Chapter- 10

HUMAN EYE AND THE COLOURFUL WORLD

● The human eye:

The eye is one of the most sensitive and valuable sense organs. It works on the refraction of
light through a natural convex lens made of transparent living material and enables us to see
things around us.

● Construction of the eye:

1. Cornea- Light enters our eye through a thin membrane called cornea. It is made of a
transparent substance and is bulging outwards, which means the outer surface of the
cornea is convex in shape. Most of the refraction of light takes place at the outer
surface of the cornea.

2. Iris- Behind the cornea is a dark muscular diaphragm called iris. The colour of the
eye depends on the colour of the iris. Its function is to control and adjust the size of
the pupil.

3. Pupil- It is a small opening present in the middle of the iris. It appears black because
light is reflected from it. It controls the amount of light entering our eye

4. Eye lens- Behind the pupil is a double convex lens called the eye lens. This lens is
made up of a fibrous, jelly like material, and is held in position by the ciliary muscles.

5. Ciliary muscles- They hold the eye lens in position. The focal length or thickness of
lens changes by action of ciliary muscles.

6. Retina- behind the eye lens and at the back part of the eyeball there is a delicate
membranous screen called retina on which an image of the object is formed. It
contains an enormous number of light sensitive cells in the form of rods and cones.
i) Rods- They are sensitive to dim light.
ii) Cones – They are sensitive to bright light or coloured light.

7. Blind spot- the least sensitive spot on the retina is called the blind spot. The blind
spot is where the optic nerve enters the eyeball. If light falls on it, we cannot see an
object.

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 8. Aqueous humour- the space between the cornea and eye lens is filled with the
viscous liquids called aqueous humour. It protects wear, tear and mechanical injury.

9. Vitreous humour- the space between eye lens and retina contains a transparent jelly
like substance called vitreous humour. It protects wear, tear and mechanical injury.

10. Eyelid- and eyelid in front of the human eye acts like a shutter in a camera. When it is
open, light can enter the eye and when it is closed, light cannot enter the eye.

● Working of the human eye:

✔ Light rays coming from the object to be seen enter the eye through the cornea and fall
on the eye lens through the pupil of the eye.
✔ The eye lens being convex, forms a real, inverted and smaller image of the object on
the retina.
✔ The light sensitive cells present in the retina, in the form of rods and cones get
activated by the light falling on the retina and generate electrical signals (or nerve
impulses) which are sent to the brain via optic nerves.
✔ The brain processes this information and we perceive objects as they are without
inversion.

Why some people are not able to distinguish between different colours?
Ans- Some people are not able to distinguish between different colours as they suffer from
colour blindness. It is a situation when a person cannot distinguish between different
colours, though his vision may otherwise be normal. This happens because the retina of the
eye of such a person does not possess some specific cone cells.

We are not able to see objects clearly for some time when we enter from bright light to a
room with dim light. Give reason.
We are not able to see objects clearly for some time when we enter from bright light to a
room with dim light. After sometime, however, we can see things in the dim-lit room. This
happens due to the action of pupil. The pupil of an eye acts like a variable aperture whose
size can be varied with the help of the iris. When the light is very bright, the iris contracts the
pupil to allow less light to enter the eye. However, in dim light the iris expands the pupil to

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allow more light to enter the eye. Thus, the pupil opens completely through the relaxation of
iris.

● Persistence of vision:
The image of an object formed on the retina persists on the retina for 1/16 second after the
removal of the object. This continuance of sensation of the eye for some time even after the
removal of the object is called persistence of vision.

● Power of Accommodation of human eye:

The ability of the eye lens to adjust its focal length is called accommodation. The
accommodation of the eye is due to the action of ciliary muscles holding the eye lens.

CASE I: To observe Distant Objects

Eye lens- Thin
Focal length- Maximum due to thin lens
Converging power- Minimum
For observing distant objects, the eye is in a relaxed state. It is said to be
unaccommodated.

