Physics

Class-X Chapter- Reflection Of Light (Notes)

Light:- Light is a form of energy that enables us to see things. Light starts from a source and
bounces off objects which are perceived by our eyes and our brain processes this signal,
which eventually enables us to see.

Properties of light:-
 Rectilinear propagation of light-In a homogenous transparent medium light travels in a
straight line and this is known as rectilinear propagation of light.
 The speed of light in vacuum or air is 3 108 m/s.
 Light is said to have a dual nature i.e. it can exhibit the properties of both wave and
particle. Some of the phenomena of light can be explained only if light is considered to
be made of waves (for e.g. diffraction and polarization) whereas some phenomena can be
explained if light is considered to be made of particles(for e.g. reflection and refraction).
 When light falls on to a surface then reflection, refraction or absorption of light can
happen.

Reflection of light- The phenomenon of bouncing back of light rays in the same medium on
striking a smooth surface is called reflection of light.
There are two types of reflection of light:-
1. Regular Reflection- This reflection is the perfect, mirror-like reflection of light.
Reflection in a mirror, a water surface and highly polished floors, are examples of regular
reflections.

2. Irregular reflection or diffused reflection-Irregular reflection or diffused reflection takes

place when a ray of light is incident on a wall or wood, which is not smooth or polished.
In this case, the different portions of the surface reflect the incident light in different
directions.

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Laws of Reflection- There are two laws of reflection:-
1. Angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection i.e.
2. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence, all lie in the
same plane.

Image- If light rays coming from a point after reflection meet at another point or appear to meet
at another point, then the second point is called the image of the first point.
An image can be real or virtual. A real image is formed when the rays of light actually intersect
after reflection. A virtual image is formed when the light rays after reflection do not actually
intersect but appear to diverge from it (these rays of light intersect when produced backwards).
Also real image can be obtained on a screen and it is inverted. Whereas, virtual image cannot be
obtained on a screen and it is erect.

Mirror:- It is a polished surface, which reflects almost all the light incident on it.

Image formation by a plane mirror-

Image formed by a plane mirror has following properties-

a. The image formed by a plane mirror is always virtual and erect.
b. The size of the image is equal to the size of the object.
c. The distance between the image and the mirror is equal to the distance between the object
and mirror.

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 d. The image is laterally inverted, i.e. left of the object appears right in the image and vice
versa.
Spherical Mirrors: A mirror whose polished, reflecting surface is a part of a hollow sphere
of glass is called a spherical mirror.
In a spherical mirror, one of the two curved surfaces is coated with a thin layer of silver.
Spherical mirrors are of two types:-
a. Concave Mirror- The spherical mirror in which the reflection of light occurs on the bent
inside surface or concave surface. A beam of light generally converges after reflection
from such surfaces and hence it is called convergent mirror.
b. Convex mirror- The spherical mirror in which the reflection of light occurs on the
bulging outward surface or convex surface. A beam of light generally diverges after
reflection from such surfaces and hence it is called divergent mirror.

Some important definitions related to spherical mirrors-

1. Centre of Curvature:-Centre of Curvature is the Centre of the sphere of which the

spherical mirror forms a part. It is denoted by the letter C.

2. Radius of Curvature- Radius of Curvature is the radius of the sphere of which the
mirror is a part. It is represented by the letter R.

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3. Pole:-Pole is the midpoint of the aperture of the spherical mirror. It is represented by the
letter P

4. Principal axis:- Principal axis is the straight line passing through the pole and the centre
of curvature of a spherical mirror.

5. Linear Aperture:- Linear aperture is the distance between the extreme points (X and Y)
on the periphery of the mirror. It is simply the diameter of the reflecting surface.

6. Principal Focus or Focus:- The rays of light parallel to the principal axis of a mirror
after reflection, either pass through a point (in case of a concave mirror) or appear to
diverge from a point(in the case of a convex mirror) on the principal axis and this point is
referred to as the principal focus or focal point of the mirror.

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7. Focal Length:-Focal length is the distance between the pole and the focus of a mirror. It
is represented by the letter f.
Focus lies midway between the pole and centre of curvature such that f=
Image formation by spherical mirrors by using ray diagrams-
To construct the ray diagrams in order to locate the image of an object, it is more
convenient to consider only two light rays. The intersection of at least two reflected light
rays gives the position of image of the object. The following rules has to be considered
for the light rays in order to locate the image by using ray diagrams-

a. The rays coming parallel to the principle axis, pass through the focus after
reflection in concave mirror or appear to come from focus in convex mirror.

b. The rays coming through the focus of a concave mirror or coming toward focus of
a convex mirror, become parallel to the principle axis after reflection from the
mirror.

c. A ray coming through the centre of curvature of a concave mirror or towards the
direction of centre of curvature of a convex mirror, reflects back along the same
path on striking the mirror.

d. A ray incident obliquely to principle axis, towards a pole P of the concave or

convex mirror is reflected obliquely, following the laws of reflection i.e.

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 Formation of image by a concave mirror-

1. When the object is located at infinity- At this position, the rays coming from the object are
parallel to each other. After reflection the two light rays intersect each other at focus. The
image formed is real, inverted and extremely diminished.

2. When the Object Is Placed Beyond C- One of the two rays is passing through the centre of
curvature while the other ray is parallel to principle axis. After reflection the two rays meet at
a point between C and F. The image formed is real, inverted and diminished in size.

