IMPORTANT NOTES OF LIGHT CHAPTER

What are concave mirrors?

Concave mirrors are rounded or hollowed like the interior of a circle or sphere; they are also
called converging mirrors.
What are convex mirrors?
Convex mirrors are rounded or curved like the exterior of a circle or sphere; they are called a
fish eye or diverging mirror

Define radius of curvature.

the distance between the pole and centre of curvature of the spherical mirror is called its
radius of curvature.

What is a mirror?
A mirror is a reflective surface that bounces off light, producing either a real image or a
virtual image. When an object is placed in front of a mirror, the image of the same object is
seen in the mirror.

Define the principal axis.

The imaginary line passing through the optical centre and the centre of curvature of any lens
or a spherical mirror.

Define principal focus.

Principal Focus can also be called Focal Point. It’s on the axis of a mirror or lens wherein
rays of light parallel to the axis converge or appear to converge after reflection or refraction.

CONCAVE LENS CONVEX LENS

Thin in the middle Thick in the middle
and thick at the edge. and thin at the edge.
The image formed is The image formed is
virtual. real or virtual.
Reflection of Light
 Whenever light hits an object it is either absorbed or reflected
back.
  Reflection of light can be defined as the phenomenon of an
object throws back the light that falls on it. Hence, the reflection of
light changes its path.
 A mirror is generally any shiny surface that can reflect back light.
 A mirror that has a plane surface is called a Plane Mirror.
 A mirror that is curved, it either bulges in or out, is called a Curved
Mirror.

What is an image ?

 As a mirror reflects light, an image of the object that is in

front of the mirror is formed on it.
 The image of an object can be defined as the impression
of the object created by the light on the mirror.
 The distance between the image and the mirror, and the
object and the mirror always remain the same.
 If we increase or decrease the distance between the
object and the mirror, the distance between the image
and the mirror also increases or decreases, respectively.
 However, the size of the image formed on the mirror can
vary with respect to the distance between the object and
the mirror.
 If the distance between the object and the mirror
increases, the size of the image decreases and vice-versa.
 An image is said to be erect if the image is formed the
same side up as that of the object.
 The image will be called Inverted if it is formed upside-
down compared to the object.

The Laws of Reflection of Light

 Incident Ray - The light ray that falls on the
reflecting surface is called an Incident Ray.
  Reflected Ray –Tthe light ray that gets reflected
back from a reflecting surface is called a Reflected
Ray.
 Normal - It is a line that is perpendicular to the
reflected plane at the point of incidence
of Incident Ray .

Real Image Virtual Image

The real image is formed when the A virtual image is formed when light
light rays reflect and meet at the rays reflect and diverge from the
same point. same point .
It can be viewed on a screen. It cannot be viewed on the
screen .
It is always inverted . It is always erect .

Formed by Concave mirror Formed by Convex, Concave and

Plane Mirrors

The image formed by a concave mirror has the

following properties:
 It can either be real or virtual.
  It can either be inverted or erect.
 It can have the same size as that of the object, a
larger size that of the object or smaller size than
that of the object.
The image formed by a convex mirror has the
following properties:
 It is always virtual.
 It is always upright (erect).
 It is smaller in size as that of the object

Applications of Concave Mirrors:

 Satellite dishes use a concave mirror to gather all
the signals and reflect them on a certain point.
 Dentists use a concave mirror to reflect light on a
particular tooth.
 Shaving Mirrors are concave in shape.
 Headlights of a car have a concave mirror so that
we can reflect back light straight on the path.
 Torches also use concave Mirrors.

Images formed by Convex and Concave Lenses

A Convex lens forms an image that is:
 real
 inverted
 the image is large and appears close to the lens
A Concave lens forms an image that is:
 virtual
 erect
 small and appears far away

Best of luck !