Case II: To observe nearby objects

Eye lens- Thick
Focal length- Decrease
Converging power- Increase
For observing nearby objects, the eye is in a state of tension. It is said to be
accommodated.

Position of object Ciliary muscles Focal length Eye lens

Distant Relaxed Increases Thin
(Maximum)
Nearby Contract Decreases Thick
(Minimum)

Least distance of distinct vision (LDDV) or Near point(N)- The minimum distance at
which objects can be seen most distinctly without strain, is called least distance of distinct
vision or near point of the eye.
Value of near point for normal eye- 25 cm

Far point(F)- The farthest point up to which the eye could see objects clearly is called far
point of the eye.
Value of far point for normal eye- Infinity

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Range of vision- The distance between the near point and the far point is called range of
vision.

● The maximum power of accommodation for an eye of a person having normal is:

● Defects of Vision:

1. Myopia or Short- sightedness

It is that defect of the human eye by virtue of which it can see clearly the nearby objects but
cannot see the distant objects distinctly.
The far point of a myopic person has shifted from infinity to some particular distance from
the eye. The image of the object is formed in front of the retina.

The two possible causes of this defect are

i) Elongation of the eyeball.
ii) Excessive curvature of the lens.
To correct a myopic eye the person has to wear spectacles with the concave lens of suitable
focal length or power.
The focal length of concave lens used for correcting myopic eye (= the distance of far point
of myopic eye.)

2. Hypermetropia or long sightedness:

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It is that defect of the human in which person can see clearly the distant objects, but nearby
objects cannot be seen clearly.
The near point of a hypermetropic eye has shifted away from the eye. The image is formed
behind the retina

The two possible causes of this defect are

i) The focal length of the eye lens is too long.
ii) The eyeball has become too small.

Correction: Person has to wear spectacles with a convex lens of suitable focal length or
power.

3. Presbyopia (old sight or old age hypermetropia):

It is a defect of the human eye due to which an old person cannot read and write comfortably.
That is why presbyopia is also called old sight or old age hypermetropia. In this case
person first suffer from Hypermetropia and slowly and gradually he suffers from myopia as
well.

Possible causes of this defect are:

With increasing age, the power of accommodation of the eye usually decreases. It is difficult
to see nearby objects comfortably and distinctly. This defect is called presbyopia

The 2 possible causes of this defect are:

i) Gradual weakening of ciliary muscles.
ii) Diminishing flexibility of eye lens.

Correction- This defect can be corrected by the use of spectacles with convex lenses of
suitable focal length or power.

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Bi- Focal lenses- Such lenses which consists of both concave and convex lenses. The upper
part contains concave lens, which facilitates distant vision, The lower part contains convex
lens, which facilitates near vision.
These lenses are used by people who suffer from both myopia and hypermetropia at the same
time.

4. Cataract
Sometimes the eye lens of a person becomes milky and cloudy and in extreme cases even
opaque. This is called Cataract. As a result, the vision decreases, leading sometimes to total
loss of vision.
The problem is overcome by cataract surgery that is removal of the eye lens and its
replacement by a lens of suitable focal length.

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 ● Refraction of light through a glass prism: (Activity-10.1)

1. PRISM: A triangular glass prism has two triangular bases and three rectangular
lateral surfaces.
2. Angle of prism- The angle between the two lateral incline surfaces of the prism.
3. When rays of light pass-through prisms, bending of light occurs at both entry and exit.
4. Incident Ray and emergent Ray are not parallel.
5. When Ray of light passes through a glass prism it bends towards its base.
6. Angle of deviation- the angle between incident ray and emergent Ray.

● Observations:
A light ray is entering from air(rarer) to glass(denser) at the first surface AB. The light ray,
on refraction, bends towards the normal.
● At the second surface AC, the light ray enters from glass(denser) to air(rarer). Hence
it bends away from normal.
● At first refracting surface AB, the angle of refraction (∠r) is smaller than the angle of
incidence but at the second refracting surface AC, the angle of emergence (∠e) is
larger than the angle of incidence.
● Conclusion:
Due to the peculiar shape of the prism, the net deviation in passing through the prism is never
zero.

