lens is called Principal Focus.
Optical centre: The central point of a lens is called its Optical Centre. A ray
passes through optical centre of a lens without any deviation.

Radius of curvature: The distance between optical centre and centre of

curvature is called the radius of curvature, which is generally denoted by R.

Focal Length: The distance between optical centre and principal focus is
called focal length of a lens. Focal length of a lens is half of the radius of
curvature.

This is the cause that the centre of curvature is generally denoted by 2F for a
lens instead of C.

Refraction through Lens

Refraction of parallel ray:

A parallel ray converges at focus of a convex lens and diverges from the focus
of a concave lens.

Fig: Ray parallel to principal axis

figure> Fig: Ray parallel to principal axis

Refraction of ray passing through the Principal focus:

A ray passing through principal focus emerges parallel to the principal axis
after refraction from a convex lens.
 Fig: Ray passing through focus

Fig: Ray passing through focus

A ray passing through the principal focus emerges parallel to the principal axis
after diverging from a concave lens.

Ray passing through the optical centre of lens:

Ray passing through the optical centre of convex and concave lens emerges
in same direction without any deviation.

Fig: Ray passing through O

Fig: Ray passing through O

Converging lens: A convex lens is known as converging lens because
parallel rays converge at its focus.

Fig: Converging Lens

Diverging lens: A concave lens is known as diverging lens because parallel
rays appear to diverge from the focus; after refraction.
 Fig: Diverging Lens

Image Formation by Convex Lens

There are six possibilities of position of object in the case of convex lens:

a. Object at infinity
b. Object beyond centre of curvature, C
c. Object at centre of curvature, C
d. Object between centre of curvature, C and principal focus, F
e. Object at principal focus, F
f. Object between principal focus, F and optical centre, O

Object at infinity:
Convex lens converge parallel rays coming from objet at infinity and a highly
diminished - point sized, real and inverted image is formed at principal focus
F2.

Fig: Object at Infinity

Properties of Image: Image is highly diminished, real and inverted.

Object beyond centre of curvature, C1 or 2F1:

A diminished, real and inverted image is formed between principal focus, F2
and centre of curvature, C2 at the opposite side when an object is placed
beyond C1 of a convex lens.
 Fig: Object Beyond 2F
Properties of Image: Image is diminished, real and inverted.

Object at centre of curvature, C1 or 2F1:

A same sized, real and inverted image is formed at centre of curvature, C2

when object is placed at centre of curvature, C1 of a convex lens.

Fig: Object at 2F
Properties of Image: Image is same size as object, real and inverted.

Object between centre of curvature, C1 and

principal focus, F1:
An enlarged, real and inverted image is formed beyond centre of curvature, C2
when an object is placed between centre of curvature, C1 and principal focus,
F1 of a convex lens.

Fig: Object between 2F and F

Properties of Image: Image is enlarged, real and inverted.

Object at principal focus, F1:

An infinitely large, real and inverted image is formed at infinity when object is
placed at principal focus, F1 of a convex lens.
 Fig: Object at F
Properties of Image: Image is highly enlarged, real and inverted.

Between principal focus, F1 and optical centre,

O:
A virtual, erect and enlarged image is formed at the same side of lens, when
an object is placed between principal focus, F1 and optical centre, O of a
convex lens.

Fig: Object between F and O

Properties of Image: Image is enlarged, virtual and erect.

Image Formation by Concave Lens

There are only two possibilities of position of object in the case of a concave
lens:

a. Object is at infinity
b. Object is between optical centre, O and infinity

Object is at infinity:
A highly diminished point sized, virtual and erect image is formed when object
is at infinity by a concave lens at principal focus F1.
 Fig: Object at Infinity
Properties of Image: Image is point sized, highly diminished, virtual and
erect.

Object is between optical centre, O and infinity:

A diminished, virtual and erect image is formed between principal focus F1
and optical centre, O; when object is placed between optical centre and infinity
of a concave lens.

Fig: Object between Infinity and O

Properties of Image: Image is diminished, virtual and erect.

Sign convention for lens:

Sign convention for lens is similar to that of spherical mirror. Signs are taken
left of the optical centre as negative, right of the optical centre as positive,
above of the principal axis as positive and below of the principal axis as
negative.

Fig: Sign Convention

The new sign convention is known as New Cartesian Sign Convention. In this
sign is taken negative towards left and taken as positive towards right at X-
axis from origin.

The sign is taken as positive (+) above the origin point at Y-axis; and below
the origin point as negative (-) at Y-axis.

