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Go to Answers to Refraction Problems  (revised 04-10-03)

REFRACTION

Sample Solutions

 

1.  A 68 m focal length converging lens forms an image that is one-fourth the size of the object. (A) What must be the object distance? (B) What will be the resulting image distance?

     A reduced image with a converging lens is a real image.

            (1/P) + (1/Q) = (1/F);  (1/P) + (1/(1/4P)) = (1/68 m)

            (1/P) + (4/P) = (1/68 m);  (5/P) = (1/68 m);  P = 340 m

            Q = (1/4)P = (1/4)(340 m) = 85 m

 

2. An inverted and reversed image 3/5th the size of the object is observed with a lens. The object and image are separated by a distance of 15 ft.  (A) What type of lens is required? (B) What is the focal  length of the lens? (C) What is the object distance? (D) What is the image distance?

            An inverted, reversed and smaller image with lenses is a real image; therefore, a convex  (converging) lens must be used.

            Q = 93/5)P;  P + Q = 15 ft;  P + (3/5)P = 15 ft; 5P + 3p = 15 ft;   8P = 75 ft;  P = 9.375 ft; 

            Q = (3/5)P = (3/5)(9.375 ft) = 5.625 ft

            (1/P) + (1/Q) = (1/F); (1/F) = (1/9.375 ft) + (1/5.625 ft);  F = 3.5156 ft

 

3. An upright and regular image that is 6/5th the size of the object is observed with a lens when the object is 34 ft from the lens. (A) What type of lens is used? (B) What is the focal length of the lens?

            An upright, regular and larger image with  lenses is a virtual image and a convex (diverging) lens is required.

            P = 34 ft; Q = (6/5)P = (6/5)(34 ft) = 40.8 ft; Q will be -40 m because it is virtual

            (1/F) = (1/P) + (1/Q); (1/F) = (1/34 ft) + (1/(-40.8 ft));  F = 204 ft

 

Problems  

1. A converging lens has a principal focal length of 30 cm. Calculate the image distances for the  following object distances:

             (A) 10 cm

             (B) 20 cm       

             (C) 30 cm

             (D) 40 cm

             (E) 60 cm.

2. A converging lens has a principal focal length of 20 cm. What must be the object distance to produce,

            (A) a real image that is twice the size of the object?  

            (B) a virtual image that is three times the size of the object?

3. A converging lens has a principal focal length of 24 cm. What must be the object distance to produce,

            (A) an inverted image that is three times as large as the object?

            (B) a virtual image that is magnified 5 times?

 

4. What distance in front of a converging lens, in terms of the principal focal length, must an object be placed such that a real image is formed at the same distance from the lens as the object?

 

5. The distance between an object and its real image, formed by a converging lens, is 120 cm.

            (A) What is the focal length of the lens if the image is magnified two times?

            (B) What must be the object distance?

            (C) What will  be the resulting image distance?

 

6. A diverging lens forms an image of an object that is located 20 cm from the lens. The focal length of the lens is 10 cm.

            (A) What is the image distance?

            (B) Describe the image?

 

7. An object is located 20 cm from a lens. An upright image that is one-half the size of the object is formed.

            (A) What type of lens is required?

            (B) What must be the focal length?

 

8. A 20 cm focal length converging lens is placed 50 cm from the object.

             (A) What is the image distance?

              (B) Describe the image?

 

9. An object is 10 inches from a 5 inch focal length converging lens.

            (A) What is the image distance?

             (B) Describe the image?

 

10. A 10 cm focal length lens with a fixed image distance of 11 cm is used in a basic box camera. How far away must the object be located so that it will be clearly focused on the film?

 

11. A 3 inch tall object is placed 20 inches from a converging lens. A  real image is formed 10 inches  from the lens.

            (A) What is the focal length of the lens?

            (B) What will be the image size?

 

12. An object is located 30 cm from a converging lens that forms a real image 5 cm tall and 60 cm from the lens.

             (A) What is the focal length of the lens?

             (B) What is the size of the image?

 

13. A converging lens forms a real image that is four times the size of the object. The image is located 65 cm from the object.

            (A) What is the object distance?

            (B) What is the image distance?

