CIE IGCSE Physics

Topic Questions

3.2 Light

11 mark

The diagram shows white light passing through a prism.

q1-easy-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which of the following gives colours in the correct order from A to B?

  • Red, green, violet

  • Red, violet, green

  • Violet, red, green

  • Violet, green, red

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21 mark

A teacher has a clock mounted in such a way that students can only see its reflection in a plane mirror.

The diagram shows the reflection of the clock.

q2-easy-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

What time is shown on the clock?

  • 05:40

  • 07:40

  • 07:20

  • 06:20

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31 mark

q3-easy-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

An object is placed in front of a mirror. Where is the image formed, and is the image real or virtual?

  Image location Image type
A X real
B X virtual
C Y real
D Y virtual

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41 mark

When light passes from a denser material into a less dense material

  • light slows down and bends toward the normal

  • light slows down and bends away from the normal

  • light speeds up and bends toward the normal

  • light speeds up and bends away from the normal

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51 mark

Identify the correct definition of the critical angle.

  • The critical angle is the angle of incidence when the angle of refraction is exactly 90° and light is refracted along the boundary

  • The critical angle is the angle of refraction when the angle of incidence is exactly 90° and light is refracted along the boundary

  • The critical angle is the angle of incidence when the angle of reflection is exactly 90° and light is reflected along the boundary

  • The critical angle is the angle of incidence when the angle of refraction is exactly 90° and light is reflected along the boundary

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11 mark

The diagram shows light passing from air into glass. A number of angles have been labelled on the diagram.

q1-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which of the equations could be used to correctly calculate the refractive index, n, of the glass?

  • fraction numerator sin space P over denominator sin space S end fraction

  • fraction numerator sin space Q over denominator sin space R end fraction

  • fraction numerator sin space P over denominator sin space R end fraction

  • fraction numerator sin space Q over denominator sin space S end fraction

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21 mark

Below is a ray diagram showing the image formed by a thin, converging lens.

q3-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which of the following statements about the image is correct?

  • The image is virtual and can be seen by eye Y.

  • The image is inverted and can be seen by eye Y.

  • The image is real and can be seen by the eye at X.

  • The image is virtual and can be seen by eye X.

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31 mark

Light enters a flat water surface at an angle of 27 o.

The refractive index of water is 1.33.

At what angle does the light ray refract?

  • 0.34 o

  • 20.3 o

  • 20.0 o

  • 37.0 o

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41 mark

A ray of light is shone into a semi-circular glass block so that it makes an angle of 48° with the rear, flat edge of the block as shown.

q4-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Calculate the refractive index of the glass.

  • 0.023

  • 1.49

  • 2.38

  • 1.35

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51 mark

The diagram shows an object positioned close to a thin converging lens (inside the focal distance). Three light rays are shown leaving the object and passing through the lens.

q5-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which row in the table correctly describes the properties of the image? 

 

location

size

real / virtual

A

to the left of O

reduced

real

B

to the right of O

enlarged

virtual

C

to the left of O

enlarged

virtual

D

at O

the same as O

real

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61 mark

The diagram shows a ray of light being totally internally reflected at the boundary between substances A and B.

q6-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which row in the table must be true?

 

Angle of incidence

Substance A

A

greater than critical angle

greater refractive index than B

B

greater than critical angle

smaller refractive index than B

C

less than critical angle

greater refractive index than B

D

less than critical angle

smaller refractive index than B

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71 mark

The image below shows white light being split into its constituent colours by a glass prism.

q7-hard-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Why does a prism cause white light to be dispersed?

  • Light towards the red end of the spectrum slows down less than light towards the violet end of the spectrum as it moves through the glass

  • Light towards the red end of the spectrum slows down more than light towards the violet end of the spectrum as it moves through the glass

  • The frequency of the light towards the red end decreases more than the frequency of light towards the violet end of the spectrum

  • The frequency of the light towards the violet end decreases more than the frequency of light towards the red end of the spectrum

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11 mark

Which of the diagrams below shows both the correct position of the image, and the correct path the light rays must have taken to the eye?

q1-medium-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

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21 mark

q2-medium-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which of the images correctly shows the focal length of the thin converging lens?

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31 mark

A physics teacher demonstrates dispersion for her class. She asks the students to draw a diagram of the dispersion.

The diagrams show four examples of what different students drew. One of them is correct. Which one?

q3-medium-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

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41 mark

Which diagram correctly shows the formation of a real image on a screen?

q4-medium-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

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51 mark

The diagram shows a ray of light inside a perspex rod. 

Perspex has a critical angle of 42o.

q5-medium-mcq-3-2-light-cie-igcse-physics

Which row in the table correctly states whether there is any light reflected from the surface, and whether there is any light refracted out of the perspex rod?

  Light reflected? Light refracted?
A yes yes
B yes no
C no yes
D no no

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