Chapter- 10

Light Reflection and Refraction

Notes

Introduction

→ Light is the form of energy that provides sensation of

vision.
→ Some common phenomena associated with lights are
image formation by mirrors, the twinkling of stars, the
beautiful colours of a rainbow, bending of light by a medium
and so on.
Properties of Light
→ Electromagnetic wave, so does not require any medium
to travel.
→ Light tends to travel in straight line.
→ Light has dual nature i.e. wave as well as particle.
→ Light casts shadow.
→ Speed of light is maximum in vacuum.
Its value is 3x10 ⁸ ms1
Reflection of light: The bouncing back of light in the same
medium is called reflection of light.
Terms related to Reflection of Light
• Incident Ray: The light ray striking a reflecting surface is
called the incident ray.
• Point of Incidence: The point at which the incidence ray
strikes the reflecting surface is called the Point of Incidence.
• Reflected Ray: The light ray obtained after reflection from
the surface in the same medium in which the incident ray is
traveling is called Reflected ray.
• Normal: The perpendicular drawn to the surface at the
point of incidence is called the Normal.
• Angle of Incidence: The angle which the incident ray makes
with the normal at the point of incidence is called the angle
of incidence.
• Angle of Reflection: The angle which the reflected ray
makes with the normal at the point of incidence is called the
angle of reflection.
Laws of Reflection
The laws of reflection states that,
(a) The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in
the same plane.
(b) The angle of incidence ∠i =∠r Angle of reflection.
Types of Reflection:
There are two types of reflection
(a) Regular Reflection
(b) Irregular Reflection
(a) Regular Reflection: When all reflected rays are parallel to
each other, the reflection is called regular reflection. Clear
image is formed in case of regular reflection.
(b) Irregular Reflection: When reflected rays are not parallel
to each other, the reflection is called irregular reflection.
We call it as diffused reflection.
Virtual and Real image
Image is a point where at least two light rays actually meet or
appear to meet.
Real Image Virtual Image

Formed when light rays Formed when light rays

actually meet. appear to meet.
Can be obtained on screen. Can’t be obtained on screen.

Inverted Erect

Example: image formed on Example: image formed by

cinema screen and formed by plane mirror or convex
concave mirror. mirror.
Image Formed by Plane Mirror
Characteristics of Image formed by Plane Mirror
(I) Virtual and erect.
(ii) Size of image is equal to the size of object.
(iii) Image is formed as far behind the mirror as the object is
in front of it.
(iv) Laterally inverted.
Lateral Inversion: The right side of the object appears left
side of the image and vice-versa.
Application of lateral inversion
→ The word AMBULANCE is written in reverse direction so
that it can be read correctly in rear view mirror of vehicles
going in front of it.

Spherical Mirrors

→ Mirrors whose reflecting surface is curved.

→ There are two types of spherical mirrors:
(I) Convex Mirror
(ii) Concave Mirror

Properties of Concave mirror

• Reflecting surface is curved inwards.
• Converging mirror

Properties of Convex mirror

• Reflecting surface is curved outwards.

• Diverging mirror

Common terms for Spherical mirrors

→ Principal axis: The line joining the pole and center of

curvature.
→ Pole (P): The center of the spherical mirror.
→ Aperture (MN): It is the effective diameter of the spherical
mirror.
→ Center of Curvature (C): The centre of the hollow glass
sphere of which the mirror was a part.

→ Radius of Curvature (R): The distance between the pole

and the centre of curvature.
→ Focus (F): The point on principal axis where all the parallel
light rays actually meet or appear to meet after reflection.
→ Focal length (f): The distance between the pole and the
focus.
→ Relationship between focal length and radius of curvature:
f = R/2

Rules for making ray diagrams by spherical mirror

(i) A ray parallel to the principal axis, after reflection, will

pass through the principal focus in case of a concave mirror
or appear to diverge from the principal focus in case of a
convex mirror.
(ii) A ray passing through the principal focus of a concave
mirror or a ray which is directed towards the principal focus
of a convex mirror, after reflection, will emerge parallel to
the principal axis.
(iii) A ray passing through the centre of curvature of a
concave mirror or directed in the direction of the centre of
curvature of a convex mirror, after reflection, is reflected
back along the same path.
(iv) A ray incident obliquely to the principal axis, towards a
point P (pole of the mirror), on the concave mirror or a
convex mirror, is reflected obliquely. The incident and
reflected rays follow the laws of reflection at the point of
incidence (point P), making equal angles with the principal
axis.

