Physics · Textbook solutions
Wave Optics
Every solved example, exercise, and miscellaneous question, in the order the textbook teaches them. Plus every board question asked from this chapter. · 41 questions
7. Wave Optics — worked examples
8 q
Solved Examples
Worked · 8
- Solved Ex.7.1Unpolarized light of intensity is made to pass through three polarizers , and successively. The polarization axis of makes an angle of with that of , while that of makes an angle with that of the . What will be the intensity of light coming out of ?
- Solved Ex.7.2For what angle of incidence will light incident on a bucket filled with liquid having refractive index 1.5 be completely polarized after reflection?
- Solved Ex.7.3Plane wavefront of light of wavelength 5500 Å is incident on two slits in a screen perpendicular to the direction of light rays. If the total separation of 10 bright fringes on a screen 2 m away is 2 cm, find the distance between the slits.
- Solved Ex.7.4In a Young's double slit experiment, the difference in path lengths between the rays starting from the two slits and and reaching a point A on the screen is 0.0075 mm and reaching another point B on the screen on the other side of the central fringe is 0.0015 mm. How many bright and dark fringes are observed between A and B if the wavelength of light used is 6000 Å?
- Solved Ex.7.5An isosceles prism of refracting angle and refractive index 1.5 is used as a biprism by keeping it 10 cm away from a slit, the edge of the biprism being parallel to the slit. The slit is illuminated by a light of wavelength 500 nm and the screen is 90 cm away from the biprism. Calculate the location of the centre of dark band and the path difference at this location.
- Solved Ex.7.6What must be the thickness of a thin film which, when kept near one of the slits shifts the central fringe by 5 mm for incident light of wavelength 5400 Å in Young's double slit interference experiment? The refractive index of the material of the film is 1.1 and the fringe width is 0.5 mm.
- Solved Ex.7.7A telescope has an objective of diameter 2.5 m. What is its angular resolution when it observes at 5500 Å?
- Solved Ex.7.8What is the minimum distance between two objects which can be resolved by a microscope having the visual angle of when light of wavelength 500 nm is used?
Exercises
33 q
Choose the correct option
Practice · 5
- Choose the correct option.Ex Q.1 (i)Which of the following phenomenon proves that light is a transverse wave?
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- Ex Q.1 (ii)Which property of light does not change when it travels from one medium to another?
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- Ex Q.1 (iii)When unpolarized light is passed through a polarizer, its intensity
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- Ex Q.1 (iv)In Young's double slit experiment, the two coherent sources have different intensities. If the ratio of maximum intensity to the minimum intensity in the interference pattern produced is 25:1. What was the ratio of intensities of the two sources?
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- Ex Q.1 (v)In Young's double slit experiment, a thin uniform sheet of glass is kept in front of the two slits, parallel to the screen having the slits. The resulting interference pattern will satisfy
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Answer in brief
Practice · 5
- Answer in brief.Ex Q.2 (i)What are primary and secondary sources of light?
- Ex Q.2 (ii)What is a wavefront? How is it related to rays of light? What is the shape of the wavefront at a point far away from the source of light?
- Ex Q.2 (iii)Why are multiple colours observed over a thin film of oil floating on water? Explain with the help of a diagram.
- Ex Q.2 (iv)In Young's double slit experiment what will we observe on the screen when white light is incident on the slits but one slit is covered with a red filter and the other with a violet filter? Give reasons for your answer.
- Ex Q.2 (v)Explain what is optical path length. How is it different from actual path length?
Solve the following
Practice · 23
- Ex Q.3Derive the laws of reflection of light using Huygens' principle.
- Ex Q.4Derive the laws of refraction of light using Huygens' principle.
- Ex Q.5Explain what is meant by polarization and derive Malus' law.
- Ex Q.6What is Brewster's law? Derive the formula for Brewster angle.
- Ex Q.7Describe Young's double slit interference experiment and derive conditions for occurrence of dark and bright fringes on the screen. Define fringe width and derive a formula for it.
- Ex Q.8What are the conditions for obtaining good interference pattern? Give reasons.
- Ex Q.9What is meant by coherent sources? What are the two methods for obtaining coherent sources in the laboratory?
- Ex Q.10What is diffraction of light? How does it differ from interference? What are Fraunhoffer and Fresnel diffractions?
