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CHAPTER - 9
LIGHT - REFLECTION AND REFRACTION

CONTENTS (reference: CBSE SYLLABUS – 2024)

❖ Reflection of light by curved surfaces; Images formed by spherical mirrors, centre
of curvature, principal axis, principal focus, focal length, mirror formula (Derivation
not required), magnification.
❖ Refraction; Laws of refraction, refractive index.
❖ Refraction of light by spherical lens; Image formed by spherical lenses; Lens
formula (Derivation not required); Magnification. Power of a lens.

❖ LIGHT: The form of energy which gives vision through our eyes. This has
phenomenon like – Reflection and Refraction.
❖ Reflection of Light: The phenomenon of bouncing back of light into the same
medium by the smooth surface is called reflection. Highly polished (smooth)
surfaces such as a mirror reflect most of the light falling on it.
• Incident light: Light which falls on the surface is called incident light.
• Reflected light: Light which goes back after reflection is called reflected light.
• The angle of incidence: The angle between the incident ray and the normal.
• An angle of reflection: The angle between the reflected ray and the normal.

❖ Laws of reflection: There are two laws of reflection:

a) The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence, all lie
in the same plane.
b) Angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection i.e. ∠i = ∠r
❖ Image: If light rays coming from a point and after reflection or refraction meet at
another point or seems to meet at another point, then second point is called
image of the first point. There are two types of image, i.e.-
a) Real image: When the rays of light, after reflection from a mirror, actually meet at
a point, the image formed by these rays is said to be real. Real images can be
obtained on a screen.
b) Virtual image: When the rays of light, after reflection from a mirror, appear to
meet at a point, then the image formed by these rays is said to be virtual. Virtual
images can’t be obtained on a screen.
❖ Mirror: The shiny/polished surface which can reflect the light is a mirror. Mirror is
of two types:
1. Plane Mirror: If the reflecting surface is a plane then the mirror is plane.
2. Spherical Mirror: If the reflecting surface is part of the hollow sphere then the
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mirror is a spherical mirror.

The spherical mirror is of two types:
a. Convex mirror: In this mirror reflecting surface is curved outwards (convex). It
diverges the light so it is also called a diverging mirror.
b. Concave mirror: In this mirror reflecting surface is curved inwards (concave). It
converges the light so it is also called converging mirror.
❖ Pole (Vertex): The central point of a mirror is called its pole.
❖ Centre of curvature: The centre of the sphere of which the mirror is a part is
called the centre of curvature. It is denoted by C.

❖ Radius of curvature: The radius of the sphere of which the mirror is a part is
called the radius of curvature. It is denoted by R.
❖ Principal axis: The straight line passing through the pole and the centre of
curvature is called the principal axis.
❖ Principal focus: It is a point on the principal axis at which the rays parallel to the
principal axis meet after reflection or seem to come from it. For a concave mirror,
the focus lies in front of the mirror and for a convex mirror, it lies behind the mirror.
In short, a concave mirror has a real focus while a convex mirror has a virtual
focus.
❖ Focal plane: A plane, drawn perpendicular to the principal axis and passing
through the principal focus.
❖ Focal length: The distance between the pole and the focus is called the focal
length. It is represented by f. The focal length is half the radius of curvature. f=R/2
❖ Reflection by Spherical mirror: A ray of light which is parallel to the principal
axis of a spherical mirror, after reflection converges or diverges from focus.
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❖ RULE OF REFLECTION IN CURVED MIRROR

• A ray of light which is parallel to the principal axis of a spherical mirror, after
reflection converges or diverges from focus.

• A ray of light passing through or appearing from the center of curvature of

spherical mirror is reflected back along the same path.

• A ray of light passing through or appearing from the focus of spherical mirror
becomes parallel to the principal axis.

• A ray of light which is incident at the pole of a spherical mirror is reflected back
making same angle with principal axis.