3. When the object is placed at the centre of curvature- One of the two rays is passing through
the focus while the other ray is parallel to the principle axis. After reflection the two rays
meet at the centre of curvature. The image formed is real, inverted and equal to the size of the
object.

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4. When the object is between centre of curvature and focus- One of the two rays is passing
through the focus while the other ray is parallel to the principle axis. After reflection the two
rays meet at the point behind the centre of curvature. The image is real, inverted and
magnified.

5. When the object is at the focus- One of the two rays is passing through the focus while the
other ray is made to pass through the centre of curvature. After reflection, the reflected rays
become parallel to each other and would meet only at infinity. The image formed is real,
inverted and extremely magnified.

6. When the object is between pole and focus- One of the two rays is parallel to the principle
axis and the other ray is made to pass through the centre of curvature. After reflection, the
two rays does not appear to meet in front of the mirror but they appear to meet behind the
mirror if the reflected light rays are extended backward behind the mirror. The image formed
is virtual, erect and magnified.

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Table for the image formation by concave mirror and there uses-

Various uses of concave mirrors is also summarized in the above table.

Image formation by convex mirror-

1. When the object is placed between infinity and pole of the mirror- One of the two rays is
parallel to the principle axis while the other ray traces its own path when it is directed
towards the centre of curvature. The two rays diverges away from each other in front of the
mirror but they appear to meet if extended behind the mirror between the pole and focus of
the mirror. The image formed is virtual, erect and diminished in size.

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2. When the object is at the infinity- The two light rays are parallel to each other and diverges
away from each other after getting reflected. But if these reflected light rays are extended
behind the mirror then they appear to meet at the focus of the mirror. The image formed is
virtual, erect and extremely diminished.

Table for the image formation by convex mirror-

Uses of Convex mirror-

a. Convex mirrors are used as rear view mirrors in vehicles because they always
give an erect image and have a wider field of view as they are curved outwards.
b. Big convex mirrors are used as shop security mirrors in shops to keep an eye on
the customers.
Sign Convention for spherical mirrors-
While dealing with reflection of light by spherical mirrors, we must follow a set of sign
convention which are as follows:-
a. Object is always placed to the left of mirror
b. All distances are measured from the pole of the mirror.
c. Distances measured in the direction of the incident ray are positive and the
distances measured in the direction opposite to that of the incident rays are
negative.
d. Distances measured along y-axis above the principal axis are positive and that
measured along y-axis below the principal axis are negative.

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Table showing the sign convention for concave and convex mirror-

Mirror Formula-
The distance of the object from the pole of the mirror is called Object distance (u).
The distance of the image from the pole of the mirror is called Image distance (v).
The distance of the principal focus from the pole of the mirror is called focal length (f).
The relationship between u, v and f is called mirror formula.

Where u, v and f are to be used according to the sign convention for spherical mirrors.

Magnification-
Magnification produced by a spherical mirror gives the relative extent to which the image of an
object is magnified with respect to the object size.
Magnification is expressed as the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object. It is
usually represented by the letter m.
i.e. Magnification, m = =
The magnification m is also related to the object distance (u) and image distance (v). It can be
expressed as: m=
Magnification gives information about the sixe of image relative to the object
Magnification Size of image (hi)
m=1 hi = ho
m<1 hi < ho
m>1 hi > ho
Sign of magnification by mirror gives information about nature of the image produced.

Sign of magnification Nature of image

Negative Real and inverted
Positive Virtual and erect

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Notes prepared by- Suraj Kumar

Oxford Public School, Ranchi

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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Refraction Of Light (Notes Part 1)
 Refraction Of Light- The bending or deviation in the path of light as it
travels from one medium to another of different optical density is called
refraction of light.

 Optical density- The speed of light depends on the characteristics of the

medium on which it is incident; the optical density of the medium influences the
speed of light. The speed of light is less in a material with high optical density as
compared to the speed of light in a material of low optical density.
 Rarer and denser medium-When light refracts from one medium to another,
one of the medium is termed as rarer and other is termed as denser. The medium
in which speed of light is more is termed as a rarer medium and the medium in
which the speed of light is less is termed as a denser medium.
 Cause of refraction- Speed of light is different is different in different media.
So, when light enters a denser medium, its speed reduces and it bends towards
the normal ( ). When light enters rarer medium, its speed increases and it
bends away from the normal ( ).

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 Refractive index- The extent of the change in direction that takes place in a
given pair of media is expressed in the terms of refractive index. It is also an
indicator of the optical density of the medium. It is denoted by the symbol μ or n.
 Relative refractive index- It is the refractive index of one medium with
respect to another medium . Here 1n2 represents the refractive index of
medium 2 with respect to medium 1 when light is going from medium 1 to
medium 2. So, we can write 1n2 =
In terms of speed of light, relative refractive can be expressed as
1n2 =

 Absolute refractive index- When the refractive index of a particular medium

is determined with respect to air or vacuum then it is called absolute
refractive index. The absolute refractive index of a medium is simply called
its refractive index. For eg.- When the refractive index of water is calculated
with respect to air then it is called absolute refractive index of water which is
simply the refractive index of water.
If c is the speed of light in vacuum or air and v is the speed of light in the
medium, then the refractive index of the medium is given by,
n= =
 Laws of Refraction- Refraction of light occurs according to the following laws-
I. 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.
II. For any given pair of media, the ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the
sine of angle of refraction is constant. This law is also known as Snell’s
law which is expressed as
= constant = n
This constant is known as refractive index (n).
 Refraction through a rectangular glass slab-
When a light ray enters in a glass slab from, then the emergent ray is parallel to
the incident ray but it is shifted sideward slightly. In this case, refraction takes
place twice, first when ray enters glass slab from air and second when exits from
glass slab to air as shown in the figure. Here angle of incidence = angle of
emergence i.e. .
 Lateral displacement- The perpendicular distance between the emergent ray
and incident ray when the light passes out of a glass slab is called lateral
displacement. With increase in angle of incidence , refractive index of
glass or thickness of the glass slab, the lateral displacement also increases.