- Ex Q.11Derive the conditions for bright and dark fringes produced due to diffraction by a single slit.
- Ex Q.12Describe what is Rayleigh's criterion for resolution. Explain it for a telescope and a microscope.
- Ex Q.13White light consists of wavelengths from 400 nm to 700 nm. What will be the wavelength range seen when white light is passed through glass of refractive index 1.55?
- Ex Q.14The optical path of a ray of light of a given wavelength travelling a distance of 3 cm in flint glass having refractive index 1.6 is same as that on travelling a distance cm through a medium having refractive index 1.25. Determine the value of .
- Ex Q.15A double-slit arrangement produces interference fringes for sodium light nm that are apart. What is the angular fringe separation if the entire arrangement is immersed in water ?
- Ex Q.16In a double-slit arrangement the slits are separated by a distance equal to 100 times the wavelength of the light passing through the slits. (a) What is the angular separation in radians between the central maximum and an adjacent maximum? (b) What is the distance between these maxima on a screen 50.0 cm from the slits?
- Ex Q.17Unpolarized light with intensity is incident on two polaroids. The axis of the first polaroid makes an angle of with the vertical, and the axis of the second polaroid is horizontal. What is the intensity of the light after it has passed through the second polaroid?
- Ex Q.18In a biprism experiment, the fringes are observed in the focal plane of the eyepiece at a distance of 1.2 m from the slits. The distance between the central bright band and the bright band is 0.4 cm. When a convex lens is placed between the biprism and the eyepiece, 90 cm from the eyepiece, the distance between the two virtual magnified images is found to be 0.9 cm. Determine the wavelength of light used.
- Ex Q.19In Fraunhoffer diffraction by a narrow slit, a screen is placed at a distance of 2 m from the lens to obtain the diffraction pattern. If the slit width is 0.2 mm and the first minimum is 5 mm on either side of the central maximum, find the wavelength of light.
- Ex Q.20The intensity of the light coming from one of the slits in Young's experiment is twice the intensity of the light coming from the other slit. What will be the approximate ratio of the intensities of the bright and dark fringes in the resulting interference pattern?
- Ex Q.21A parallel beam of green light of wavelength 550 nm passes through a slit of width 0.4 mm. The intensity pattern of the transmitted light is seen on a screen which is 40 cm away. What is the distance between the two first order minima?
- Ex Q.22What must be the ratio of the slit width to the wavelength for a single slit to have the first diffraction minimum at ?
- Ex Q.23Monochromatic electromagnetic radiation from a distant source passes through a slit. The diffraction pattern is observed on a screen 2.50 m from the slit. If the width of the central maximum is 6.00 mm, what is the slit width if the wavelength is (a) 500 nm (visible light); (b) m (infrared radiation); (c) 0.500 nm (X-rays)?
- Ex Q.24A star is emitting light at the wavelength of 5000 Å. Determine the limit of resolution of a telescope having an objective of diameter of 200 inch.
- Ex Q.25The distance between two consecutive bright fringes in a biprism experiment using light of wavelength 6000 Å is 0.32 mm by how much will the distance change if light of wavelength 4800 Å is used?
What the board has asked from this chapter
Questions per paper · 16 papers · 2016 to 2026
2016: 4 questions per paper. 2017: 3 questions per paper. 2018: 5 questions per paper. 2019: 3 questions per paper. 2020: 1 questions per paper. 2022: 4 questions per paper. 2023: 1.5 questions per paper. 2024: 2 questions per paper. 2025: 1.7 questions per paper. 2026: 3.5 questions per paper
June 2026
4 q
- Q. 1(viii)A polarising angle for an optical material is 35°. Then refractive index of the material is
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Polarization and Brewster's Law - Answer the following questions :Q. 2(vi)Define the term wavefront.Nature of Light and Huygens' Principle
- Q. 10A star is emitting light at the wavelength of 4000Å. Determine the limit of angular resolution of a telescope having an objective of diameter of 400 cm.Resolving Power
- Q. 18What is interference of light? State any four conditions for obtaining well defined and steady interference pattern.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
February 2026
3 q
- Answer the following questions :Q. 2(v)In Young's double slit experiment, width of the two slits are in the ratio 25 : 1. Calculate the ratio of amplitudes.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 5Draw a ray diagram showing position of virtual sources and region of interference in biprism experiment.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 31Using analytical method, obtain an expression for the fringe width of two interfering waves.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
June 2025
3 q
- Q. 1(viii)How many times the intensity of an unpolarized light wave reduces after passing through a polarizer?