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 Dispersion of light:
● The phenomenon of splitting of white light into its constituent seven colours on
passing through a glass prism is called Dispersion of light.
● The sequence of the colours obtained is given by the acronym VIBGYOR where V
stands for violet, I for Indigo, B for blue, G for green, Y for yellow, O for orange and
R for red.
● Red colour bends the least on passing through the prism and violet colour bends
through maximum angle on passing through the prism. That is why the red colour is at
the top and violet colour is at the bottom.

Dispersion of white light by a glass prism: (Activity 10.2)

Observation:
When a beam of white light is allowed to fall through a slit on the face of a triangular glass
prism, we got a seven colours band on screen. This band of seven colours of light is called
‘spectrum’.

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When a beam of light passes through a glass prism, it splits into seven colours. This
phenomenon is called ‘Dispersion’.
This happens because seven colours of light bend through different angles with respect to
the incident ray.
The red light bends the least and violet light bends the most.

Relation of dispersion with wavelength and refractive index.

● Each colour has its own characteristic wavelength and refractive index.
refractive index (n) of glass is different for different colours IS SHOWN IN
TABLE BELOW

Cause Of dispersion:
Different colours of light are characterised by their different wavelengths and
refractive indexes. All these colours travel in air/vacuum with the same speed but
their speeds in any other refracting medium (like glass or water) are different.
As v is different for different colours, therefore, the refractive index (n) of glass is
different for different colours.
Note- refractive index of glass is more for violet colour as compared to red colour

● The net deviation is directly proportional to the refractive index.

Deviation (d) ∝ n (Refractive index)

● Hence, deviation suffered by violet colour is greater than the deviation

suffered by the red colour on passing through the prism.
● That is why violet colour is at the lower end of the visible spectrum and red
colour is at the upper end of the spectrum. All other colours of the spectrum lie
in between these two colours.
● Index of refraction is wavelength dependent.
MORE TO KNOW

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 ● Shorter wavelengths undergo greater degree of refraction than the longer
wavelengths.
In VIBGYOR pattern, red colour has maximum wavelength, so it covers
maximum distance inside the prism without deviation, but the violet colour
has minimum wavelength, so it gets spread inside the prism and deviates the
most.
Angle of deviation ∝ ___1___
wavelength

In a nutshell we can say that the cause of dispersion is that different colours of
white light having different wavelengths deviate through different angles with
respect to the incident ray, through a glass prism. That is why they split on
coming out from the prism along different directions
● Scattering of light
The reflection of light from an object in all directions is called scattering of light.
- It depends on the size of the particle.
i) small size particles scatter blue colour of light (Shorter wavelength)
ii) medium size particles scatter red colour of light (Longer wavelength)
iii) large size particles scatter all the colours of light that’s why it appears white.

Tyndall effect
● The earth's atmosphere is a heterogeneous mixture of minute Particles.
● These particles include tiny water droplets, smoke, suspended particles of dust and
molecules of air.
● When a beam of light strikes such fine particles the path of the beam becomes visible.
The light reaches us after being reflected diffusely by these particles.
● This phenomenon of scattering of light by the colloidal particles gives rise to the
Tyndall effect.
Note- Scattering ∝1/ wavelength
● Rayleigh elastic scattering:
Intensity of scattered light (Is) varies inversely as the 4th power of the wavelength of
the incident light. Hence Is ∝1/ (λ)⁴

Some new terms:

● Monochromatic light- light consisting of one colour or single wavelength is called
Monochromatic light. For example- Sodium lamps give Monochromatic light of
yellow colour only.
● Polychromatic light- light consisting of many colours or many wavelengths. For
example- light given by a mercury lamp and sunlight.
● The wavelength of violet colour is Minimum and wavelength of red colour is
maximum.
● The frequency of violet colour is maximum and that of red colour is minimum.