❖ IMAGE FORMATION OF CONCAVE MIRROR

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❖ IMAGE FORMATION OF CONCAVE MIRROR

❖ SIGN CONVENTIONS OF SPHERICAL MIRROR

All the distances are measured from the pole of the mirror as the origin.
• Distances measured in the direction of incident rays are taken as positive.
• Distances measured opposite to the direction of incident rays are taken as
negative.
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• Distances measured upward and perpendicular to the principal axis are taken as
positive.
• Distances measured downward and perpendicular to the principal axis are taken
as negative.
❖ IMAGE FORMATION OF CONVEX MIRROR

POSITION OF POSITION OF IMAGE SIZE OF IMAGE NATURE OF

OBJECT IMAGE

At Infinity At the focus F, behind Highly diminished Virtual and Erect

the mirror

Between Infinity and Between P and F, Diminished Virtual and Erect

the Pole behind the mirror

USES OF CONCAVE MIRROR USES OF CONVEX MIRROR

• Shaving mirrors • Rear-view mirrors of all the vehicles.

• Head light of vehicles • Security purposes in school, hotel, and
hospital galleries.
• Ophthalmoscope
• In ATM to view the behind person
• Astronomical telescopes
• Telescopes
• Headlights
• Sunglasses
• Solar furnaces
• Street light

❖ Magnification by Mirrors
• Increase/decrease in the image size produced by spherical mirrors with respect to
the object size is known as magnification.
• It is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object.
• It is denoted as m.
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❖ Refraction through a Rectangular Glass Slab

Light emerges from the glass slab in direction parallel with that in which it enters the
glass slab. Perpendicular distance between incident ray and emergent ray coming
out of glass slab is called lateral displacement.

❖ REFRACTIVE INDEX
Absolute refractive index is the ratio of speed of light in vacuum or air to speed of
light in the medium. (n = c/v)
• Relative refractive index
✓ n21 = Speed of light in medium-1 / Speed of light in medium-2
(Refractive index of medium-2 wrt medium 1 is known as refractive index of medium
✓ n12 = Speed of light in medium 2 / Speed of light in medium 1
(Refractive index of medium 1 wrt medium 2 is known as refractive index of medium 1)

• When light goes from rarer medium to denser medium than refracted ray bend
toward normal.
• When light goes from denser medium to rarer medium than refracted ray bend
away from the normal.
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• Refractive index depends on nature of material of medium, density of medium,

colour or wavelength of light.

❖ REFRACTION BY SPHERICAL LENSES

i. Convex lens: Lens which converge the light after the refraction is known as
converging lens.
ii. Concave lens: Lens which diverge the light after refraction is known as diverging
lens.

❖ IMAGE FORMATION OF CONVEX LENS

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❖ IMAGE FORMATION OF CONCAVE LENS

❖ SIGN OF DATA WITH LENS

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USES OF CONCAVE LENS USES OF CONVEX LENS

• Concave lens used in peepholes/spy • Used in making microscope

holes. • These are used on spectacles to
• These are also used in flashlights. correct the vision.
• They are also used in terrestrial • These are used in the camera to focus
telescopes, binoculars. on a single object.
• These are used on spectacles to • Convex lenses are used widely in the
correct the vision. camera, focusing on an image and
magnifying it.
• These are used as a magnifying glass.
• Convex lenses are used widely in the
overhead projectors.

❖ Magnification by Lens
• Increase in the image size produced by spherical lens with respect to the
object size is known as magnification.
• It is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object.
• It is denoted as m.

• POWER OF LENS: - The ability of lens to converse or diverge light rays is

called power of lens. It depends on focal length of lens.
P = 1/f, the SI unit of power of lens is dioptre (D).
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CHAPTER – 12
MAGNETIC EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC CURRENT
CONTENT (reference: CBSE SYLLABUS – 2024)
❖ Magnetic effects of current: Magnetic field, field lines
❖ field due to a current carrying conductor,
❖ field due to current carrying coil or solenoid;
❖ Force on current carrying conductor, Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule,
❖ Direct current. Alternating current: frequency of AC.
❖ Advantage of AC over DC. Domestic electric circuits.

❖ Magnet: Magnet is an object that attracts objects made of iron, cobalt and nickel.
Magnet comes to rest in – South direction, when suspended freely.
❖ Properties of Magnet
a. A free suspended magnet always points towards the north and south direction.
b. The pole of a magnet which points toward north direction is called north pole or
north-seeking.
c. The pole of a magnet which points toward south direction is called south pole or
south seeking.
d. Like poles of magnets repel each other while unlike poles of magnets attract each
other.
❖ Use of Magnets:
a. In refrigerators.
b. In radio and stereo speakers.
c. In audio and video cassette players.
d. In children‘s toys.
❖ Magnetic field: The area around a magnet where a magnetic force is
experienced is called the magnetic field. It is a quantity that has both direction and
magnitude, (i.e., Vector quantity).
❖ Magnetic field and field lines: The influence of force surrounding a magnet is
called magnetic field. In the magnetic field, the force exerted by a magnet can be
detected using a compass or any other magnet.
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❖ Direction of field line:

• Outside the magnet, the direction of magnetic field line is taken from North Pole to
South Pole.
• Inside the magnet, the direction of magnetic field line is taken from South Pole to
North Pole.

