When a ray of light approaches a smooth polished surface and

the light ray bounces back, it is called the reflection of light.

laws of reflection of light.
(i) The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection, and
(ii) The incident ray, the normal to the mirror at the point of
incidence and the reflected ray, all lie in the same plane.
 There are two type of mirror

Concave mirror Convex mirror

Concave mirror
A spherical mirror, whose reflecting surface is curved inwards, that is, faces
towards the centre of the sphere, is called a concave mirror
Convex mirror
A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is curved outwards, is called a
convex mirror
pole
• The centre of the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is a point called the pole.
• It lies on the surface of the mirror.
• The pole is usually represented by the letter P.

pole
centre of curvature
• The reflecting surface of a spherical mirror forms a part of a sphere. This sphere has a centre. This point is
called the centre of curvature of the spherical mirror.

• It is represented by the letter C

• It lies outside its reflecting surface. The centre of curvature of a concave mirror lies in front of it.
• it lies behind the mirror in case of a convex mirror
radius of curvature
• The radius of the sphere of which the reflecting surface of a spherical
mirror forms a part, is called the radius of curvature of the mirror.
• It is represented by the letter R
principal axis
Imagine a straight line passing through the pole and the centre of
curvature of a spherical mirror. This line is called the principal axis
principal focus
A number of rays parallel to the principal axis are falling on a concave mirror. They are
all meeting/intersecting at a point on the principal axis of the mirror. This point is
called the principal focus of the concave mirror
The reflected rays appear to come from a point on the principal
axis. This point is called the principal focus of the convex mirror
The distance between the pole and the principal focus of a
spherical mirror is called the focal length. It is represented
by the letter f.

also R = 2f
Ray Diagrams for sphericalmirror

• In order to locate the image of an object, an arbitrarily large number of rays

emanating from a point could be considered.
• However, it is more convenient to consider only two rays, for the sake of
clarity of the ray diagram.
Rule 1
A ray parallel to the principal axis, after reflection, will pass through
the principal focus in case of a concave mirror or appear to diverge
from the principal focus in case of a convex mirror.
Rule 2
A ray passing through the principal focus of a concave mirror or
a ray which is directed towards the principal focus of a convex
mirror, after reflection, will emerge parallel to the principal axis.
Rule 3
A ray passing through the centre of curvature of a concave mirror
or directed in the direction of the centre of curvature of a convex
mirror, after reflection, is reflected back along the same path.
Rule 4
A ray incident obliquely to the principal axis, towards a point
P (pole of the mirror), on the concave mirror or a convex mirror
is reflected obliquely
Image formation by Concave Mirror
 Uses of concave
mirrors

Concave mirrors are commonly

They are often used as used in torches, search-lights
shaving mirrors to see a and vehicles headlights to get
larger image of the face. powerful parallel beams of light

• The dentists use

concave mirrors
to see large
Large concave mirrors are used to
images of the
concentrate sunlight to produce heat
teeth of patients.
in solar furnaces
Image formation by a Convex Mirror
Uses of convex mirrors

• Convex mirrors are commonly used as

rear-view (wing) mirrors in vehicles.
• These mirrors are fitted on the sides
of the vehicle, enabling the driver to
see traffic behind him/her to facilitate
safe driving.
• Convex mirrors are preferred because
they always give an erect, though
diminished, image. Also, they have a
wider field of view as they are curved
outwards..
 Sign Convention for Reflection by Spherical Mirrors
(i) The object is always placed to the left of the mirror. This implies that the light from the
object falls on the mirror from the left-hand side.

(ii) All distances parallel to the principal axis are measured from the pole of the mirror.

(iii) All the distances measured to the right of the origin (along + x-axis) are taken as
positive while those measured to the left of the origin (along – x-axis) are taken as
negative.

(iv) Distances measured perpendicular to and above the principal axis (along + y-axis) are
taken as positive.

(v) Distances measured perpendicular to and below the principal axis (along –y-axis) are
taken as negative.
Mirror Formula

Object distance => (u)

Image distance => (v)

focal length => (f)

Magnification
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Refraction through a Rectangular Glass Slab
laws of refraction of light.

• The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal to the interface of two
transparent media at the point of incidence, all lie in the same plane.
• The ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is a
constant
The Refractive Index
Let v1 be the speed of light in medium 1 and v2 be the speed of light in medium 2.

The refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is given by the ratio of the
speed of light in medium 1 and the speed of light in medium 2
If medium 1 is vacuum or air, then the refractive index of medium 2 is
considered with respect to vacuum. This is called the absolute refractive index
of the medium.
Spherical Lenses
A transparent material bound by two surfaces, of which one or both surfaces are spherical,
forms a lens.

A lens may have two spherical surfaces, bulging outwards.

Such a lens is called a double convex lens. It is simply called
a convex lens

Convex lens converges light rays . Hence convex lenses

are also called converging lenses.
A double concave lens is bounded by two spherical surfaces, curved
inwards. It is thicker at the edges than at the middle.
Such lenses diverge light rays ,Such lenses are also called diverging lenses.
A double concave lens is simply called a concave lens
centres of curvature of the lens
A lens, either a convex lens or a concave lens, has two spherical surfaces.
Each of these surfaces forms a part of a sphere. The centres of these
spheres are called centres of curvature of the lens.
principal axis of lens
An imaginary straight line passing through the two centres of curvature of a
lens is called its principal axis
optical centre
The central point of a lens is its optical centre. It is usually
represented by the letter O

A ray of light through the optical centre of a lens passes without suffering
any deviation
principal focus
Several rays of light parallel to the principal axis are
falling on a convex lens. These rays, after refraction from
the lens, are converging to a point on the principal axis.
This point on the principal axis is called the principal
focus of the convex lens

Several rays of light parallel to the principal axis are

falling on a concave lens. These rays, after refraction
from the lens, are appearing to diverge from a point
on the principal axis. This point on the principal axis is
called the principal focus of the concave lens
Image Formation in Lenses Using Ray Diagram

RULE 1
A ray of light from the object, parallel to the principal axis, after
refraction from a convex lens, passes through the principal focus on
the other side of the lens. In case of a concave lens, the ray appears
to diverge from the principal focus located on the same side of the
lens
RULE 2
• A ray of light passing through a principal focus, after refraction from a
convex lens, will emerge parallel to the principal axis.
• A ray of light appearing to meet at the principal focus of a concave lens,
after refraction, will emerge parallel to the principal axis.
RULE 3
• A ray of light passing through the optical centre of a lens will emerge
without any deviation.
The ray diagrams for the image formation in a convex lens
image formed by a concave lens
Lens Formula and Magnification

Magnification
The magnification produced by a lens, similar to that for spherical mirrors, is defined
as the ratio of the height of the image and the height of the object.
Power of a Lens
The degree of convergence or divergence of light rays achieved by a lens is expressed in
terms of its power.

The power of a lens is defined as the reciprocal of its focal length. It is represented by
the letter P

The SI unit of power of a lens is ‘dioptre’. It is denoted by the letter D