 

14. You observe an image 4 cm from its object. The image is observed to be three-fourth the size of the object.

            (A) What is the object distance?

            (B) What is the image distance?

 

15. A real image that is four times the size of the object is separated from the object by a distance of 85 ft.

             (A) What is the object distance? 

             (B) What is the image distance?

             (C) What is the focal length of the lens?

 

16. An object 5 cm high is located 12 cm in front of a 8 cm focal length lens. Include all solutions.

              (A) What is the image distance?

               (B) What is the image size?

 

17. An object 3 inches tall is located 20 inches from a 12 inch focal length converging lens.

             (A) What is the image distance?

              (B) What is the image size?

 

18. A 2 ft tall object is located 10 ft from a 6 ft focal length diverging lens.

             (A) What is the image size?

              (B) What is the image distance?

 

19. A 12 cm focal length lens is located so that it forms an image that is four times the size of the object.

              (A) What is the object distance?

              (B)  If this same lens is to produce a virtual image six times the size of  the object, what must be the object distance?

              (C) Find the image  distances for BOTH part (A & B).

              (D) What type of lens is needed for BOTH  “A” and “B”?

 

20. A growing flower is planted 9 ft from a wall. Where should a 2 ft focal length lens be placed to form a real image on the wall? (CONSIDER ALL POSSIBILITIES)

 

21. A 30 cm focal length lens is used to form an image on a screen that is located 150 cm from the object. How far from the screen must you place the lens?

 

22. An object 2 ft tall is located 10 ft in front of a 6 ft converging lens.

             (A) What is the image size?

             (B) What is the image location?

 

23. An object 3 inches tall is located in front of a 12 inch focal length lens. Include all solutions.

             (A) What is the image size?

             (B) What is the image location?

 

24.  (deleted)

25. The distance between and object and its real image, formed by a lens is 120 cm. The image is to be three times the size of the object.

              (A) What focal length lens must be used?

              (B) What must be the object distance? 

             (C) What will be the resultant image distance?

 

26. The distance between and object and its virtual image, formed by a lens is 120 cm. The image is to  be three times the size of the object.

            (A) What focal length lens must be used?

            (B) What must be the object distance? 

             (C) What will be the resultant image distance?

 

27. Light strikes the surface of flint glass (n = 1.517) from air (n = 1) at an angle of 57o as it passes into  glycerol (n = 1.475) and then into water (n = 1.33). With what angle will the light emerge into water from the glycerol/water interface?

 

28. What minimum angle is required to obtain internal reflection when light passes from acetone (n = 1.36) into methyl alcohol (n = 1.33)?

 

29. What is the critical angle if light is to pass between glycerol (n = 1.47) and quartz (n = 1.544)? In what direction must the light travel? Why?

 

 

30. (A) Where must one place an object to observe a reversed image seven-fifth the size of the object if the focal length of the lens is 55 cm?

      (B) What type of lens is required?

      (C) What is the object and image distances respectively?

          USE ALL POSSIBLE SITUATIONS

 

31. An inverted image is observed at a point 56 feet from the object. If the focal length of the lens is 12 ft,

              (A) what is(are) the possible location(s) for the object from the lens?

              (B) What will be the respective image location ?

         USE ALL POSSIBLE SITUATIONS

 

32. We wish to observe an image with a lens where the object is five times the size of the image. The lens we are given has a focal length of 54 cm.

             (A) What type of lens is it?

             (B) What is(are) the possible object location(s)?

             (C) What is(are) the possible image location(s)?   

         USE ALL POSSIBLE SITUATIONS

 

33.  An upright image and its object are separated by a distance of 14 meters.

             (A) What focal length lens is required if the object is to be two-thirds the size of the image?

             (B) What are the possible object and image distances?

             (C) What are the possible object locations?

 

 34.  A soap bubble is 220.0 nm thick.  For what wavelength of incident light will the intensity of the reflected light be zero, where all the light will be transmitted through the soap bubble?

 

35.  For the same soap bubble of 220.0 nm thickness, what wavelength of incident light will give maximum reflection within the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum?   Why must      "m" be given a value of "1"?  What wavelength of light corresponds to an "m" of "0"?  For an "m" of "2"?  (visible spectrum = 380.0 - 720.0 nm)

 

36.  What thickness of magnesium fluoride (MgF2, n = 1.38) should be deposited on a glass lens of ng = 1.50, such that the greatest portion of incident white light should not be reflected?

