DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, DWARKA
CLASS 10 - PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT
REFRACTIVE INDEX
1. A ray of light travelling in air enters obliquely into water. Does the light ray bend
towards the normal or away from the normal? Why?
2. You are given kerosene, turpentine and water. In which of these does the light
travel fastest?
3. The refractive index of diamond is 2.42. What is the meaning of this statement?
4. The velocity of light in air is 3 x 108 m/s. Calculate the velocity of light in
diamond of refractive index 2.5.
5. The speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s in air, 2 x 108 m/s in medium X and 2.5 x 108 m/
s in medium Y. Calculate:
(a) nax (b) nay (c) nxy
6. Will there be a difference between the observation of the floor of the bottom of
the swimming pool when it is empty and when it is filled with water?
7. A ray of light is incident at an angle of x on an air glass interface. If the red light
is replaced by a violet light, will there be any change in the angle of refraction?
Explain.
9. For the same angle of incidence of 450, the refraction of angle in three
transparent media A,B and C are 250, 300 and 350 respectively. In which
medium is the speed of light minimum and in which maximum?
10. The refractive index of four media A, B, C and D are given in the following table:
Medium A B C D
R.I. 1.33 1.50 1.52 2.40
If light travels from one medium to another, in which case the change in
speed will be: (a) Minimum (b) Maximum
2
11. The refractive index of medium X with respect to medium Y is and refractive
3
4
index of medium Y with respect to medium Z is . Find the refractive index of
3
medium Z with respect to medium X.
4
12. The refractive index of water with respect to air is . What is the refractive
3
index of air with respect to water?
13. The refractive index of glass with respect to air is 1.65 and that of water w.r.t.
air is 1.33. Calculate the refractive index of water w.r.t. glass.
14. In an experiment with a glass slab, a student observed that a ray of light
incident at an angle of 600 with the normal on one face of slab, after refraction,
strikes the opposite face of slab before emerging out in air making an angle of
420 with the normal. Draw a labelled diagram to show the path of this ray. What
would be the value of angle of refraction and angle of emergence?
15. Refractive index of water and benzene w.r.t. air are1.33 and 1.50 respectively.
Calculate refractive index of benzene w.r.t. water.
4 3
16. The absolute refractive index of glass and water are and respectively. If
3 2
the speed of light in glass is 2 x 108 m/s, calculate the speed of light in:
(a) vacuum (b) water
17. The absolute refractive index of 2 media A and B are 2.0 and 1.5 respectively. If
the speed of light in medium B is 2 x 108 m/s, calculate the speed of light in:
(a) vacuum (b) Medium A
18. A ray of light travelling in air falls on the surface of a transparent slab. The ray
makes an angle of 450 with the normal to the surface. Find the angle made by
the refracted ray with the normal within the slab, if the refractive index of the
slab is 2 (sin 450 = 1 2 ).
19. The absolute refractive index is 1.65 for dense flint glass and 1.36 for alcohol.
What is the refractive index of the dense flint glass w.r.t. alcohol?
20. The light of wavelength 500nm in air enters a glass block of refractive index 1.5.
Find the speed, frequency and wavelength of light in glass. The velocity of light
in air is 3 x 108 m/s.