Lens Formula and Magnification:

The relation between distance of object, distance of image and focal length for
a lens is called lens formula.

Where, v is the distance of image, u is the distance of object, and f is the focal
length of lens. Distance of object and image is measure from the optical centre
of the lens. The sign for distance is given as per convention.

The lens formula is valid for all situations for spherical lens. By knowing any of
the two the third can be calculated.

Magnification:
The ratio of height of image and that of object or ratio of distance of image and
distance of object gives magnification. It is generally denoted by m.

The positive (+) sign of magnification shows that image is erect and virtual
while a negative (-) sign of magnification shows that image is real and
inverted.
Power of lens:
A convex lens with short focal length converges the light rays with greater
degree nearer to principal focus and a concave lens with short focal length
diverges the light rays with greater degree nearer to principal focus.

The degree of divergence or convergence of ray of light by a lens is expressed

in terms of the power of lens. Degree of convergence and divergence depends
upon the focal length of a lens. The power of a lens is denoted by P. The
power of a lens is reciprocal of the focal length.

The SI unit of Power of lens is dioptre and it is denoted by D.

Power of a lens is expressed in dioptre when the focal length is expressed in

metre. Thus, a lens having 1 metre of focal length has power equal to 1
dipotre.

Therefore, 1 D = 1 m1

A convex lens has power in positive and a concave lens has power in
negative.

Power of optical instruments having multiple lenses:

If there is more than one lens used, then total power of lenses is equal to the
sum of power of all individual lenses.

Example: If there are three lenses used in an optical device having powers
equal to 1 D, 2D and 3D respectively,
Therefore, the total power of the optical device = 1D + 2D + 3D = 6D

Some common phenomena of Refraction:

Bending of pencil when placed in a glass with water: When a

pencil or stick is kept in a beaker or a glass filled with water, the
stick appears slightly bent. This happens because the light;
entering from air (rarer medium) into water (denser medium);
bends towards normal to the incident which makes the
appearance of pencil or stick as bent.
Position of fish in the water of pond: The ray coming from fish in
the pond bends away from the normal to the incident. We see
the emergent ray which makes the appearance of fish slightly
above its position.
Formation of rainbow: Rainbow is formed just after the rain.
When ray of light travels from droplets of rain, it is scattered into
its constituent seven colours and forms a rainbow in the sky.
Visibility of sun slightly before the time of sunrise: When the
rays coming from the sun enter into atmosphere (which is
denser medium than vacuum), they bend away from normal to
the incidence because of refraction. Since we see the refracted
rays coming from the sun, thats why the sun becomes visible
slightly ahead of the time of sunrise.

Light: NCERT Exercise Solution

We wish to obtain an erect image of an object, using a concave mirror of focal
length 15 cm. What should be the range of distance of the object from the
mirror? What is the nature of the image? Is the image larger or smaller than
the object? Draw a ray diagram to show the image formation in this case.

Answer: When object is between principal focus and pole of a concave mirror,
an erect, enlarged and virtual image is formed. So, we need to keep the object
at a distance which is less than 15 cm (the given focal length).
1. Which one of the following materials cannot be used to make a
lens?
a. Water
b. Glass
c. Plastic
d. Clay

Answer: (d) Clay

2. The image formed by a concave mirror is observed to be virtual,
erect and larger than the object. Where should be the position of
the object?
a. Between the principal focus and the centre of
curvature
b. At the centre of curvature
c. Beyond the centre of curvature
d. Between the pole of the mirror and its principal
focus.

Answer: (d) Between the pole of the mirror and

its principal focus
3. Where should an object be placed in front of a convex lens to
get a real image of the size of the object?
a. At the principal focus of the lens
b. At twice the focal length
c. At infinity
d. Between the optical centre of the lens and its
principal focus.

Answer: (b) At twice of the focal length

4. A spherical mirror and a thin spherical lens have each a focal
length of 15 cm. The mirror and the lens are likely to be
a. both concave
b. both convex
c. the mirror is concave and the lens is convex
d. the mirror is convex, but the lens is concave

Answer: (a) both concave

5. No matter how far you stand from a mirror, your image appears
erect. The mirror is likely to be
a. plane
b. concave
c. convex
 d. either plane or convex

Answer: (d) either plane or convex

6. Which of the following lenses would you prefer to use while
reading small letters found in a dictionary?
a. A convex lens of focal length 50 cm
b. A concave lens of focal length 50 cm
c. A convex lens of focal length 5 cm
d. A concave lens of focal length 5 cm

Answer: (c) A convex lens of focal length 5 cm

7. Name the type of mirror used in the following situations.
a. Headlights of a car.

Answer: When a source of light is kept at focus

of a concave mirror, the reflected rays form a
parallel beam of light and go to infinity. Hence,
concave mirror is used as reflector in the
headlights. This helps in getting a parallel beam
of light.
b. Side/rear-view mirror of a vehicle.