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 Effects of refraction of light-
 When the coin is under water then due to refraction of light, a virtual image
of coin is formed near the water surface and the position of the coin appears
raised inside water.
 The bottom of a tank or pool appears to be raised due to refraction of light
which takes place when light rays pass from the pool of water into the air.
The actual depth of the tank is called real depth, whereas the raised depth of
the tank which appears due to the refraction of light is called apparent depth.

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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Refraction Of Light (Notes Part 2)
 Spherical lenses- A lens is a transparent refracting medium bounded by
two surfaces of which one or both are spherical.
Lenses are of two types-
a) Convex or Converging lens-A lens which is thicker at its centre but
thinner at its ends is called convex lens. Three types of convex lens are
shown below-

A convex lens is also known as converging lens because it converges a

parallel beam of light rays passing through it.
b) Concave or diverging lens- A lens which is thinner at its centre but
thicker at its ends is called concave lens. Three types of concave lens are
shown below-

A concave lens is also called diverging lens because it diverges a parallel

beam of light rays passing through it.
 Some definitions related to spherical lenses-
1. Optical centre- The centre point of a lens is known as its optical centre.
It is represented by O. It is the point of the lens through which incident
rays refract without any deviation in its path.
2. Centres of curvature- The centres of the two imaginary spheres of
which the lens is a part are called centre of curvature of the lens. A lens
has two centre of curvature with respect to its two curved surfaces. It is
represented by C.
3. Principal axis- The imaginary line joining the two centres of curvature
which passes through optical centre is called principal axis.

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4. Radii of curvatures- The radii of two imaginary spheres of which the
lens is a part are called radii of curvature. A lens has two radii of
curvatures with respect to its two curved surfaces.
5. Principal focus- Lens has two principal focus
a) First Principal Focus (F1)-It is a point on the principal axis of the lens
such that the rays of light starting from it (convex lens) or directed
towards it (concave lens) after refraction from the two surfaces of the
lens become parallel to the principal axis of the lens.

b) Second Principal Focus (F2)-It is a point on the principal axis of the

lens such that the rays of light parallel to the principal axis of the lens
after refraction from both the surfaces of the lens pass through this
point (convex lens) or appear to be meeting at this point (concave
lens).

Both the focus of convex lens are real while that of concave lens are
virtual.

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 6. Focal length- The distance between focus and optical centre of lens is
called focal length of the lens.
7. Aperture- The effective diameter of the circular outline of a spherical
lens is called its aperture.
 Image formation by spherical lenses-
For drawing ray diagrams in lenses, we consider any two of the following
rays:-
1. Rays which are parallel to the principal axis after refraction will pass
through principal focus in case of convex lens and will appear to be
coming from principal focus in case of concave lens.

2. Ray passing through or directed to the focus will emerge parallel to the
principal axis.

3. Ray directed to optical centre will emerge out undeviated.

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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Refraction Of Light (Notes Part 3)
 Formation of image by a convex lens-
1. When the object is located at infinity- The parallel light rays coming from
infinity will meet at F2 on the other side of the lens. The image formed will
be real, inverted and highly diminished.

2. When the object is placed beyond 2F1- The two light rays after refraction
from the lens will meet between F2 and 2F2 on the other side of the lens.
The image formed will be real, inverted and smaller than the size of the
object

3. When the object is placed at 2F1- The two light rays after refraction from
the lens will meet at 2F2 on the other side of the lens. The image formed
will be real, inverted and equal to the size of the object.

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4. When the object is placed between F1 and 2F1- The two light rays after
refraction will meet beyond 2F2 on the other side of the lens. The image
formed will be real, inverted and larger than the size of the object
(magnified).

5. When the object is placed at F1- The two light rays after refraction from the
lens will become parallel and meet at infinity on the other side of the lens.
The image formed will be real, inverted and highly magnified.

6. When the object is placed between F1 and O- The two light rays after
refraction does not appear to meet on the other side of the lens, but the
refracted rays appear to meet on the same side of the lens if they are
extended backwards. The image formed will be virtual, erect and
magnified.

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 Table for the image formation by convex lens and there uses-

 Convex lenses are used in spectacles to correct the defect of vision called
hypermetropia.
 Convex lens are used in magnifying glass, telescopes, camera,
microscopes etc.
 Image formation by concave lens-
1. When the object is at infinity- The two light rays diverges away from
each other refraction but they appear to meet at F1 on the same side of the
lens if extended backwards. The image formed is virtual, erect and
extremely diminished.

2. When the object is between O and infinity- The two refracted light rays if
produced backwards, then they appear to meet between F1 and O on the
same side of the lens. The image formed is virtual, erect and diminished.

