Light: Reflection and Refraction Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering reflection, refraction, spherical mirrors/lenses, and relevant formulas from Light: Reflection and Refraction Lecture 10.

Reflection of Light

The bouncing back of light when it hits a polished surface like a mirror.

First Law of Reflection

The angle of incidence ($\angle i$) is equal to the angle of reflection ($\angle r$).

Second Law of Reflection

The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal all lie in the same plane.

Concave Mirror

A spherical mirror with a reflecting surface that is curved inwards.

Convex Mirror

A spherical mirror with a reflecting surface that is curved outwards.

Pole (P)

The center of the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror.

Centre of Curvature (C)

The center of the sphere of which the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror forms a part.

Principal Axis

The straight line passing through the Pole (P) and the Centre of Curvature (C) of a spherical mirror.

Radius of Curvature (R)

The radius of the sphere of which the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror forms a part.

Principal Focus (F)

The point on the principal axis where rays of light parallel to the axis actually meet (concave) or appear to meet (convex) after reflection.

Focal Length (f)

The distance between the Pole (P) and the Principal Focus (F) of a spherical mirror.

Mirror Relationship Formula

The mathematical relationship where the Radius of Curvature is twice the focal length, expressed as $R = 2f$.

Real Image

An image formed when rays of light actually meet; it is always inverted.

Virtual Image

An image formed when rays of light appear to meet; it is always erect (upright).

Mirror Formula

The relationship between image distance ($v$), object distance ($u$), and focal length ($f$) for a mirror: $\frac{1}{v} + \frac{1}{u} = \frac{1}{f}$.

Magnification (m)

The ratio of the height of the image ($h_i$) to the height of the object ($h_o$), also represented as $m = -\frac{v}{u}$ for mirrors.

Optical Centre (O)

The central point of a spherical lens.

Convex Lens

A lens that is thicker in the middle than at the edges; it is also known as a converging lens.

Concave Lens

A lens that is thinner in the middle than at the edges; it is also known as a diverging lens.

Lens Formula

The mathematical relationship for lenses: $\frac{1}{v} - \frac{1}{u} = \frac{1}{f}$.

Lens Magnification

The ratio of image height to object height for a lens, given by $m = \frac{v}{u}$.

Power of a Lens (P)

The reciprocal of the focal length ($f$) measured in meters ($P = \frac{1}{f}$); it indicates the ability to converge or diverge light rays.

Dioptre (D)

The SI unit of power of a lens.

Refraction of Light

The bending of light when it travels from one medium to another due to changes in the speed of light.

Absolute Refractive Index (n)

The ratio of the speed of light in vacuum ($c = 3 \times 10^8\,\text{m/s}$) to the speed of light in a medium ($v$), expressed as $n = \frac{c}{v}$.

Snell's Law

The second law of refraction stating that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is constant: $\frac{\sin(i)}{\sin(r)} = \text{constant}$.

Lateral Displacement

The perpendicular distance ($d$) between the emergent ray and the incident ray when light passes through a glass slab.