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● Visible Spectrum- the band of seven colours obtained on a screen on passing white
light through a prism is called spectrum. As all the seven colours in this spectrum are
visible to our eye it is also called a visible spectrum.
● Pure spectrum- A spectrum in which different colours occupy their own distinct
positions without any overlapping is called a pure spectrum.
● Impure spectrum- A spectrum in which different colours of light overlap one
another is called an impure spectrum.

● Recombination of spectrum colours:

✔ Newton was the first, who obtained a spectrum of sunlight by using a
glass prism. He tried to split the spectrum of white light more by using
another similar prism, but he could not get any more colours.
✔ He repeated the experiment using the second prism in an inverted
position with respect to the first prism such that the refracting surfaces
of both the prisms are in opposite directions.

✔ While the first prism disperses white light into seven colours the
second prism receives these seven colours and under suitable
conditions and re combines them into the original white light.

✔ This happens because angular dispersion produced by the second

prism is equal and opposite to the dispersion produced by the first
prism.
This observation gave Newton the idea that the sunlight is made up of 7
colours. Any light that gives a spectrum similar to that of Sunlight is
called white light.

Phenomenon of Rainbow:
● It is a natural spectrum appearing in the sky after a rain shower.
● It is caused by dispersion of sunlight by tiny water droplets, present in the
atmosphere. These 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.

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 ● A rainbow is always formed in a direction opposite to that of the sun.
● The essential condition for observing a rainbow is that the observer must stand
with his back towards the sun.

For reference as per ncert

Atmospheric Refraction:
● In the same atmosphere layers of air have different optical densities.
● As we move above the surface of Earth, density of air goes on decreasing. The upper
layers of Earth's atmosphere are rarer compared to the lower layers of the earth's
atmosphere.
● (Conditions like temperature also affect the optical density of Earth's
atmosphere. Warm air layers act as optically rarer medium and cooler air layers
act as optically denser medium.)
● Light coming from stars and entering the earth's atmosphere passes from rarer to
denser layers. Therefore, it suffers multiple refractions before reaching the surface of
Earth. This is called atmospheric refraction.
⮚ When we look at objects through the hot air over a fire, the objects
appear to be moving slightly. Explain.
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. This wavering
thus makes the objects appear moving.

Optical phenomenon nature which occurred due to the atmospheric refraction of light:
Twinkling of stars- the stars twinkle at night because the starlight reaching our eyes
increases and decreases continuously due to atmospheric refraction.
⮚ Light from a star first travel in vacuum and then enters into Earth's atmosphere.

⮚ As optical density of air increases towards the surface of Earth, therefore, light from
the star travels from rarer to denser layers, bending every time towards normal.

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⮚ (Moreover, the temperature and optical density of the atmosphere changes
continuously.) Hence Apparent position of the star and the amount of light from the
star reaching our eyes both changes continuously. This leads to the twinkling of stars.

● Star Twinkle but planets do not explain?

✔ Planets appear bigger than the stars as planets are close to earth as compared to the
stars. a planet can be considered to be made up of a number of point sources of
light.
✔ Due to atmospheric refraction when some of the point sources look bright others
appear dimmer. Therefore, on the whole the overall brightness of a planet remains the
same always. Hence the planets do not appear to Twinkle.

⮚ Stars appear higher than they actually are: (Apparent position of Stars)

✔ Light from a star travel first in vacuum and enters into the earth's atmosphere.

✔ As optical density of air increases towards the surface of Earth, light from the stars
travels from rarer to denser layers bending every time towards normal.
✔ On producing the final refracted Ray backwards, the apparent star position B is
higher than the actual start position A.

⮚ Advance sunrise and delayed sunset:

● The sun appears to rise above the horizon two minutes before it actually is above the
horizon. This is called advance sunrise.
● As we move above the Earth surface density of air goes on decreasing.
● Light from the Sun on entering Earth's atmosphere passes from rarer to denser layers
bending towards normal every time.
● The Sun which is still below Horizon appears to rise just above the Horizon. The
difference in time involved is 2 minutes and hence the sun appears to rise 2 minutes
earlier.