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 Uses of concave lens-
1. Concave lenses are used in spectacles to correct the defect of vision
called myopia.
2. Concave lenses are also used in telescopes, spyhole in doors etc.
 Sign convention for Spherical lenses-
It is same as that for the mirrors.

 Lens Formula- It gives the relationship between object distance, image

distance and focal length of the lens. It is expressed as-

 Magnification by lenses- For lenses magnification (m) is expressed as-

m= = OR m=
Magnification is positive when image formed is virtual and magnification is
negative when image formed is real.
 Power of a lens- The ability of a lens to converge or diverge light rays is
called Power (P) of the lens. It is equal to the reciprocal of focal length(in m)
P=
The S.I unit of power is diopter (D) i.e. 1D = 1m-1. If f is expressed in m
then power is expressed in diopters. For concave lens, power is negative and
for convex lens power is positive.
 When two or more lenses are used in combination, then the equivalent power
of the combination of the lenses is calculated as-
P = P1 + P2 + …………
 Magnification of lens in combination is given by-
m = m1 m2 ………….
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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Human Eye and The Colourful World (Notes Part-1)

 Human Eye- It is the sense organ in the human body which enables us to see
everything around us.
 Structure of Human eye- The human eye has the following main parts-
1. Cornea- It is the transparent, spherical membrane covering the front of the eye
which receives the light rays. Most of the refraction of light entering the eye
occurs at the cornea.
2. Eye lens- It is s convex lens made of a transparent, soft and flexible jelly which
is made of proteins.
3. Aqueous Humour- It is a transparent liquid which fills the space between
cornea and eye lens and it helps in the refraction of light in the eye.
4. Iris- It is dark muscular diaphragm which controls the amount of light entering
in the eye by controlling the size of the pupil. It also provides the colour to the
eye.
5. Pupil- It is a small hole in the centre of iris through which light enters the eye.
In dim light, pupil opens completely but in bright light it becomes very small
due to contraction of iris muscles.
6. Ciliary muscles- They hold the eye lens in position and helps in modifying the
curvature of lens.
7. Retina- It is the light sensitive screen of the eye on which the image is formed.
It contains light sensitive cells like rods and cones. Rod cells respond to the
intensity of light i.e. the brightness or darkness and cone cells respond to the
illumination i.e. in the detection of primary colours.
8. Optic Nerve- It transmits the visual information generated by rods and cones
from the retina to the brain.
9. Blind Spot-It is the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye which
contains no rods and cones. So the image formed at this point is not sent to the
brain.
10.Vitreous Humour- It is a liquid which fills the space between eye lens and
retina. It provides support to the structure of eyeball.
 Formation of image- The image is formed at retina by refraction of light from
cornea and eye lens. The rod and cone cells get activated and generate electric
signals which is sent to the brain by optic nerve. The brain processes these
signals and we get a clear image of the object..

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 Diagram of human eye

 Power of accommodation- It is the ability of the eye lens to focus both near
and distant object on retina by adjusting its focal length.

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 Range of Vision- It is the range of distance in which a human eye can see
objects clearly without putting any strain on itself.
 Far point- It is the maximum distance upto which the human eye can see an
object clearly. Far point of normal human eye is infinity.
 Near Point- It is the minimum distance at which an object can be seen clearly
by a human eye without any strain. Near point of normal human eye is 25 cm.
The range of vision of normal human eye is from 25cm to infinity.

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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Human Eye and The Colourful World (Notes Part-2)

 Persistence of vision- The time for which impression or sensation of an object

continues in the eye is called persistence of vision. It is about th of second for
a human eye.
 Defects of vision-
1. Myopia (near-sightedness)- In this defect the person can see nearby object
clearly but cannot see distant object clearly. In myopia, the far point of eye
becomes nearer than infinity due to which image forms before the retina.
 Causes- (a) Excessive curvature of eye lens so that the converging power of
the lens becomes high.
(b) Elongation of eyeball.
 Correction- Myopia can be corrected by using a concave lens of suitable
power which will bring the image back on the retina.

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2. Hypermetropia (Far-sightedness)- In this defect, a person can see distant
objects clearly but cannot see nearby object clearly. In hypermetropia, the near
point of eye becomes farther than 25 cm so that the image of the object placed
at normal near point is formed behind the retina.
 Causes- (a) Focal length of eye lens becomes too large and its converging
power becomes low.
(b) Eyeball becomes too short.
 Correction- Hypermetropia is corrected by using a convex lens of suitable
power which will bring the image back on the retina.

3. Presbyopia- This defect happens at old age in which the eye of a person loses
its power of accommodation due to weakening of ciliary muscles. It is also
called old age hypermetropia in which near point of eye becomes more than 25
cm. Presbyopia is corrected by using convex lens.
A person suffering from myopia as well as hypermetropia uses spectacles
having bifocal lenses in which upper part consists of a concave lens (to correct

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 myopia) and the lower part consists of a convex lens (to correct
hypermetropia).

4. Cataract- It is a condition in which the eye lens of human eye becomes cloudy
due to a growth of membrane over it which can result in partial or complete
loss of vision. It generally occurs among people of old age. Cataract is
corrected after performing suitable surgery on human eye.
 Numerical based on myopia and hypermetropia- In this type of problem, we
have to find the nature and power of the lens required to correct the defect of
vision. For this focal length has to be calculated by using lens formula.
For myopia- Object distance (u) = infinity
Image distance (v) = far point given in the problem with negative sign
For hypermetropia- Object distance (u) = -25 cm
Image distance (v) = near point given in the question with negative sign

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3
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Human Eye and The Colourful World (Notes Part-3)

 Refraction of light through a glass prism-

Prism is a transparent refracting medium bounded by at least two lateral surfaces, inclined to
each other at a certain angle. The angle between two lateral surfaces is called angle of prism
(A).