 

37.  For the same coated glass lens used above, what wavelength within the visible spectrum will give maximum reflection of light?

 

38.  A thin film of gasoline floats on a puddle of water.  Sunlight falls almost perpendicularly on the film and reflects into your eyes.  Although sunlight is white, since it contains all colors, the film has a yellow hue, because destructive interference eliminates the color of blue (lambda vacuum = 469 nm) from the reflected light.  If the refractive indices of blue light in gasoline and water are 1.40 and 1.33, respectively, determine the minimum nonzero thickness "d" of the film.

 

39.  Calculate the minimum thickness of a soap bubble (n = 1.33) that will result in constructive interference in the reflected light if the film is illuminated with light whose wavelength in air is 600 nm.

 

40.  Solar cells are often coated with a transparent thin film of silicon monoxide (SiO, n = 1.45), in order to minimize reflective losses from the surface.  A silicon solar cell (n = 3.50) is coated with a thin film of silicon monoxide for this purpose.  Determine the minimum thickness of the film that will produce the least reflection of white light.

 

 

SELF-TEST

Multiple Choice:

1. Light can travel 1.86 x 108 miles in:

    (A) 1 sec                              (C) 100 sec   

    (B) 10 sec                            (D) 1,000 sec

 

2. The image of an object IS NOT inverted in:

    (A) an eye                            (C) a pinhole camera

    (B) a reading lens                  (D) a slide projector

 

3. In almost every field of science, the instrument used to see objects too small for the unaided eye is the:

    (A) telescope                        (C) enlarger   

    (B) spectroscope                  (D) microscope

 

4. The bending of light rays as they pass from one substance to another is:    

    (A) reflection                        (C) refraction

    (B) absorption                      (D) transmission

 

5. The defect observed because a single lens does not focus all colors at the same place is:

    (A) depth of focus                (C) spherical aberration

    (B) index of refraction           (D) chromatic aberration

 

6.  (deleted) 

7.  (deleted)

8. In the tank of water in the following diagram, the incident ray of light would strike the bottom at which point:

    (A) A                       (C) C

    (B) B                        (D) D

                                                  

9. (deleted)

 

10. Virtual images are formed whenever the distance of an object from a lens is less than:

     (A) 1 ft                                (C) twice the focal length

     (B) 2 ft                                (D) none of the above

 

11.  (deleted)

12. As light goes from air into diamond, it is:

     (A) slowed down                 (C) totally refracted

     (B) speeded up                    (D) totally reflected

 

13. A girl 3 ft from a plane mirror is separated from her image by a distance of:

     (A) 3 ft                                (C) 9 ft

     (B) 6 ft                                (D) 12 ft

 

            Study the accompanying diagram carefully and then answer questions   #14 - #16.

 

           

 

14. As the object is moved closer to “F”, the new image is, as compared to the original image in the diagram is:

     (A) larger                            (C) upright

     (B) smaller                           (D) the same size

 

15. The focal length of the lens is the distance from the lens axis to:    

     (A) the object                      (C) F’

     (B) the image                       (D) 2F’

 

16. If the image can be focused on a screen, it must be:

     (A) upright                           (C) reversed

     (B) regular                           (D) colored

 

17.  (deleted) 

18.  (deleted)

19. An object is placed between “F” and “2F” of a converging lens, the image formed will be:

     (A) real and enlarged                       (C) virtual and enlarged

     (B) virtual and reduced                    (D) real and reduced

 

20. When a beam of light passes from one medium into a less dense medium, the angle of refraction is:

     (A) greater than the angle of incidence          (C) equal to the angle of incidence

     (B) less than the angle of incidence               (D) independent of the angle of incidence

 

21. The image formed by a diverging lens is:

     (A) virtual and reduced                                (C) real and enlarged   

     (B) virtual and enlarged                                (D) real and inverted

 

22. To produce a parallel beam of light using a converging lens, a lighted object must be placed at:

     (A) a distance “2F” from the lens                 (C) a distance of more than “2F” from the lens