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 ● The sun appears to set 2 minutes later before it's actually below the Horizon. This is
called delayed sunset.
● The sun which has already gone just below the Horizon appears to be just above the
Horizon on account of atmospheric refraction. The difference in time involved is 2
minutes and hence the sun appears to set 2 minutes later.

Apparent flattening of the sun’s disc at sunset and sunrise

Apparent flattering of the sun’s disc at sunset and sunrise is due to the atmospheric refraction.
The density of the medium decreases with altitude, so the rays coming from top and bottom
are refracted at different angles. This causes the apparent flattening of the sun at the time of
sunrise and sunset. But rays from the side of the sun are generally refracted by the same
amount. So the sun still appears circular on sides.

Why is the sky appearing to be blue?

● 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 the light of shorter wavelengths than light of
longer wavelengths.
● Thus, when sunlight passes through the atmosphere the fine particles in air scatter the
blue colour more strongly than red. The scattered blue colour enters our eyes and the
sky appears blue to us.
This can also be explained by Rayleigh elastic scattering. As the wavelength of blue
colour is roughly half the wavelength of red colour, therefore intensity of Scattered
blue light is about 16 times more than that of red light. Due to this the blue colour
dominates and the sky appears blue.
Refer for better understanding: https://youtu.be/0L-ypFpy6R8
● what would happen if Earth had no atmosphere
If the earth had no atmosphere no colour of Sunlight would be scattered and the sky
would appear black in the day time as it does at night. For example, the sky appears

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 dark to passengers flying at very high altitude as scattering is not prominent at such
Heights.

● Why does the Sky in outer space look dark and black instead of white?
In outer space there is vacuum and no atmosphere is there for scattering of light. Due
to the absence of any molecules, particles and atmosphere in the outer space,
scattering of light doesn't take place and it appears dark instead of white.

● Why are "danger" signal lights red in colour?

Out of all the colours of visible light red has the largest wavelength. When sunlight
passes through Earth's atmosphere it gets scattered from a large number of molecules
present in the atmosphere. As intensity of scattered light varies inversely as fourth
power of wavelength, (Rayleigh's law) therefore the red colour is least scattered and it
can be seen from maximum distance. That is why danger signals are red.

Activity 10.2: Dispersion of light by a glass prism

● Take a thick sheet of cardboard and make a small hole or narrow slit in its middle.
● Allow sunlight to fall on the narrow slit. This gives a narrow beam of white light.
● Now, take a glass prism and allow the light from the slit to fall on one of Its faces as
shown.
● Turn the prism slowly until the light that comes out of it appears on a nearby screen.

● Observations:
The prism splits the incident white light into a band of 7 colours. They are Violet,
Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red (VIBGYOR).
● Conclusion:
The splitting of light into its component colours is called dispersion.

Question/Answers:

1. Why has nature given us two eyes instead of one?

Ans- nature has given us two eyes instead of 1 because:
i) a human being has a horizontal field of view of about 150⁰ with one eye and of about 180⁰
with two eyes. thus, two eyes provide us with a better horizontal field of view.
ii) with one eye the world looks flat, that is, two dimensional only. With two eyes the view is
three dimensional as dimension of depth is added to our view.
iii) our two eyes are separated by a few centimetres. Each eye observes a slightly different
image. Our brain combines the two views into one and we get to know how close or far away
the things seen are.

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 2. What are the functions of the retina in the human eye?
The retina behaves like a light sensitive screen, on which a real and inverted image of
any object situated in front of the eye is formed. (Pg 1)

3. Name the part of the eye: (i) that controls the amount of light entering into the eye. (ii)
that has a real, inverted image of the object formed on it. [CBSE 2011, 2014]
i) Pupil ii) Retina (Pg 1)

4. Write the function of iris in the human eye. [CBSE 2007, 2011, 2016]
Iris controls the size of pupils. (Pg 1)

5. State the role of ciliary muscles in accommodation of the eye. [CBSE 2011, 2012,
2015, 2016]
To adjust/modify the shape (curvature) of the eye lens so that its focal length can be
increased or decreased. (Pg 1,3)

6. What happens to the image distance from the eye lens in the normal eye when we
increase the distance of an object from the eye? [CBSE 2011, 2013]
Image distance remains unchanged. Image in human eyes is always formed on the
retina which doesn’t depend on how far the object is from the eye. If the object is too
far, in that case the lens will become thinner and it results in an increase in the focal
length of the eye and due to which image will be captured on retina.