The above diagram shows refraction through a prism. A light ray AB enters the prism
through surface PQ and bends towards the normal. At second surface PR light ray enters
from glass to air and it bends away from the normal.
The angle between the incident ray and the emergent ray is called angle of deviation ( ). It
is dependent on angle of prism (A), angle of incidence ( ) and angle of emergence ( ),
such that
 Dispersion of Light-
The splitting up of white light into seven colours on passing through a transparent medium
like a glass prism is called dispersion of light.

The band of seven colours formed on a white screen, when a beam of white light is passed
through a glass prism, is called spectrum of white light.

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 Cause of Dispersion-
White light is made of seven colours and light rays of different colours, travel with same
speed in air but in any other medium, they travel with different speed and bend through
different angles, which causes dispersion of light.
Red light has the maximum wavelength and violet light has minimum wavelength. So, in
any medium, red light travels fastest and deviates least, while violet light travels slowest and
deviates maximum.
 Recombination of white light-
The seven coloured lights of the spectrum can be recombined to give back white light. By
placing two prism close to each other, one in erect position and other in inverted position.
The first glass prism disperses (splits) the white light into seven coloured rays. The second
glass prism receives all the seven coloured rays from the first prism and recombines them
into original white beam of light which falls on the screen S.

 Rainbow and its formation-

The rainbow is an arch of seven colours visible in the sky which is produced by the
dispersion of sun’s light by raindrops in the atmosphere.
Rainbow is always formed in a direction opposite to that of the sun. Tiny water droplets
present in the atmosphere, acts like small glass prisms. They refract and disperse the
incident sunlight, then reflect it internally and refract it again when it comes out of the drop.
Due to this, different colours reach observer’s eyes.

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 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Human Eye and The Colourful World (Notes Part-4)

 Atmospheric Refraction-
The refraction of light caused by the earth’s atmosphere (having air layers of varying
optical densities) is called atmospheric refraction. The atmosphere can be considered
to be consisting of layers of different optical densities which act as rarer or denser
medium with respect to each other and due to this light ray which enters into
atmosphere undergoes refraction.
 Twinkling of stars-
Stars can be considered as point source of light as they are very far away. The
continuously changing atmosphere refracts the light from the stars by different
amounts from one moment to the next. The star-light reaching our eyes increases
and decreases continuously due to atmospheric refraction and the star appears to
twinkle at night.
Planets do not twinkle because the continuously changing atmosphere is unable to
cause variations in the light coming from a big-sized source of light from planet
due to refraction.
 The stars seem higher than they actually are-
As the light from a star enters the atmosphere, it undergoes refraction and bends
towards the normal each time due to atmospheric refraction. Therefore the
apparent position of the star is slightly higher from its actual position.

 Advance sunrise and delayed sunset-

When the sun is slightly below the horizon, the sunlight after entering atmosphere
is refracted downwards. Because of this, the sun appears to be raised above the
horizon and it can be seen two minutes before the sunrise. Similarly, due to
atmospheric refraction, sun can be seen for about two minutes after the sun has set
below the horizon.

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 Scattering of light-
The reflection of light from a particle suspended in its path in all direction is called
scattering of light. The colour of the scattered light depends on the size of scattering
particle and wavelength of light.
Particles whose size are smaller than the wavelength of visible light scatter the seven
colours of light by different amounts. The lower wavelength colours are scattered
much more and higher wavelength colours are scattered very less.
If the size of the scattering particle is large enough, then the scattered light also
appears white.
 Tyndall effect- The scattering of light when it passes through a colloidal solution
is called Tyndall effect. When a beam of sunlight enters a dusty room through a
window, then its path becomes visible to us. This is because the tiny dust particles
present in the air of room scatter the beam of light all around the room.
 The colour of the sky- The colour of the sky day time is blue. This is because the
size of the particles in atmosphere is smaller than the wavelength of visible light,
so they are more effective in scattering the light of shorter wavelengths, i.e. blue
light. This scattered blue light reaches into our eyes and the sky appears blue.
In space, the sky appears dark because there is no scattering of light in space due
to absence of atmospheric particles.

2
 Colour of sun at sunrise and sunset-
At sunrise and sunset, near the horizon light from the sun covers larger distances
and passes through thick layers of air due to which most of the blue light and
shorter wavelength colours are scattered away by particles. Therefore only the red
colour of longer wavelength is able to reach into our eyes and the sun appears
reddish.
However at the noon, the light from the overhead sun would travel shorter
distance, so it appears white as only little of the blue and violet colours are
scattered and almost all the colours reaches into the eye.

Q- Why are the ‘danger signal’ lights red in colour ?

Ans-The red coloured light having longer wavelength is the least scattered by fog
or smoke particles. Due to this the red light can be seen in the same colour even
from a distance.