     (B) a distance “F” from the lens                    (D) a distance of less than “F” from the lens

 

23. All incident parallel light rays do not pass through the principal focus of a converging lens. This phenomenon is called

      A) spherical aberration                    (C) chromatic aberration

     (B) astigmatism                                (D) binocular vision

 

24. Real images formed by a lens are:

     (A) never on the same side of the lens as the object

     (B) always on the same side of the lens as the object

     (C) sometimes on the same side as the object

     (D) maybe upright

 

25. When an object is placed at a distance of “2F” from a converging lens,  the image is:

     (A) reduced                         (C) same size as the object

     (B) enlarged                        (D) non-existent

 

26. The image formed by a converging lens is never:

    (A) virtual and upright           (C) virtual and enlarged

    (B) real and inverted             (D) virtual and reduced

 

27. If an object is between “F” and the optical center, the image will be:            

     (A) at the principal focus                                      (E) between “F’ “ and “2F’ “ from the lens

     (B) more than “2F’ “ from the lens                       (F) at infinity

     (C) on  the same side of the lens as the object

     (D) “2F’ “ from the lens     

 

28. If the distance of an object from a double convex lens increases, the distance of the real image:

     (A) does not change

     (B) increases                      

     (C) decreases

 

29. Referring to a convex lens, if the object is at “2F”, the image will be:

     (A) at the principal focus                                          (D) “2F’ “ from the lens

     (B) more than “2F’ “ from the lens               (E) between “F’ “ and “2F’ “ from the lens

     (C) on  the same side of the lens as the object          (F) at infinity

 

30. An object is placed between a convex lens and its focal point. Indicate ALL of the following which will describe the image:

      (A) upright                          (D) diminished 

      (B) inverted                                    (E) real

      (C) enlarged                                   (F) virtual

 

31. If an object is at an infinite distance from a convex lens, the image will be found:

     (A) at the principal focus                                          (D) “2F’ “ from the lens

     (B) more than “2F’ “ from the lens                           (E) between “F’ “ and “2F’ “ from the lens

     (C) on the same side of the lens as the object           (F) at infinity

 

32. An object is placed between “F” and “2F” from a convex lens. Indicate ALL of the following which will describe the image:

     (A) upright                           (D) enlarged

     (B) real                                (E) diminished

     (C) inverted                         (F) virtual

 

33. When using a concave lens, the image is:

     (A) upright, virtual and enlarged                   (C) upright, real and diminished

     (B) inverted, real and diminished                  (D) upright, virtual and diminished

 

34. An object is placed at a distance greater than “2F” from a convex lens. Indicate ALL of the following which describe the image:

    (A) upright            (D)  diminished

    (B) inverted          (E)  real

    (C) enlarged         (F)  virtual

 

35. You are looking into a swimming pool at an oblique angle while standing at the diving end.  You are most likely to:

     (A) over-estimate the depth of the water

     (B) under-estimate the water depth

     (C) correctly estimate the depth

 

 

Matching: Choose the term in the left-hand column that BEST completes the statement or answers the question in the right-hand column.

1. virtual image                          A. ratio of focal length to lens diameter

          2. chromatic aberration              B. can be focused on a screen

          3. polarized                               C. inert gas found in incandescent lamps

          4. Argon                                    D. one of the theories of light

5. filament                                  E. measures light intensity

6. phosphor                                F. lens that is thicker in center than its edge  

7. spherical aberration                G. part of incandescent lamp producing light

8. real image                               H. vibrating in only one plane

9. depth of focus                          I. inert gas in fluorescent lamps

10. f-number                                J. lens thinner in center than its edges

11. candlepower                          K. all colors not properly focused

12. convex lens                             L. cannot be focused on a screen

13. incandescent lamp                   M. produces light in fluorescent lamps

14. particle                                    N. affects focus of near & far objects in photos

15. concave lens                            O. all parts of image not formed at same point

                                                                P. light produced  by a filament

                                                               Q. part producing light in a neon lamp

                                                               R. vibrating in 2 or more planes

                                                               S. ratio of lens diameter to its aperture

                                                               T. equal thickness throughout

                                                               U. measures illumination

                                                               V. all rays are properly focused  

                                                               W. opposite depth of field

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