❖ Strength of magnetic field: The closeness of field lines shows the relative
strength of magnetic field, i.e. closer lines show stronger magnetic field and vice –
versa. Crowded field lines near the poles of magnet show more strength.

❖ Magnetic field lines due to current a current carrying straight conductor

• A current carrying straight conductor has magnetic field in the form of concentric
circles, around it. Magnetic field of current carrying straight conductor can be
shown by magnetic field lines.

• The direction of magnetic field through a current carrying conductor depends upon
the direction of flow electric current.
Note: Let a current carrying conductor be suspended vertically and the electric
current is flowing from south to north. In this case, the direction of magnetic field
will be anticlockwise. If the current is flowing from north to south, the direction of
magnetic field will be clockwise.
• The direction of magnetic field - In relation to direction of electric current
through a straight conductor can be depicted by using the Right-Hand Thumb
Rule. It is also known as Maxwell ‘s Corkscrew Rule.
• Maxwell’s Corkscrew rule: As per Maxwell ‘s Corkscrew Rule, if the direction of
forward movement of screw shows the direction of the current, then the direction
of rotation of screw shows the direction of magnetic field.

• Right-Hand Thumb Rule: If a current carrying conductor is held by right hand,

keeping the thumb straight and if the direction of electric current is in the direction
of thumb, then the direction of wrapping of other fingers will show the direction of
magnetic field.
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❖ Properties of magnetic field

• The magnitude of magnetic field increases with increase in electric current and
decreases with decrease in electric current.
• The magnitude of magnetic field produced by electric current decreases with
increase in distance and vice – versa. The size of concentric circles of magnetic
field lines increases with distance from the conductor, which shows that magnetic
field decreases with distance.
• Magnetic field lines are always parallel to each other inside the magnet.
• No two field lines cross each other.

❖ Magnetic field in circular current carrying conductor: The magnetic field is

produced in the same manner as it is in case of a straight current carrying
conductor.
• In case of a circular current carrying conductor, the magnetic field lines would be
in the form of iron concentric circles around every part of the periphery of the
conductor. Since, magnetic field lines tend to remain closer when near to the
conductor, so the magnetic field would be stronger near the periphery of the loop.
On the other hand, the magnetic field lines would be distant from each other when
we move towards the center of the current carrying loop. Finally, at the center, the
arcs of big circles would appear as a straight line.
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• The direction of the magnetic field in loop conductor

o Right Hand Thumb‘s Rule. Let us assume that the current is moving in anti-
clockwise direction in the loop. In that case, the magnetic field would be in
clockwise direction, at the top of the loop. Moreover, it would be in an anti-
clockwise direction at the bottom of the loop.
o Clock Face Rule: A current carrying loop works like a disc magnet. The polarity
of this magnet can be easily understood with the help of Clock Face Rule. If the
current is flowing in anti – clockwise direction, then the face of the loop shows
North Pole. On the other hand, if the current is flowing in clockwise direction, then
the face of the loop shows South Pole.
• Magnetic field and number of turns of coil: Magnitude of magnetic field gets
summed up with increase in the number of turns of coil. If there are ‘n‘turns of coil,
magnitude of magnetic field will be ‘n‘ times of magnetic field in case of a single
turn of coil. The strength of the magnetic field at the center of the loop(coil)
depends on -
o The radius of the coil: The strength of the magnetic field is inversely proportional
to the radius of the coil. If the radius increases, the magnetic strength at the
center decreases
o The number of turns in the coil: As the number of turns in the coil increase, the
magnetic strength at the centre increases, because the current in each circular
turn is having the same direction, thus, the field due to each turn adds up.
o The magnetic field produced by current carrying coil is directly proportional to the
magnitude of the current passing through it.