7. In the human eye, name the following parts: (a) a thin membrane which allows light
to enter into the eye. (b) the muscles which help in changing the focal length of the
eye lens. [CBSE 2012, 2013]
a) Cornea b) ciliary muscles (Pg 1)
8. An old person is unable to see nearby objects as well as distant objects clearly. What
defect of vision is he suffering from? [CBSE 2013, 2016]
Presbyopia (Pg 5)
9. You might have experienced that you are not able to see objects clearly for some time
when you enter from bright light to a room with dim light. Why does this happen?
We are not able to see objects clearly for some time when we enter a room with dim
light but after some time, however, we are be able to see things in the dim-lit room.
The pupil of an eye acts like a variable aperture whose size can be varied with the
help of the iris. When the light is very bright, the iris contracts the pupil to allow less
light to enter the eye. However, in dim light the iris expands the pupil to allow more
light to enter the eye. Thus, the pupil opens completely through the relaxation of iris.

10. Trace the sequence of events which occur when a bright light is focused on your eyes.
(2019)
✔ When a bright light enters the eye then most of the refraction for the light rays
entering the eye occurs at the outer surface of the cornea.

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 ✔ Then, the crystalline lens merely provides the finer adjustment of focal length
required to focus objects at different distances on the retina.
✔ The pupil regulates and controls the amount of light entering the eye. At the retina,
the light-sensitive cells get activated upon illumination and generate electric signals.
These signals 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.

11. a) List two causes of hypermetropia.

(b) Draw ray diagrams showing (i) a hypermetropic eye and (ii) its correction using a suitable
optical device. (2020)
Refer Pg 5

12. A person is able to see objects clearly only when they are lying at a distance between
50 cm and 300 cm from his eye.
a) What kind of defect of vision is he suffering from?
b) What kind of lenses will he require to increase his range of vision from 25 cm to
infinity? Explain briefly.
Ans- a) For a normal eye, the near point is at 25 cm and the far point is at infinity
from the eye. The given person cannot see objects clearly either closer to the eye or
far away from the eye. So, he is suffering from both myopia and hypermetropia.
b) A bi-focal lens consisting of a concave lens and convex lens of suitable focal
lengths will be required to correct the defects and to increase his range or vision from
25 cm to infinity. In a bi-focal lens, upper portion is concave which corrects distant
vision and the lower portion is convex which corrects near vision.

13. A student finds the writing on the black board as blurred and unclear when sitting
on the last desk in a classroom. He however, sees it clearly when sitting on the front
desk at an approximate distance of 2 m from the black board.
(a) Draw ray diagrams to illustrate the formation of image of the black board writing
by his eye-lens when he is seated at the
1. last desk,
2. front desk. (CBSE 2011, 2015)
(b) Name the kind of lens that would help him to see clearly even when he is seated at
the last desk. Draw a ray diagram to illustrate how this lens helps him to see clearly.
(CBSE 2011, 2012, 2015)
Ans- a) 1. Formation of an image of the black board writing by the eye-lens of the
student sitting at the last desk is shown in figure.

1.

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 2. Formation of image of the black board written by the eye-lens of the student sitting at
the front-desk is shown in figure.

1.

(b) Student is suffering from Myopia, so his eye defect can be corrected by using a
concave lens as shown in figure.