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Polarization and Brewster's Law - Q. 13What must be the ratio of the slit width to the wavelength for a single slit to have the first diffraction minimum at 45°?Diffraction at a Single Slit
- Q. 31State the four conditions for obtaining well defined and steady interference pattern. Light incident at angle 52.5° on a bucket filled with water be completely polarised after reflection. Calculate the refractive index of the water.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
February 2025
2 q
- Q. 29Distinguish between interference and diffraction of light. A double slit arrangement produces interference fringes for sodium light of wavelength 589 nm, that are 0.20 degree apart. What is the angular fringe separation if the entire arrangement is immersed in water? ( R.I. of water = 1.33 )Diffraction at a Single Slit
- Q. 17What is Brewster's law? Derive the formula for Brewster's angle.Polarization and Brewster's Law
July 2024
3 q
- Answer the following questions :Q. 2(iii)State any one method of polarization of light.Polarization and Brewster's Law
- Q. 14A telescope has an objective of diameter 2.5m. What is its angular resolution when observed at 7500Å ?Resolving Power
- Q. 31Derive the formula for Brewster's angle. Green light of wavelength 5100Å from a narrow slit is incident on a double slit. If the overall separation of 10 fringes on a screen 2 m away is 2 cm, find the slit separation.Polarization and Brewster's Law
February 2024
3 q
- Q. 1(x)In biprism experiment, the distance of bright band from the central bright band is 1.2 cm. Without changing the experimental set-up, the distance of bright band from the central bright band will be _____.
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Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment - Q. 28Using the geometry of the double slit experiment, derive the expression for fringe width of interference bands.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 4Explain the construction of a spherical wavefront by using Huygens' principle.Nature of Light and Huygens' Principle
February 2023
3 q
- Q. 1(iv)The property of light which remains unchanged when it travels from one medium to another is ________.
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Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory - Q. 15Derive laws of reflection of light using Huygens' principle.Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory
- Q. 23In a biprism experiment, the fringes are observed in the focal plane of the eye-piece at a distance of 1.2 m from the slit. The distance between the central bright band and the 20th bright band is 0.4 cm. When a convex lens is placed between the biprism and the eye-piece, 90 cm from the eye-piece, the distance between the two virtual magnified images is found to be 0.9 cm. Determine the wavelength of light used.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
March 2022
4 q
- Q. 1(iv)The property of light which does not change, when it travels from one medium to another is ________.
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Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory - Q. 11Plane wavefront of light of wavelength is incident on two slits on a screen perpendicular to the direction of light rays. If the total separation of 10 bright fringes on a screen 2 m away is 2 cm, find the distance between the slits.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 15With the help of a neat diagram, explain the reflection of light on a plane reflecting surface.Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory
- Q. 1(ix)In young's double slit experiment the two coherent sources have different amplitudes. If the ratio of maximum intensity to minimum intensity is 16:1, then the ratio of amplitudes of the two source will be ________.
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Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
February 2020
1 q
- Q. 1(vi)A diffraction pattern is obtained by making blue light incident on a narrow slit. If blue light is replaced by red light, then the diffraction bands ________.
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Diffraction at a Single Slit
March 2019
3 q
- Q. 29Explain refraction of light on the basis of wave theory. Hence prove the laws of refraction. Two coherent sources of light having intensity 81 : 1 produce interference fringes. Calculate the ratio of intensities at the maxima and minima in the interference pattern.Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory
- Q. 9In Young's experiment interference bands were produced on a screen placed at 150 cm from two slits, 0.15 mm apart and illuminated by the light of wavelength . Calculate the fringe width.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 29 (OR)State Brewster's law and show that when light is incident at polarizing angle, the reflected and refracted rays are mutually perpendicular to each other. Monochromatic light of wavelength falls on a slit of width 'a'. For what value of 'a' the first maximum falls at ?Polarization and Brewster's Law
March 2018
5 q
- Q. 7(iv)The refractive indices of water and diamond are and 2.42 respectively. Find the speed of light in water and diamond. ().Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory
- Q. 5(ii)In interference pattern, using two coherent sources of light; the fringe width is ________.