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3
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Electricity (Part-1)
 Electric Charge- A body is said to be negatively charged, if it gains electrons and a body is
said to be positively charged, if it loses electrons.
Also unlike charges attract each other and like charges repel each other.
The SI unit of electric charge is coulomb (C).
 Magnitude of charge present on one electron, e = 1.6 × 10-19 C
 Charge on n electrons, q = ne = n × 1.6 × 10-19 C
 No. of electrons constituting 1C of charge =

= = 6.25 × 1018 electrons

 One coulomb is that quantity of electric charge which exerts a force of 9 × 109 N of force
on an equal charge placed at a distance of 1 metre from it.
 Electric Current- It is defined as the rate of flow of electric charge through any cross-
section in unit time. If q amount of charge flow through a conductor in t time, then
Electric current (I) = =
Electric current is a scalar quantity. The SI unit of electric current is Ampere (A).
When 1 coulomb of charge flows through any cross-section of a conductor in 1 second, then
electric current flowing through it is said to be 1 ampere. (1A = 1C/s)
1miliampere (1mA) = 10-3A 1 microampere (1μA) = 10-6 A
 The direction of electric current is taken as opposite to the direction of flow of electrons.
In an electric circuit the current flows from positive terminal of cell to the negative
terminal of cell.
 Electric Potential and Potential Difference-
 Electric Potential-
It is defined as the amount of work done when a unit positive charge is moved from infinity
to a point. If work done in moving a positive charge q from infinity to a point is W, then
electric potential V of that point is:- V=
The SI unit of electric potential is volt (V)
 Electric Potential Difference-
It is defined as the work done per unit charge in moving a unit positive charge from one point
to another point.
The electric potential difference between two pints is said to be 1 volt, if 1 joule of work is
done in moving 1 coulomb of charge from one point to another point.
Thus, 1 volt = = 1 J/C
 Ammeter- It is an instrument which measures electric current in a circuit. It is always
connected in series in a circuit through which the current is to be measured. Resistance of an
ammeter is kept very low.
 Voltmeter- It is an instrument which measures the potential difference in the circuit. It is
always connected in parallel across the points between which the potential difference is to be
measured. Resistance of a voltmeter is kept very high.

1
 Electric Circuit- A closed and continuous path through which electric current flows is
known as electric circuit. It consists of various components like cell, switch, bulb etc. When
the switch is closed, then the circuit is closed and the current flows through the circuit.
 Circuit Diagram- It is a schematic diagram which represents the positions and connections
of various circuit components represented by their symbols.

Symbols of some commonly used components in circuit diagrams are as follows-

2
 Ohm’s Law-
According to Ohm’s Law, at constant temperature, the current flowing through a conductor is
directly proportional to the potential difference applied across its ends.
If I is the current flowing through a conductor and V is the potential difference, then
From Ohm’s law, V α I
= > V = IR
Here R is a constant called “Resistance” of the conductor which depends on nature, length,
area of cross section and temperature of the conductor. The above formula can be written as-
R=
From the above relation it is clear that the current is inversely proportional to resistance and
current is directly proportional to potential difference.
 V – I Graph-
The graph between the potential difference (V) and current (I) is found to be a straight
line passing through the origin. The slope of the graph is a measure of the resistance of
the conductor.

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3
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Electricity (Part-2)
 Resistance- It is that property of a conductor by which it opposes the flow of charges
through it. Its SI unit is ohm which is represented by Ω.
Resistance of a conductor is given by, R =
Resistance of a conductor is said to be 1 ohm, if a potential difference of 1 volt across the
ends of a conductor makes a current of 1 ampere to flow through it.
1 Ω = 1 V/A
 Resistor- It is a component in an electric circuit resistance to the flow of electric current.
 Rheostat- It is a variable resistance which is used to control the flow of current by manually
increasing or decreasing the current.
 Factors affecting the resistance of a conductor-
a. The resistance of a conductor is directly proportional to its length (l).
Rαl
When the length of a wire is doubled/halved, then its resistance also gets doubled/halved.
b. The resistance of a conductor is inversely proportional to its area of cross section (A).
Rα
When the area of cross section of a wire is doubled is doubled then its resistance gets
halved.
c. The resistance of all pure metals increases with a rise in temperature.
d. The resistance of a conductor depends on the nature of the material also.
 Resistivity-
We know that, R α l and also R α
Combining both the factors we get R α
=>R=ρ
where, ρ is a constant of proportionality called resistivity or specific resistance of the
conductor.
Resistivity is defined as the resistance of the conductor of unit length and unit area of cross
section. Its SI unit is ohm-meter (Ω-m).
Resistivity of a material does not depend on its length or thickness but nature of the
substance and temperature. It is a characteristic property of the conductor which varies only
when the temperature changes. Insulators have a very high resistivity (1012 to 1017 Ω-m)
while the conductors have a very low resistivity (10-8 to 10-6 Ω-m).
Q- Why are coils of electric toasters and electric heater are made of alloys rather than pure
metals?
Ans- Alloys have a higher resistivity than their constituent metal and they do not oxidise or
burn at higher temperature. So they are used to make the heating element i.e. the coils of
heating appliances.

1
 Combination Of Resistors-
I. Resistors in series- When two or more resistors are connected end to end to each other
then they are said to be connected in series.

In series combination, the current through each resistor is same but the potential difference
across each resister is different, such that V = V1 + V2 + V3
By ohm’s law, V = IRS, where RS is the equivalent resistance of series combination.
Also from ohm’s law V1 = IR1, V2 = IR2 and V3 = IR3
Thus, V = V1 + V2 + V3 = IR1 + IR2 + IR3
= > IRS = I ( R1 + R2 + R3 )
= > RS = R1 + R2 +R3
Thus equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the individual resistance which is greater
than the resistance than the individual resistance of each resistor.
II. Resistors in Parallel- When two or more resistors are connected simultaneously between
two points to each other then they are said to be connected in parallel combination.