14. A person with a myopic eye cannot see objects beyond 1.2 m distinctly. What should be
the nature of corrective lenses to restore proper vision? (2016)
Ans -In order to view the distances beyond 1.2 m, the focal length of the lens should be 1.2
m.
Step 1: - Note the Given values
The person can't see objects beyond 1.2 m directly. So, in order to view the distances beyond
1.2 m, the focal length of the lens should be 1.2 m.
Step 2: - Calculate power of lens
Now, the power
P= 1/f
P= 1/1.2
P= 0.83D
So, if the person suffers from Myopia, the corrective lens will be a concave or diverging lens.
Hence, the power is 0.833 D
15. The near point of a hypermetropic eye is at 75 cm from the eye. What is the power of the
lens required to enable him to read clearly a book held at 25 cm from the eye? (2018)

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16. The far point of a myopic person is 80cm. What is the power of the lens required to
enable him to see very distant objects clearly?
For a Lens to correct myopic defect;
u = -infinity, v = -80cm, f =?
1/f = 1/v - 1/u
1/f = 1/ (-80) + (1/-infinity)
1/f = -1/80 + 0
f = -80 cm
f = -0.8 m
Power = 1/f
= 1/ (-0.8)
= -1.25
The nature of lens required to see the distant objects clearly is convex lens is power -1.25
17. What is a prism? Draw a neat diagram to show refraction of a light ray through a
triangular glass prism. Define angle of deviation. {CBSE 2011 ,2013,2014,2016}
Refer Pg 6,7
18. The sky appears dark to the passengers flying at very high altitudes. Why? {CBSE
2012,2014}
Refer Pg 13

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19. What will be the colour of the sky when it is observed from a place in the absence of any
atmosphere? {CBSE 2012,2016}
Refer Pg 13
20. Name the phenomena due to which we get light from the sun before actual sunrise.
{CBSE 2011,2012}
Refer Pg 12,13
21. Name the component of white light that deviates (i)the least and (ii)the most while
passing through a glass prism.
Refer Pg 7,8
22. Why do we get colours when white light passes through a prism? {CBSE 2011}
Refer Pg 7
23. What is dispersion of light? {CBSE 2012,2015}
Refer Pg 7
24. On what factor does the colour of the light depend? {CBSE 2012}
ANS. The colour of the scattered light depends on the size of the scattering particles. Smaller
particles scatter light of smaller wavelengths such as blue light, while particles of larger size
scatter light of larger wavelengths like red and orange light.
25. What is a rainbow? Draw a labelled diagram to show the formation of a rainbow. {CBSE
2019}
OR
Describe the formation of a rainbow in the sky with the help of a diagram. {CBSE
2014 ,2017 ,2011}
Refer Pg 10,11
26. What is atmospheric refraction? Briefly explain. Why does the apparent position of a star
appear different from its true position? {CBSE 2012,2013,2015,2019}
Refer Pg 11, 12
27. What is scattering of light? How does it take place in earth’s atmosphere? How does
colour of scattered light depend on the size of scattering particles?
Refer Pg 9
28. A glass prism is able to produce a spectrum when white light passes through it but a glass
slab does not produce any spectrum. Explain. Why is it so? [CBSE (All India) 2009]
When white light enters the glass slab, dispersion of light takes place. The angle of refraction
for violet colour is more than for red colour on entering the glass slab. But all colours of light
return to the original direction of propagation while refracting from the other side of the glass

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slab and thus white light emerges out of the glass slab. Hence, glass slab does not produce
any spectrum.
29. A 52-year-old near-sighted person wears eyeglasses of power of –5.5D for distance
viewing. His doctor prescribes a correction of +1.5D in the near-vision section of his bi-
focals this measured relative to the main parts of the lens
(i) What is the focal length of his distance viewing part of the lens.
(ii) What is the focal length of the near vision section of the lens.

30. What is a bifocal lens?

A bifocal lens is created with two different areas of vision correction, which are divided by a
distinct line that sits horizontally across the lens. The top portion of the lens is used for
distance, while the bottom portion of the lens is used for closer vision.

31.

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32.

33.

34. It is observed that the power of an eye to see nearby objects as well as far off objects
diminishes with age. (2023)
a) Give reason for the above statement
b) Name the defect that is likely to arise in the eyes in such a condition.