Ray diagrams for images formed by concave mirror

(I) When object is at infinity

Image Position − At ‘F’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Point sized or highly diminished
(ii) When object is beyond ‘C’
Image Position – Between ‘F’ and ‘C’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Diminished
(iii) When object is at ‘C’
Image Position – At ‘C’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Same size as that of object
(iv) When object is placed between ‘F’ and ‘C’
Image Position – Beyond ‘C’
Nature of image– Real, inverted
Size – Enlarged
(v) When object is placed at ‘F’
Image Position – At Infinity
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Highly enlarged
(vi) When object is between ‘P’ and ‘F’
Image Position – Behind the mirror
Nature of image – Virtual, erect
Size – Enlarged
Uses of Concave Mirror
(I) Used in torches, search lights and vehicles headlights to
get powerful parallel beam of light.
(ii) Concave mirrors are used by dentists to see large image of
teeth of patients. (Teeth have to be placed between pole and
focus).
(iii) Concave mirror is used as shaving mirror to see a larger
image of the face.
(iv) Large concave mirrors are used to concentrate sunlight to
produce heat in solar furnace.
 Ray diagrams of images formed by convex mirror

(I) When object is placed at infinity

Image Position − At ‘F’
Nature of image – Virtual, erect
Size – Point sized
(ii) When object is placed between pole and infinity
Image Position – Between ‘P’ and ‘F’
Nature of image– Virtual, erect
Size – Diminished
A full-length image of a tall building/tree can be seen in a
small convex mirror.
Uses of Convex Mirror
(I) Convex mirrors are used as rear-view mirrors in vehicles
because
→ they always give an erect though diminished image.
→ they have a wider field of view as they are curved
outwards.
(ii) Convex mirrors are used at blind turns and on points of
merging traffic to facilitate vision of both side traffic.
(iii) Used in shops as security mirror.
 Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical Mirror

(I) The object is placed to the left of the mirror.

(ii) All distances parallel to the principal axis are measured
from the pole of the mirror.
(iii) All distances measured in the direction of incident ray
(along + X-axis) are taken as positive and those measured
against the direction of incident ray (along – X-axis) are taken
as negative.
(iv) Distance measured perpendicular to and above the
principal axis are taken as positive.
(v) Distances measured perpendicular to and below the
principal axis are taken as negative.
• Object distance = ‘u’ is always negative.
• Focal length of concave mirror = Negative
• Focal length of convex mirror = Positive

Mirror Formula

1/v + 1/u = 1/f

where, v = Image distance
u = Object distance
f = Focal length

Magnification of Spherical Mirrors

It is the ratio of the height of image to the height of object.

m = Height of image/Height of object
⇒ m = hi/ho
Also, m = -v/u
→ If ‘m’ is negative, image is real.
→ If ‘m’ is positive, image is virtual.
→ If hi = ho then m = 1, i.e., image is equal to object.
→ If hi > ho then m > 1 i.e., image is enlarged.
→ If hi < ho then m < 1 i.e., image is diminished.
• Magnification of plane mirror is always + 1.
‘+’ sign indicates virtual image.
‘1’ indicates that image is equal to object’s size.
• If ‘m’ is ‘+ve’ and less than 1, it is a convex mirror.
• If ‘m’ is ‘-ve’, it is a concave mirror.
Refraction
Bending of light, change in direction when enters in other
medium
Refraction: Change in the direction of propagation of a ray of
light, when it travels obliquely from one transparent medium
to another, is called refraction of light.
a ray of light travelling from a rarer medium to a
denser medium slows down and bends towards the normal.
When it travels from a
denser medium to a rarer medium, it speeds up and bends
away from the normal.
Laws of Refraction
(I) The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the
interface of two transparent media at the point of incidence,
all lie in the same plane.
(ii) The ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle
of refraction is a constant, for the light of a given color and
for the given pair of media. This law is also known as Snell’s
law of refraction. (This is true for angle 0 < i < 90o)
If i is the angle of incidence and r is the angle of refraction,
then,
n1 sinθ1 = n2 sinθ2 (relates the angles of incidence and
refraction to the reflective indices of the two media)
Refractive Index
The refractive index of medium 2 w.r.t medium 1 is given by
the ratio of the speed of light in medium 1 and the speed of
light in medium 2.
n21=speed of light in medium 1 / speed of light in medium 2

