Home Assignment – 10

UNIT – VI OPTICS
Chapter – 10 WAVE OPTICS

CBSE 2019
1. With the help of a diagram, how plane polarised light can be produced by scattering of light from the Sun?
Two polaroids P1 and P2 are placed with their pass axes perpendicular to each other. Unpolarised light of
intensity I is incident on P1. A third polaroid P3 is kept between P1 and P2 such that its pass axis makes an
angle of 450 with that of P1. Calculate the intensity of light transmitted through P1 , P2 and P3 (5)

2. (a) Why cannot phenomenon of interference be observed by illuminating two pin holes with two sodium lamps?
(b) Two monochromatic waves having displacements y1 = a cos ωt and y2 = a cos (ωt + ϕ) from two coherent
sources interfere to produce an interference pattern. Derive the expression for the resultant intensity and
obtain the conditions for constructive and destructive interference.
(c) Two wavelengths of sodium light of 590 nm and 596 nm are used in turn to study the diffraction taking
place at a single slit of aperture 2 x 10-6 m. If the distance between the slit and the screen is 1.5 m,
calculate the separation between the positions of the second maxima of diffraction pattern obtained in the
two cases. (5)
CBSE 2018
1. Draw the intensity pattern for single slit diffraction and double slit interference. Hence state two differences
between interference and diffraction patterns. (3)

2. Unpolarised light is passed through a polaroid P1. When this polarised beam passes through another polaroid P2
and if the pass axis of P2 makes angle θ with the pass the pass axis of P1 then write the expression for the
polarised beam passing through P2. Draw a plot showing the variation of intensity when θ varies from 0 to 2π.(3)

3. (a) Define wave front. Use Huygen’s principle to verify the laws of refraction.
(b) How is linearly polarised light obtained by the process of scattering of light? Find the Brewster angle for
air-glass interface, when the refractive index of glass = 1.5 (5)

CBSE 2017
1. Draw the intensity pattern for single slit diffraction and double slit interference. Hence state two differences
between interference and diffraction patterns. (2)

2. Unpolarised light is passed through a polaroid P1. When this polarised beam passes through a another polaroid
P2 and if the pass axis of P2 makes angle θ with the pass axis of P1, then write the expression for the polarised
beam passing through P2. Draw the plot showing the variation of intensity when θ varies from 0 to 2π. (2)

3. (a) Define wavefront. Use Huygens’ principle to verify the laws of refraction.
(b) How is linearly polarised light obtained by the process of scattering of light? Find the Brewster angle for
air-glass interface, when the refractive index of glass = 1.5 (5)

CBSE 2016
1. (i) State law of Malus.
(ii) Draw the graph showing the variation of intensity (I) of polarized light transmitted by an analyser with
angle (θ) between polariser and analyser.
 (iii) What is the value of refractive index of a medium of polarizing angle 600. (3)

2. Define the term wave front. State Huygens’s principle.

Consider a plane wave front incident on a thin convex lens. Draw a proper diagram to show how the incident
wave front transverse through the lens and after refraction focuses on the focal point of the lens, giving the shape
of the emergent wave front. (3)

3. Explain the following giving reasons: (3)

(i) When monochromatic light is incident on a surface separating two media, the reflected and refracted light
both have same frequency as the incident frequency.
(ii) When light travels from a rarer to a denser medium, the speed decreases. Does this decrease in speed imply a
reduction in the energy carried by the wave?
(iii) In the wave picture of light, intensity of light is determined by the square of the amplitude of the wave.
What determines the intensity in the photon picture of light?

CBSE 2015
1. Use Huygens’s principle to show how a plane wavefront propagates from a denser to rarer medium. Hence
verify the Snell’s law of refraction. (3)

2. State clearly how an unpolarised light gets linearly polarised when passed through a Polaroid.
a) Unpolarised light of intensity I0 is incident on a Polaroid P1 which is kept near another Polaroid P2
whose pass axis is parallel to that of P1. How will the intensities of light, I1 and I2 transmitted by the
polaroids P1 and P2 respectively, change on rotating P1 without disturbing P2?
b) Write the relation between intensities I1 and I2. (3)

3. (a) Consider two coherent sources S1 and S2 producing monochromatic waves to produce interference pattern.
Let the displacement of the wave produced by S1 be given by Y1 = a cos wt and the displacement by S2 be Y2 =
a cos (wt+𝜙). Find out the expression for the amplitude of the resultant displacement at a point and show that
the intensity at that point will be I = 4a2 cos2 𝜙/2.
Hence establish the condition for constructive and destructive interference.
(b) What is the effect on the interference fringes in Young’s double slit experiment when (i) the width of the slit
is increased; (ii) the mono chromatic source is replaced by a source of white light? (5)

CBSE 2014
1. Using the phenomenon of polarization, show how transverse nature of light can be demonstrated.

2. Two Polaroids P1 and P2 are placed with their pass axes perpendicular to each other.
Unpolarised light of intensity I0 is incident on P1. A third Polaroid P3is kept between P1 and P2 such that its pass
axis makes an angle 300 with that of P1. Determine the intensity of light transmitted through P1, P2 and P3. (3)

3. (a) In Young’s double slit experiment, describe briefly how bright and dark fringes are obtained on the screen
kept in front of a double slit. Hence obtained the expression for the fringe width.
(b) The ratio of the intensities at minima to maxima in the Young’s double slit experiment is 9:25. Find the ratio
of the widths of the slits. (5)
OR
(a) Describe briefly how a diffraction pattern is obtained on the screen due to a narrow single slit illuminated by
monochromatic source of light. Hence obtain the conditions for the angular width of secondary maxima and
secondary minima.
 (b) Two wavelengths of sodium light of 590 nm and 596 nm are used in turn to study the diffraction taking
place at a single slit of aperture 2 x 10-6 m. The distance between the slit and the screen is 1.5 m. Calculate
the separation between the positions of first maxima of the diffraction pattern obtained in the two cases. (5)

CBSE 2013
1. A parallel beam of light of 500 nm falls on a narrow slit and the resulting diffraction pattern is observed on a
screen 1 m away. It is observed that the first minimum is at a distance of 2.5 mm from the centre of the screen.
Calculate the width of the slit. (2)

2. (a) What is linearly polarised light? Describe briefly using a diagram how sunlight is polarised.
(b) Unpolarised light is incident on a Polaroid. How the intensity of would transmitted light change when
the polaroid is rotated? (3)

CBSE 2012
1. How does the angular separation between fringes in single- slit diffraction experiment change when the distance
of separation between the slit and the screen is doubled? (1)

2. (a) In Young’s double slit experiment, derive the condition for (i) constructive and (ii) destructive
interference at a point on the screen.
(b) beam of light consisting of two wavelengths, 800nm and 600nm is used to obtain the interference
fringes in a Young’s double slit experiment on a screen placed 1.4 m away. If the two slits are separated by
0.28 mm, calculate the least distance from which the central bright maximum where the bright fringes of the
two wavelengths coincide. (5)

3. (a) How does an unpolarised light incident on polaroid get polarised?

Describe briefly, with the help of necessary diagram, the polarization of light by reflection from a transparent
medium.
(b) Two polaroids ‘A’ and ‘B’ are kept in crossed position. How should a third polaroid ‘C’ be placed between
them so that the intensity of polarised light transmitted by polaroid ‘B’ reduces to 1/8th of the intensity of
unpolarised light incident on ‘A’? (5)