D.A.

V SCHOOL
SREE NANDEESWARAR CAMPUS
ADAMBAKKAM, CHENNAI-88
CLASS-VIII
PHYSICS
CHAPTER-16: LIGHT
Part D – DISPERSION OF LIGHT
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING:
Text book questions
1. Why does white light split in to seven colours?
 We know that light travels in a straight line in a particular medium.
However, a ray of white light that falls on a glass prism does not
continue to move along the original path after it enters the prism.
 The path of the ray bends. This is known as refraction of light.
 Here, air and glass are the two different media through which the
light is travelling.
 Lights of different colours travel with different speeds when they
pass through a transparent medium, such as glass or water.
 The white light splits in to seven colours because lights of different
colours bend through different angles while passing through a prism.

Extra questions
2. Define dispersion of light
Ans: The splitting of white light in to seven constituent colours is called
DISPERSION of light
3. How is a rainbow formed?
Ans: * After rain shower, there are tiny water droplets remain
suspended in the atmosphere.
 * When sunlight passes through the water droplets, it is split in to
seven colours.
* The water droplets act as small prisms. The rays undergo
deviation and as a result a rainbow appears in the sky.

3. What is called as a spectrum of white light?

Ans: The band of seven colours obtained on a screen due to the dispersion
of white light is known as spectrum of white light.

4. What is the cause for dispersion of light?

Ans: The lights of different colours travel with different speeds when they
pass from one medium to another is the cause for dispersion of light.
Assignment
4. Why violet colour light bends the most and red light bends the
least,while white light passing out from the prism.