Refractive index of a medium depends upon

1. Nature of the material of the medium ,
2. Density of the medium,
3. Colour or wavelength of light,
Newmonic- I nu thickness
Refractive medium index
1. Air: n ≈ 1.003
2. Water: n ≈ 1.33
3. Glass: n ≈ 1.50-1.90 (depending on the type of glass)
4. Diamond: n ≈ 2.42

Spherical Lens
A lens is an optical device bounded by one or two spherical
surfaces that is used to bend light in a specific way,
There are two types of lenses
1. Concave lens
2. Convex lens
Converging lens: A converging lens bends light so that the
light rays come together at a point
Diverging lens: A diverging lens bends light so it spreads light
apart instead of coming together.

Rules for image formation by convex lens

(I) A ray of light parallel to principal axis of a convex lens

always pass through the focus on the other side of the lens.
(ii) A ray of light passing through the principal focus will
emerge parallel to principal axis after refraction.
(iii) A ray of light passing through the optical center will
emerge without any deviation.

Ray Diagrams of Image formed by Convex Lens

(I) When object is at infinity
Image Position − At ‘F 2 ’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Point sized or highly diminished
(ii) When object is beyond ‘2F1’
Image Position – Between ‘F2’ and ‘2F2’
Nature of image– Real, inverted
Size – Diminished
(iii) When object is at ‘2F1 ’
Image Position – At ‘2F2 ’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Same size
(iv) When object is between ‘F1’ and ‘2F1’
Image Position – Beyond ‘2F2’
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Enlarged
(v) When object is at ‘F1’
Image Position – At Infinity
Nature of image – Real, inverted
Size – Highly enlarged
(vi) When object is between ‘F1’ and optical centre
Image Position – On the same side of the lens as object
Nature of image – Virtual and erect
Size – Enlarged

Rules for Image Formation by Concave Lens

(I) A ray of light parallel to the principal axis appear to

diverge from the principal focus located on the same side of
the lens.
(ii) A ray of light appearing to meet at the principal focus of a
concave lens will emerge parallel to principal axis.
(iii) A ray of light passing through the optical centre of a lens
will emerge without any deviation.

Ray Diagrams of Images Formed by a Concave Lens

(I) When object is placed at infinity

Image Position − At ‘F1’
Nature of image – Virtual, erect
Size – Point sized or highly diminished
(ii) When object is placed between infinity and optical centre
Image Position – Between ‘F’ and ‘O’
Nature of image – Virtual, erect
Size – Diminished

Sign convention for spherical lenses

• Sign conventions are similar to the one used for spherical

mirrors, except that measurements are taken from optical
center of the lens.
• Focal length of convex lens = Positive
Focal length of concave lens = Negative

Lens Formula
1/v - 1/u = 1/f

Magnification
m = hi/ho = v/u
Power of a lens

→ It is defined as the reciprocal of focal length in meter.

→ The degree of convergence or divergence of light rays is
expressed in terms of power.
Power (P) = 1/v - 1/u = 1/f
→ SI unit of Power = dioptre = D
→ 1 D = 1 m-1
→ 1 dioptre is the power of lens whose focal length is one
meter.
→ Power of convex lens = Positive
→ Power of concave lens = Negative
→ Power ∝ 1/(focal length or thickness)