CHAPTER: LIGHT
KEYWORDS
1. Incident ray: The light ray, which strikes any surface, is called the incidents ray.
2. Reflected ray: It is the light ray that gets reflected from the surface of an object.
3. Angle of incidence: It is the angle between the incident ray and the normal.
4. Angle of reflection: It is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal.
Exercise Questions
1. Suppose you are in a dark room. Can you see objects in the room? Can you see objects
outside the room? Explain.
Soln:
If a person is inside the room where there is no light, it is then impossible to visualize the object
inside the room but the object out of the room can be seen easily.
When light falls on eyes after reflecting from the object, it becomes visible. If the room is dark, then
the object which is in the room reflects no light. Hence, the person is not able to see the objects in
the room where there is no light.
2. Differentiate between regular and diffused reflection. Does diffused reflection mean the
failure of the laws of reflection?
Soln:
[Link] Regular Reflection Diffused Reflection
1. It occurs when the surface is smooth. It occurs when the surface is a rough
surface.
2. Reflected rays move in a particular Reflected rays scattered in random
direction. directions.
Example: Reflection by the plane Example: Reflection by the road
mirror surface.
The laws of reflection have not failed because each ray obeys the law of reflection. All the reflected
rays are parallel to each other, whereas in diffused reflection the rays aren’t parallel to the incident
rays.
3. Mention against each of the following whether regular or diffused reflection will take place
when a beam of light strikes. Justify your answer in each case.
(a) Polished wooden table
(b) Chalk powder
(c) Cardboard surface
(d) Marble floor with water spread over it
(e) Mirror
(f) Piece of paper
Soln:
a) The wooden table that has been a polished-Regular reflection
The surface that has been recently polished can be a good example of a smooth surface. The
wooden table that has been polished has a surface that is smooth.
b) White Chalk powder that is used in school- Diffused reflection
Chalk powder spread on a surface is an example of an irregular surface. Hence, it is rough.
Therefore, the diffused reflection will appear from chalk powder.
c) Cardboard surface- Diffused reflection
The surface of the cardboard is a kind of irregular surface. Hence, the diffused reflection will take
place from a cardboard surface.
d) Marble floor – Regular reflection
Marble floor can be a good example of a surface that is regular. Since water makes the ceramic
glossy, thus, the reflections that are regular occur on this surface.
e) Mirror- Regular reflection
A mirror has a very smooth surface hence it gives a regular reflection.
f) Piece of paper- Diffused reflection
Although a piece of paper may look smooth, it has many irregularities on its surface. Due to this
reason, it will give a diffused reflection.
4. State the laws of reflection.
Soln:
a) The angle of reflection and the angle of incidence are always equal to one another.
b) The reflected ray, the incident ray, and the normal to the at the point of incidence lie in the same
plane.
6. Fill in the blanks in the following.
(a) A person 1 m in front of a plane mirror seems to be _______________ m away from his
image.
(b) If you touch your ____________ ear with right hand in front of a plane mirror it will be seen
in the mirror that your right ear is touched with ____________.
(c) The size of the pupil becomes ____________ when you see in dim light.
(d) Night birds have ____________ cones than rods in their eyes.
Soln:
(a) A person 1 m in front of a plane mirror seems to be 2m away from his image.
(b) If you touch your left ear with right hand in front of a plane mirror it will be seen in the mirror that
your right ear is touched with the left hand.
(c) The size of the pupil becomes large when you see in dim light.
(d) Night birds have fewer cones than rods in their eyes.
Choose the correct option in Questions 7 – 8
7. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
(a) Always
(b) Sometimes
(c) Under special conditions
(d) Never
Soln:
Answer is (a) Always
8. Image formed by a plane mirror is
(a) virtual, behind the mirror and enlarged.
(b) virtual, behind the mirror and of the same size as the object.
(c) real at the surface of the mirror and enlarged.
(d) real, behind the mirror and of the same size as the object.
Soln:
Answer is (b) virtual, behind the mirror and of the same size as the object.
9. Describe the construction of a kaleidoscope.
Soln:
The construction of a kaleidoscope:
Take three rectangular mirror strips of dimensions 15cm x 4cm (l x b) and join them together to form
a prism. A prism is fixed into a circular cardboard tube. The circular cardboard tube should be
slightly longer than the prism. This circular tube is now closed at one end with a cardboard disc. This
disc has a hole through which we can see. At the other end of the circular tube, a plane glass plate
is fixed. It is important that this glass plate touches the prism mirrors. On this glass plate, several
small and broken pieces of coloured glass are placed. This end is now closed by a round glass plate
allowing enough space for the coloured glass pieces to move.
11. Gurmit wanted to perform Activity 16.8 using a laser torch. Her teacher advised her not to
do so. Can you explain the basis of the teacher’s advice?
Soln:
Her teacher advised her not to do so because of the intensity of the laser light is very high. it is
harmful to the human eyes. It can cause damage to the retina and leads to blindness. Hence, it is
advisable not to look at a laser beam directly.
12. Explain how you can take care of your eyes.
Soln:
The following points help a person to take care of his eyes:
a) Reading should not be done in bright light as well as in dim light.
b) One should visit an eye specialist on a regular interval of time.
c) If any small insects or dust particles enters the eyes, do not rub them but clean them immediately
with cold water.
d) One should avoid direct exposure of sunlight to the eye.
e) While reading, there should be a distance of at least 25 cm between the eyes and the book.
13. What is the angle of incidence of a ray if the reflected ray is at an angle of 90° to the
incident ray?
Soln:
If the reflected ray is at the angle of 90o to the incident ray, then the angle of incidence is 45o.
According to the law of reflection, the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection are equal.
Therefore, the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection both are 90/2=45o.
14. How many images of a candle will be formed if it is placed between two parallel plane
mirrors separated by 40 cm?
Soln:
If a candle is placed between two parallel plane mirror separated by 40 cm, then the multiple and
infinite images will be formed due to the multiple reflections between the mirrors. The infinite
numbers of images are formed when two mirrors are placed parallel to each other.
16. Boojho stands at A just on the side of a plane mirror as shown in Fig. 16.20. Can he see
himself in the mirror? Also, can he see the image of objects situated at P, Q and R?
Soln:
Boojho cannot see his image. He can see the image of objects situated at P and Q. Boojho can’t see
the image of objects situated at R.
17. (a) Find out the position of the image of an object situated at A in the plane mirror (Fig.
16.21).
(b) Can Paheli at B see this image?
(c) Can Boojho at C see this image?
(d) When Paheli moves from B to C, where does the image of A move?
Soln:
a) Image of an object placed at A is formed behind the mirror. The distance of the image from the
mirror is equal to the distance of A from the mirror
b) Yes Paheli at B can see this image.
c) Yes Boojho at C can see this image.
d) Image of the object at A will not move. It will remain at the same position when Paheli moves from
B to C.
EXTRA QUESTION
1. Write the characteristics of image formed by a plane mirror.
Ans. a. Image is virtual and erect.
b. The image is of the same size as the object.
c. The distance between the image and mirror is same as the distance between
object and mirror.
d. Image is laterally inverted.