❖ Magnetic field due to a current in a Solenoid:

o Solenoid is the coil with many circular turns of insulated copper wire wrapped
closely in the shape of a cylinder.
o A current carrying solenoid produces similar pattern of magnetic field as a bar
magnet. One end of solenoid behaves as the North Pole and another end
behaves as the South Pole.
o Magnetic field lines are parallel inside the solenoid, similar to a bar magnet,
which shows that magnetic field is same at all points inside the solenoid.
o The strength of magnetic field is proportional to the number of turns and
magnitude of current.
o By producing a strong magnetic field inside the solenoid, magnetic materials can
be magnetized. Magnet formed by producing magnetic field inside a solenoid is
called electromagnet.

❖ Electromagnet: An electromagnet consists of a long coil of insulated copper wire

wrapped on a soft iron.
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❖ Force on a current carrying conductor in a magnetic field: A current carrying

conductor exerts a force when a magnet is placed in its vicinity. Similarly, a
magnet also exerts equal and opposite force on the current carrying conductor.
This was suggested by Marie Ampere, a French Physicist and considered as
founder of science of electromagnetism.
• The direction of force over the conductor gets reversed with the change in
direction of flow of electric current. It is observed that the magnitude of force is
highest when the direction of current is at right angles to the magnetic field.

• Fleming’s Left-Hand Rule: If the left hand is stretched in a way that the index
finger, the middle finger and the thumb are in mutually perpendicular directions,
then the index finger and middle finger of a stretched left hand show the direction
of magnetic field and direction of electric current respectively and the thumb
shows the direction of motion or force acting on the conductor.
• Many devices, such as electric motor, electric generator, loudspeaker, etc. work
on Fleming‘s Left Hand Rule.

❖ A.C. & D.C. CURRENT

• A.C. Current – Alternate Current: Current in which direction is changed
periodically is called Alternate Current. In India, most of the power stations
generate alternate current. The direction of current changes after every 1/100
second in India, i.e., the frequency of A.C in India is 50 Hz.
• D.C. – Direct Current: Current that flows in one direction only is called Direct
current. Electrochemical cells produce direct current.

• Advantages of A.C. over D.C.

o A.C is transmitted up to a long distance without much loss of energy is advantage
of A.C. over D.C.
o Cost of generator of A.C is much less than that of D.C.
o A.C can be easily converted to D.C.
o A.C can be controlled by the use of choke which involves less loss of power
whereas; D.C can be controlled using resistances which involves high energy
loss.
o AC machines are stout and durable and do not need much maintenance.
• Disadvantages of AC
o AC cannot be used for the electrolysis process or showing electromagnetism as it
reverses its polarity.
o AC is more dangerous than DC.
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❖ Domestic Electric Circuits: We receive electric supply through mains supported

through the poles or cables. In our houses, we receive AC electric power of 220 V
with a frequency of 50 Hz. (The AC changes direction after every 1/100 second).
❖ The 3 wires in domestic circuits are as follows
o Live wire – (Red insulated, Positive)
o Neutral wire – (Black insulated, Negative)
o Earth wire – (Green insulated) for safety measure to ensure that any leakage of
current to a metallic body does not give any serious shock to a user.

• The potential difference (or voltage) which is supplied in India is 220V.

• The electric current in house is first passed through a circuit called a fuse (High
resistant and low melting point metal/ore conductor wire). If any high voltage,
overloading, voltage fluctuation or short circuit occurs, the fuse wire melts thereby
restricting the current supply and preventing the high voltage from reaching the
electric appliances.
• These wires are passed to different electric appliances of the house through the
meter board.
• Generally, 2 types of electric circuits are used for household use:
o 15A: Appliances that have higher power ratings. i.e. Geysers, ACs, Refrigerators.
o 5A: Appliances that have lower power ratings. i.e. Television, Fans, Bulbs.

❖ Short Circuit: Short-circuiting is caused by the touching of live wires and neutral
wire and sudden a large current flow. It happens due to
o Damage of insulation in power lines.
o A fault in an electrical appliance.
o Overloading of an Electric Circuit: The overheating of electrical wire in any circuit
due to the flow of a large current through it is called overloading of the electrical
circuit.
o A sudden large number of current flows through the wire, which causes
overheating of wire and may cause fire also.

❖ Electric Fuse: It is a protective device used for protecting the circuit from short-
circuiting and overloading. It is a piece of thin wire of material having a low melting
point and high resistance.
o Fuse is always connected to live wire.
o Fuse is always connected in series to the electric circuit.
o Fuse is always connected to the beginning of an electric circuit.
o Fuse works on the heating effect.
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