Refraction of Light: Laws, Lenses, Prisms & Total Internal Reflection: 57 MCQs
All 57 multiple-choice questions from this kit, free and with no sign-up.
Warm-up · 26 questions
Q1. A straw in a glass of water appears bent at the water line. What causes this?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q2. Light travels from air into glass obliquely. Which statement is correct?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q3. Which quantity remains unchanged when light passes from air into water?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q4. The refractive index of a medium is defined as $\mu = c/V$. Why is it unitless?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q5. A ray of light strikes a glass surface at $i = 0^\circ$. What happens to it?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q6. Refractive index of a medium is $\mu = c/V = \lambda_{\text{air}}/\lambda_{\text{medium}}$; it has no unit.
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q7. What is the bending of light when it crosses from one medium to another called?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q8. Which term describes the angle between the incident ray and the normal?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q9. What happens to the speed of light when it enters a denser medium?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q10. What is the relationship described by Snell's law?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q11. Which quantity remains unchanged when light passes from one medium to another?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q12. What is the critical angle for total internal reflection?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q13. What happens to light when it strikes a boundary at a $90^\circ$ angle?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q14. What is the apparent depth of an object under water compared to its real depth?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q15. What is total internal reflection?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q16. Why does a straw appear broken at the water surface?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q17. What is the bending of light when it crosses from one medium to another called?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q18. What is the angle between the incident ray and the normal called?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q19. Which quantity does NOT change when light passes from one medium to another?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q20. What is Snell's law used to describe?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q21. What happens to light when it enters a denser medium?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q22. What is the critical angle?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q23. What is total internal reflection?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q24. In which situation does light NOT bend?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q25. What does the refractive index indicate?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q26. What is the angle of deviation?
BeginnerAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Building up · 17 questions
Q27. A coin lies at the bottom of a pool. To an observer above, the coin appears:
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q28. A coin is 16 cm deep in water ($\mu = 4/3$). At what depth does it appear?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q29. Which pair of conditions is required for total internal reflection?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q30. The critical angle for a medium is $30^\circ$. What is its refractive index?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q31. Kerosene ($\mu = 1.43$) is optically denser than water ($\mu = 1.33$) even though water has greater mass density. What does this show?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q32. A ray passes through a rectangular glass slab. Which change would INCREASE the lateral displacement?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q33. Why does the Sun become visible a little before actual sunrise?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q34. When light passes from air into water at an angle of incidence of $30^\circ$, what happens to the angle of refraction?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q35. A ray of light strikes a glass slab at an angle of incidence of $45^\circ$. What is the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction as it emerges from the slab?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q36. If the critical angle for a certain medium is $42^\circ$, what can be inferred about its refractive index?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q37. In which scenario does total internal reflection occur?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q38. What effect does increasing the angle of incidence have on the angle of refraction when light travels from a denser to a rarer medium?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q39. A right-angled prism has an angle of prism of $60^\circ$. If light enters at an angle of incidence of $45^\circ$, what can be said about the angle of deviation?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q40. When observing a coin at the bottom of a pool, how does the apparent depth compare to the real depth?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q41. What happens to the wavelength of light when it enters a denser medium?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q42. In a prism, if the angle of incidence is $30^\circ$ and the angle of prism is $45^\circ$, what can be inferred about the angle of deviation?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q43. Why do diamonds appear to sparkle more than other gemstones?
IntermediateAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Topper level · 14 questions
Q44. A right-angled isosceles prism turns a beam through $90^\circ$ using total internal reflection. Why is this preferred over a silvered mirror?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q45. Diamond has $\mu = 2.41$. Which statement best explains why a cut diamond sparkles?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q46. A ray enters a glass slab and emerges parallel to its original direction. Which statement is true?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q47. A beam of light passes from water ($\mu = 4/3$) into glass ($\mu \approx 1.5$) at an angle of incidence of $50^\circ$. What is the angle of refraction according to Snell's law?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q48. A right-angled prism has an angle of prism of $90^\circ$. If light enters the prism at an angle of incidence of $45^\circ$, what is the angle of deviation of the emergent ray?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q49. A beam of light passes from air into a glass prism with a refractive index of 1.5 at an angle of incidence of 60 degrees. What is the angle of refraction as it enters the prism?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q50. If a ray of light enters a rectangular glass slab at an angle of incidence of 30 degrees and exits at the same angle, what can be inferred about the refractive index of the glass slab?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q51. A light ray traveling in water strikes the surface of a glass prism at an angle of incidence of 45 degrees. If the refractive index of water is 1.33 and that of glass is 1.5, what is the angle of refraction as it enters the glass?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q52. A diamond has a critical angle of 24 degrees. If a light ray strikes the diamond-air boundary at an angle of incidence of 30 degrees, what will happen to the light?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q53. A ray of light passes from air into a medium with a refractive index of 2.0 at an angle of incidence of 45 degrees. What is the angle of refraction?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q54. A light ray in a glass slab (refractive index = 1.5) strikes the surface at an angle of incidence of 30 degrees. What is the angle of deviation as it emerges back into the air?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q55. If the apparent depth of an object in water is 12 cm and the real depth is 16 cm, what is the refractive index of water?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q56. A ray of light passes from a medium with a refractive index of 1.33 to another medium with a refractive index of 1.5 at an angle of incidence of 48 degrees. What is the angle of refraction in the second medium?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Q57. A right-angled prism has a refractive index of 1.5 and is used to bend light through 90 degrees. What must be the minimum angle of incidence on the hypotenuse for total internal reflection to occur?
AdvancedAnswers and explanations are in the Veda app.
Your notes can be a kit like these
Every kit here was made from real study material. Point Veda at a chapter, a PDF, a photo or a link and get notes, flashcards, practice MCQs, games and a scored test — free, in 42 languages.
- Chapter notes
- Flashcards
- Practice MCQs
- Scored tests
- Exam prep
Get Veda free See what students get
Free to start · No ads · Works in 42 languages