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c)Draw a labelled ray diagram to show the type of corrective lens used for restoring the
vision of such an eye.
Ans- a) Due to gradual weakening of ciliary muscles and diminishing flexibility of the eye
lens, the power of the eye to see clearly nearby as well as far off objects diminishes with age.
b) Presbyopia always happens in old age because of loss of power
accommodation of the eye. A person affected by this defect can't see near as
well as far objects
c) Bifocal Lenses are used for correcting presbyopia. ● Bifocals have concave
lens on top and convex lens at bottom. ● Top allows you to see far objects,
bottom allows you to see near objects.

35. A person is suffering from an eye defect in which the far point of the eye is nearer than
infinity. Identify the defect and list two main causes of this defect. Draw a ray diagram to
show how this defect is corrected by using a suitable lens. (2023)
Answer: ● A person is suffering from an eye defect in which the far point of the eye is nearer
than infinity. This eye defect is also called myopia or near sightedness.
● It is caused by: 1) Excessive curvature of the eye lens 2) Elongation of the eyeball

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36. A person cannot see distinctly the object placed beyond 5 m from his eyes. Name the
defect of vision the person is suffering from. Draw a ray diagram to illustrate this defect. List
its two possible causes. Name the lens used for the correction of this defect. (2023)
Ans- This person is suffering from myopia, by virtue of which he cannot see far away objects
clearly. Two possible reason due to which the defect of vision may have arisen are:
(1) increase in curvature of the lens.
(2) increase in length of the eyeball.
Since a concave lens has an ability to diverge incoming rays, it is used to correct this defect
of vision. The image is allowed to form at the retina by using a concave lens of suitable
power.

Case Study Based Questions:

1. When white light is incident on one refracting surface of the prism, the light splits up
into constituent colours- violet, indigo, ne, green, yellow, orange and red. The process
of splitting of white light into its seven constituent colours is called dispersion. When
the dispersed white light is made to fall on a screen, we get the band of seven colours
called the spectrum of white light. Red colour bends the least on passing through the
prism and violet colour bends through maximum angle on passing through the prisms.
i) The splitting of white light can be done by
(a) lens (b) prism (c)mirror d) none of these
(ii) Which property of light is used by prism to form a spectrum
(a) Reflection (b) Refraction (c) Dispersion (d) Scattering
iii) When a red light passes through a prism,

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(A) will not split (b) will split into white colour (c) will split into seven colours (d) will split
into many different colours
iv) The spectrum produced by the white light by a prism is called
(a) pure spectrum b) monochromatic spectrum (c) impure spectrum (d) none of these
v) Which of the following dispersions is correct? Ans- a

2. Light of all the colours travel at the same speed in vacuum for all wavelengths. But in
any transparent medium (glass or water), the light of different colours travels with
different speeds for different wavelength that means that the refractive index of a
particular medium is different for different wavelength. As there is a difference in
their speeds, the light of different colour bend through different angles. The speed of
violet colour is maximum and the speed of red colour is minimums in glass so, the red
light deviates least and violet colour deviates most Hence, higher the wavelength of a
colour of light, smaller the refractive index and less is the bending of light.
i) Which of the following statements is correct regarding the propagation of light of different
colours of white light in air
(a) Red light moves fastest (b) Blue light moves faster than green light (c) All the colours of
the white light move with the same speed
(d) Yellow light moves with the mean speed as that of the red and the violet light.
ii) Which of the following is the correct order of wavelength?
A) Red >Green >yellow (b) Yellow> Green > Violet (c)Red >Violet> Green (d) Red>
Yellow> Orange
iii)Which of the following is the correct order of speed of light in glass?
(a) Red> Green> Blue (b) Violet> Red> Green (c)Blue> Green >Red (d) Green > Red >
Blue
iv) Which of the following is the correct order of angle of deviation
(a) Red >Green > Blue (b) Orange > Red>Green (c) Blue> Yellow >Orange (4) Blue >
Green > Violet

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