2
 In parallel combination, the potential difference across each resistor is same but due to
branching of circuit. the current through each resistor is different as the total current is
divide into I1,I2 and I3.
From Ohm’s law I1 = , I2 = and I3 =
Also total current,

where RP is the equivalent resistance of parallel combination.

The equivalent resistance is equal to the sum of the reciprocal of individual resistance
which is less than the individual resistance of each individual resistor.
 Advantage of parallel combination over series combination-
a. In parallel circuits, if one electrical appliance stops working due to some defect, then all
other appliances keep working normally.
b. In parallel circuits, each electrical appliance has its own switch due to which it can be
turned on or turned off independently, without affecting other appliances.
c. In parallel circuits, each electrical appliance gets the same voltage (220 V) as that of the
power supply line.
d. In the parallel connection of electrical appliances, the overall resistance of the household
circuit is reduced due to which the current from the power supply is high.

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3
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Electricity (Part-3)
 Electric Power- It is defined as the amount of electric energy consumed in a circuit per unit
time.
If W be the amount of electric energy consumed in a circuit in t seconds,then the electric
power is given by, P=
But W = electric energy = VQ = VIt
 P= => P = VI
According to Ohm’s Law, V = IR
 P = IR × I => P = I2R
Also if we use, I = , then, P =
The SI unit of electric power is Watt (W). If 1 A of current flows through a circuit having a
potential difference of 1 V, then the power consumed is said to be 1 W.
1 W = 1V × 1A = 1 VA
 Electric Power =
Work done by electric current = Electric energy consumed
 Power =
 Electrical energy = Power × Time
 Commercial Unit of electrical energy: Kilowatt-Hour (kWh)-
One kWh is the amount of electrical energy consumed when an electrical appliance having a
power rating of 1 kilowatt is used for 1 hour.
1 kilowatt-hour = 1000 watts for 1 hour
= 1000 × 60 × 60 seconds
= 36,00,000 Joules
1 kilowatt-hour = 3.6 × 106 Joules
 Heating Effect of current- When an electric current is passed through a high resistance
wire, like nichrome wire, the resistance wire becomes very hot and produces heat. This is
called the heating effect of current.
When an electric charge Q moves against a potential difference V, the amount of work done
is given by :
W=Q×V
Using Q = It and V = IR, we get
W = It × IR = I2Rt
Assuming that all the electrical work done or all the electrical energy consumed is converted
into heat energy, then heat produced is given by
H = I2Rt
This is known as Joule’s Law of Heating, which implies that heat produced in a resistor is:
(i) directly proportional to the square of current for a given resistance. (H α I2)
(ii) directly proportional to the resistance for a given current. (H α R)
(iii) directly proportional to the time for which the current flows through the resistor. (H α t)

1
 Applications of heating effect of current-
1. In the working of electrical heating appliances such as electric iron, water heaters (geysers),
etc. which contain coils of high resistance wire made of nichrome alloy which produces
large amount of heat when connected to the power supply by copper wires.

2. In electric bulbs (electric lamps) for producing light. When electric current passes through a
very thin, high resistance tungsten filament of an electric bulb, the filament becomes white-
hot and emits light.

3. In electric fuse for protecting household wiring and electrical appliances. A fuse is a short
length of a thin tin-plated copper wire having low melting point. The thin fuse wire has a
higher resistance than the rest of the electric wiring in a house. So, when the current in a
household electric circuit rises too much due to some reason, then the fuse wire gets heated
too much, melts and breaks the circuit (due to which the current stops flowing).

2
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Magnetic Effects of Electric Current (Part 1)
• Magnetic Effect of current- When an electric current flows through a conductor, then a
magnetic field is produced around it.
The pattern of the magnetic field produced by a current carrying conductor depends on its
shape.

• Magnetic field due to straight current carrying conductor-

If the direction of a current in a straight wire is known, then the direction of the magnetic
field is obtained by Maxwell’s Right Hand Thumb Rule.
➢ According to Maxwell’s right hand thumb rule : Imagine that you are holding the current-
carrying wire in your right hand so that your thumb points in the direction of current, then
the direction in which your fingers encircle the wire will give the direction of magnetic
field lines around the wire.
The magnitude of magnetic field (B) produced by a straight current carrying wire at a
given point is
a) Directly proportional to the current I passing through the wire.
BαI
b) Inversely proportional to the distance r from the wire.
1
Bα𝑟
• Magnetic Field due to a current through a circular loop-
At every point on a circular loop, the magnetic field is in the form of concentric circles
around it. As we move away from it, the circles would become larger and larger and
when we reach the centre of the loop, the field appears to be a straight line.

The magnetic field produced by a current carrying circular loop is:

a) Directly proportional to the current passing through the circular loop.
b) Inversely proportional to the radius of the circular loop.
c) Directly proportional to the number of turns of wire.
➢ Clock- Face rule-
According to Clock face rule, look at one face of a circular wire (or coil) through which a
current is passing :

1
 (i) if the current around the face of circular wire (or coil) flows in the Clockwise
direction, then that face of the circular wire (or coil) will be South pole (S-pole).