Answer: A convex mirror can show image of a

wider area, because of its wide field of view. This
enables the driver to see more of traffic coming
from behind. Hence, convex mirror is used as
rear-view mirror in vehicles.
c. Solar furnace.

Answer: The light rays coming from infinity

converge at the focus after reflection from a
concave mirror. Hence, a concave mirror is used
in solar furnace because it helps in concentrating
the solar energy at a point.
8. One-half of a convex lens is covered with a black paper. Will this
lens produce a complete image of the object? Verify your
answer experimentally. Explain your observations.

Answer: Covering the half portion of a convex lens will not

affect the image making ability of the lens. The following two
figures illustrate this.

Condition 1: When upper half of the lens is covered:

 Condition 2: When the lower half of the lens is covered

9. An object 5 cm in length is held 25 cm away from a converging

lens of focal length 10 cm. Draw the ray diagram and find the
position, size and the nature of the image formed.

Answer: Given, height of object = 5cm

Position of object, u = - 25cm

Focal length of the lens, f = 10 cm

Hence, position of image, v =?

We know that;
Thus, distance of image is 16.66 cm on the opposite side of
lens.

Now, magnification = v/u

The negative sign of height of image shows that an

inverted image is formed.
 Thus, position of image = At 16.66 cm on opposite side of
lens

Size of image = - 3.3 cm at the opposite side of lens

Nature of image Real and inverted.

10. A concave lens of focal length 15 cm forms an image 10 cm

from the lens. How far is the object placed from the lens? Draw
the ray diagram.

Answer: Given, focal length, f = - 15 cm

Distance of image, v = - 10 cm

Distance of object, v =?

Object distance can be calculated using the lens formula

 Negative sign shows that object is at 30cm in front of the
lens.

1. An object is placed at a distance of 10 cm from a convex mirror

of focal length 15 cm. Find the position and nature of the image.

Answer: Given, distance of object, u = -10cm

Focal length, f = 15cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:

The positive sign of image shows that image is formed at

the other side of lens at 6 cm

Magnification can be calculated as follows:

m = v/u

Or, m = -6 cm/-10 cm = 3/5 cm = 0.6 cm

 The positive sign of magnification shows that image is
erect. Image is erect and virtual and is formed 6 cm behind
the mirror.

2. The magnification produced by a plane mirror is +1. What does

this mean?

Answer: The magnification of +1 means that the image size is

same as object size.
3. An object 5.0 cm in length is placed at a distance of 20 cm in
front of a convex mirror of radius of curvature 30 cm. Find the
position of the image, its nature and size.

Answer: Given, distance of object, u = - 20 cm

Height of object = 5.0 cm

Radius of curvature, R = 30cm.

Hence, focal length = R/2 = 30/2 cm = 15 cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:
 The positive sign of height of image is erect. Therefore,
position of image 8.57 cm behind the mirror.

Nature of image erect and virtual.

Size of image 2.14 cm, this means image is smaller than

object.

4. An object of size 7.0 cm is placed at 27 cm in front of a concave

mirror of focal length 18 cm. At what distance from the mirror
should a screen be placed, so that a sharp focussed image can
be obtained? Find the size and the nature of the image.

Answer: Given, size of object, h = 7.0 cm

Distance of object, u = - 27 cm

Focal length, f = - 18 cm

Distance of image, v =?; which can be calculated as

follows:

Height of image can be calculated as follows:

 Negative sign of height of image shows, that image in
inverted. Thus, screen should be placed at 54 cm in front of
mirror.

The size of image = 14cm

Nature of image real and inverted.

5. Find the focal length of a lens of power 2.0 D. What type of

lens is this?

Answer: Power P = -2.0D

Since, P = 1/f

Hence, -2.0 D = 1/f

Or, f = 1/(-2D) = -0.5 m

Since focal length is negative hence, it is a concave lens.

6. A doctor has prescribed a corrective lens of power +1.5 D. Find

the focal length of the lens. Is the prescribed lens diverging or
converging?

Answer: Given, power = +1.5 D

Since, P = 1/f

Hence, 1.5 D = 1/f

Or, f = 1/1.5 D = 0.66 m

The positive sign shows it is a converging lens.