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Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment - Q. 6(i)State the conditions to get constructive and destructive interference of light.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 7(iii)In a biprism experiment, light of wavelength is used to get an interference pattern on the screen. The fringe width changes by 1.3 mm when the screen is moved towards biprism by 50 cm. Find the distance between two virtual images of the slit.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 5(vii)Glass plate of refractive index 1.732 is to be used as a polariser, its polarising angle is ________.
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Polarization and Brewster's Law
March 2017
3 q
- Q. 8Describe the biprism experiment to find the wavelength of the monochromatic light. Draw the necessary ray diagram. The width of plane incident wavefront is found to be doubled on refraction in denser medium. If it makes an angle of with the normal, calculate the refractive index for the denser medium.Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 6(i)Distinguish between the phenomenon of interference and diffraction of light.Diffraction at a Single Slit
- Q. 5(ii)In Doppler effect of light, the term "red shift" is used for ________.
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Nature of Light and Huygens' Principle
March 2016
4 q
- Q. 8(i)Determine the change in wavelength of light during its passage from air to glass. If the refractive index of glass with respect to air is 1.5 and the frequency of light is Hz, find the wave number of light in glass. [Velocity of light in air ()].Reflection and Refraction on Huygens' Theory
- Q. 8(ii)In biprism experiment, 10th dark band is observed at 2.09 mm from the central bright point on the screen with red light of wavelength . By how much will fringe width change if blue light of wavelength is used with the same setting?Interference and Young's Double Slit Experiment
- Q. 5(i)What is 'diffraction of light'? Explain its two types.Diffraction at a Single Slit
- Q. 6(i)If the polarising angle for a given medium is , then the refractive index of the medium is ________.
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Polarization and Brewster's Law
The 10 board questions to practise first
The questions the board asked again come first, most asked first. Each one says how often and when.
Question 1
Asked 3 times: Mar 2019, Jul 2024, Feb 2025
Q. 17What is Brewster's law? Derive the formula for Brewster's angle.Question 2
Asked 2 times: Jun 2025, Jun 2026
Q. 18What is interference of light? State any four conditions for obtaining well defined and steady interference pattern.Question 3
Asked 2 times: Jul 2024*, Jun 2026 (* = numbers or wording changed that year)
Q. 10A star is emitting light at the wavelength of 4000Å. Determine the limit of angular resolution of a telescope having an objective of diameter of 400 cm.Question 4
Asked 2 times: Feb 2024, Feb 2026
Q. 31Using analytical method, obtain an expression for the fringe width of two interfering waves.Question 5
Asked 2 times: Mar 2017, Feb 2025
Q. 29Distinguish between interference and diffraction of light. A double slit arrangement produces interference fringes for sodium light of wavelength 589 nm, that are 0.20 degree apart. What is the angular fringe separation if the entire arrangement is immersed in water? ( R.I. of water = 1.33 )Question 6
Asked 2 times: Mar 2022, Feb 2023
Q. 1(iv)The property of light which remains unchanged when it travels from one medium to another is ________.Tap an option to check your answer.
Question 7
Asked 2 times: Mar 2022, Feb 2023
Q. 15Derive laws of reflection of light using Huygens' principle.Question 8
This type asked 6 times: Mar 2016, Mar 2018, Mar 2019, Mar 2022, Feb 2023, Feb 2024. This one: Feb 2024
Q. 1(x)In biprism experiment, the distance of bright band from the central bright band is 1.2 cm. Without changing the experimental set-up, the distance of bright band from the central bright band will be _____.Tap an option to check your answer.
Question 9
This type asked 3 times: Mar 2016, Mar 2018, Jun 2026. This one: Jun 2026
Q. 1(viii)A polarising angle for an optical material is 35°. Then refractive index of the material isTap an option to check your answer.
Question 10
This type asked 3 times: Mar 2019, Mar 2022, Feb 2026. This one: Feb 2026
Answer the following questions :Q. 2(v)In Young's double slit experiment, width of the two slits are in the ratio 25 : 1. Calculate the ratio of amplitudes.