(ii) if the current around the face of circular wire (or coil) flows in the Anticlockwise
direction then that face of circular wire (or coil) will be a North pole (N-pole).

• Magnetic Field due to a current carrying solenoid-

A solenoid is defined as a coil consisting of a large number of circular turns of wire. These
wires are wrapped closely to form a cylinder. The magnetic field produced by a current-
carrying solenoid is similar to the magnetic field produced by a bar magnet.
The magnetic field lines inside the solenoid are in the form of parallel straight lines. This
indicates that the strength of magnetic field is the same at all the points inside the solenoid. If
the strength of magnetic field is just the same in a region, it is said to be uniform magnetic
field. Also the strength of the magnetic field is strongest inside the solenoid.

The strength of magnetic field produced by a current carrying solenoid depends on :

(i) The number of turns in the solenoid. Larger the number of turns in the solenoid, greater
will be the magnetism produced.
(ii) The strength of current in the solenoid. Larger the current passed through solenoid,
stronger will be the magnetic field produced.
(iii) The nature of “core material” used in making solenoid. The use of soft iron rod as
core in a solenoid produces the strongest magnetism.

2
• Electromagnet-
The strong magnetic field produced inside a solenoid can be used to magnetise a piece of
magnetic material like soft iron when placed inside the coil. The magnet so formed is called
electromagnet. The magnetic effect remains only till the current is flowing in the
electromagnet.
The core of an electromagnet must be of soft iron because soft iron loses all of its magnetism
when current in the coil is switched off. The strength of an electromagnet depends on :
(i) The number of turns in the coil.
(ii) The current flowing in the coil.
(iii) The length of air gap between its poles.

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3
 Physics
Class-X Chapter- Magnetic Effects of Electric Current (Part 2)
• Force on a current carrying conductor in a Magnetic Field-
When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, it experiences a force on
itself. This force is directly proportional to the strength of magnetic field (B), amount of
current flowing in the conductor (I) and length of the conductor. The force acting is due to
interaction between magnetic field produced by the current carrying conductor and external
magnetic field in which the conductor is placed.
The direction of the force on the conductor depends on-
(i) Direction of current
(ii) Direction of magnetic field
Force on the conductor is maximum when the direction of current is at right angles to the
direction of the magnetic field. The direction of this force is found out by Fleming’s Left
Hand Rule.
➢ Fleming’s Left Hand Rule- It states that, if the forefinger, thumb and middle finger are
stretched mutually perpendicular to each other, such that forefinger points along the
direction of magnetic field, middle finger points in the direction of current then the thumb
points towards the direction of the force acting on the conductor.

• Direct current (D.C)-

An electric current whose magnitude is either constant or variable but the direction of
flow in a conductor remains the same is called direct current. It can be represented as
shown below-

• Alternating Current (A.C)-

An electric current whose magnitude changes with time and direction reverses
periodically is called alternating current. It can be represented as shown below-

1
 Frequency of A.C means how many cycles it completes in one second. The frequency of
household supply of A.C in India is 50 Hz. This means A.C completes 50 cycles in one
1
second. Thus A.C changes direction after every 100 second. In other words, A.C used in
India changes direction 100 times in one second
➢ The main advantage of A.C over D.C is that electric power can be transmitted
over long distances without much loss of energy.
➢ Differences between A.C and D.C-
Direct Current (D.C) Alternating Current (A.C)
1. The magnitude of D.C is constant and 1. The magnitude of A.C changes with time
flows in one direction only. and direction of A.C reverses periodically.
2. Direct current cannot be used for 2. Alternating current is used to run electrical
large scale supply of electricity for appliances which are used for household
household purpose. purposes.
3. The frequency of direct current is 3. Frequency of alternating current in India is
zero. 50 Hz.

• Domestic Electric Circuits-

Electricity generated at power stations is brought to our homes by two thick copper
wires. One of these is live wire (in red or brown insulation cover) and other is
neutral wire (in black or blue insulation cover). Potential difference between live and
neutral wire is 220 V.
These wires pass into electricity meter through a main fuse which is connected in
series with live wire. Then through a distribution box, these wires are then distributed
in various circuits. Each distribution circuit is provided with a separate fuse so that if
a fault like short circuit occurs in one circuit, then its corresponding fuse blows off
but the other circuit remains unaffected. Various distribution circuits are connected in
parallel.

2
• Safety measures in Electric Circuit-
1. Earth Wire- To avoid risk of electrical shock, the metal body of an appliance is earthed.
The metal case of the appliance is connected to the earth by means of a metal wire called
earth wire (in green or yellow insulation cover). One end of metal wire is buried in the
earth. The appliances are connected to the earth by using the top pin of a 3-pin plug.
Earthing saves us from electric shock.
2. Fuse- It is a safety device. Usually there are two separate circuits in a house, the lighting
circuit with a 5 A fuse (bulbs, fans etc.) and the power circuit with a 15 A fuse (geysers,
air coolers, etc.) Fuse is used to prevent possible damage caused by overloading and short
circuiting.

• Faults in Domestic Electric Circuit-

1. Short Circuiting- If the naked live and neutral wire comes in contact with each other
directly, due to which current in circuit increases heavily, then it is called short circuit.
Due to short circuit, wire is heated up dangerously which may lead to fire.

2. Overloading- If many electrical appliances of high power rating are switched on at the
same time, then they draw a large current from the circuit. This is called overloading. This
might heat up the wire excessively which may lead to fire.

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