Refraction through a Lens — ICSE Class 10 Physics Important Questions
13 hand-picked ICSE Class 10 Physics important questions for Refraction through a Lens, each with a full model answer — the formats and topics most likely to appear in your board exam.
- 13
- Questions
- 6
- Question types
- 32
- Total marks
- ₹0
- With answers
High-yield ICSE Refraction through a Lens questions use the lens formula 1/v-1/u=1/f with sign convention, magnification m=v/u=h_i/h_o, and power P=1/f(m). Expect numericals finding image position and size, ray-diagram image formation by a convex lens, and distinguishing convex from concave lens behaviour.
About Refraction through a Lens
In the ICSE Class 10 Physics chapter Refraction through a Lens you study how convex (converging) and concave (diverging) lenses bend light, the nature, position and size of images for an object placed at different positions, and the numerical relations linking object distance, image distance and focal length. You apply the lens formula and magnification with the New Cartesian sign convention and compute the power of a lens in dioptres.
Key concepts & formulas
With the New Cartesian sign convention, 1/v-1/u=1/f, where u is object distance, v image distance and f focal length (f>0 for convex, f<0 for concave).
Linear magnification m=h_i/h_o=v/u. A positive m means a virtual, erect image; a negative m means a real, inverted image.
P=1/f with f in metres; unit is the dioptre (D). Convex lens: P>0; concave lens: P<0. For lenses in contact, P=P_1+P_2+
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Important questions with answers
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| Question type | Count | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| MCQ | 4 | 1 |
| Assertion–Reason | 1 | 1 |
| Very Short | 2 | 2 |
| Short Answer | 3 | 3 |
| Long Answer | 2 | 5 |
| Case-based | 1 | 4 |
Multiple-choice questions (1 mark)
The focal length of a convex lens of power +2.5\,D is:
- (a)
0.25\,m
- (b)
0.40\,m
- (c)
2.5\,m
- (d)
4.0\,m
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Answer: (b) 0.40\,m.
P=1/f f=1/P=1/2.5=0.40\,m (=40\,cm).
A concave lens always forms an image that is:
- (a)
real, inverted and magnified
- (b)
real, erect and diminished
- (c)
virtual, erect and diminished
- (d)
virtual, inverted and magnified
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Answer: (c) virtual, erect and diminished.
A concave (diverging) lens forms a virtual, erect, diminished image on the same side as the object for every real object position.
An object is placed at the centre of curvature (2F) of a convex lens of focal length 10\,cm. The image is formed at:
- (a)
the focus
- (b)
between F and 2F
- (c)
2F on the other side, same size
- (d)
infinity
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Answer: (c) 2F on the other side, same size.
For an object at 2F (u=-20\,cm): 1/v=1/f+1/u=1/10-1/20=1/20, so v=+20\,cm. The image is real, inverted and the same size.
A convex lens forms a real image three times the size of the object on a screen. If the object is 20\,cm from the lens, the focal length is:
- (a)
10\,cm
- (b)
12\,cm
- (c)
15\,cm
- (d)
18\,cm
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Answer: (c) 15\,cm.
Real, inverted image: m=-3=v/u. With u=-20\,cm, v=-3u=60\,cm. Then 1/f=1/v-1/u=1/60-1/-20=1/60+3/60=4/60, so f=15\,cm.
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Practise free with the AI tutor →Assertion–Reason questions (1 mark)
Assertion (A): A convex lens can form a virtual, erect and magnified image.
Reason (R): When an object is placed between the optical centre and the focus of a convex lens, the refracted rays diverge and appear to come from a point on the same side as the object.
- (a)
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b)
Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
- (c)
A is true but R is false
- (d)
A is false but R is true
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Answer: (a) For an object between F and the optical centre, the emergent rays diverge and their backward projections meet on the object side, giving a virtual, erect, magnified image (as in a magnifying glass). R correctly explains A.
Very short answer questions (2 marks)
Distinguish between a convex and a concave lens on the basis of (i) their shape and (ii) their action on a parallel beam of light.
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(i) Shape: A convex lens is thicker at the centre than at the edges; a concave lens is thinner at the centre than at the edges.
(ii) Action on light: A convex lens converges a parallel beam to a real focus (converging lens). A concave lens diverges a parallel beam so that the rays appear to come from a virtual focus (diverging lens).
A lens has a power of -4\,D. (i) What is the nature of the lens? (ii) Calculate its focal length.
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(i) Nature: The power is negative, so it is a concave (diverging) lens.
(ii) Focal length: f=1/P=1/-4=-0.25\,m=-25\,cm. The negative sign confirms a concave lens.
Short answer questions (3 marks)
An object 4\,cm high is placed at a distance of 30\,cm from a convex lens of focal length 15\,cm. Find the position, nature and size of the image.
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Given u=-30\,cm, f=+15\,cm, h_o=4\,cm.
1/v=1/f+1/u=1/15+1/-30=2-1/30=1/30
So v=+30\,cm: the image is 30\,cm behind the lens, real and inverted.
m=v/u=30/-30=-1, so h_i=m× h_o=-1×4=-4\,cm.
The image is real, inverted, same size (4\,cm), formed 30\,cm from the lens on the opposite side (object at 2F).
An object is placed 10\,cm in front of a concave lens of focal length 15\,cm. Determine the position, magnification and nature of the image.
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Given u=-10\,cm, f=-15\,cm.
1/v=1/f+1/u=1/-15+1/-10=-2-3/30=-5/30=-1/6
So v=-6\,cm: the image is 6\,cm from the lens on the same side as the object.
m=v/u=-6/-10=+0.6.
The image is virtual, erect and diminished (0.6 times), located 6\,cm in front of the lens.
A convex lens of focal length 20\,cm produces an image on a screen that is twice the size of the object. Find the distance of the object and of the image from the lens.
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A real image on a screen is inverted, so m=-2=v/u, giving v=-2u.
Lens formula: 1/v-1/u=1/f
1/-2u-1/u=1/20
-1-2/2u=1/20-3/2u=1/20
2u=-60 u=-30\,cm.
Then v=-2u=-2(-30)=60\,cm.
The object is 30\,cm from the lens and the real image is 60\,cm from the lens on the other side.
Long answer questions (5 marks)
(a) Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of the image when an object is placed between F and 2F of a convex lens, and state the nature of the image. (b) An object is placed 12\,cm from a convex lens of focal length 18\,cm. Find the image distance and magnification, and state the nature of the image.
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(a) With the object between F and 2F, the image is real, inverted, magnified and formed beyond 2F on the other side.
(b) u=-12\,cm, f=+18\,cm (object is inside the focus).
1/v=1/f+1/u=1/18+1/-12=2-3/36=-1/36
v=-36\,cm. m=v/u=-36/-12=+3.
The image is virtual, erect and magnified (3×), formed 36\,cm from the lens on the same side as the object.
(a) Define the power of a lens and state its SI unit. (b) Two thin lenses of powers +5\,D and -2\,D are placed in contact. Find the power, focal length and nature of the combination. (c) An object is placed 25\,cm from this combination. Locate the image.
Show model answer
(a) The power of a lens is the reciprocal of its focal length in metres, P=1/f(m); it measures the lens's ability to converge or diverge light. SI unit: dioptre (D), where 1\,D=1\,m^-1.
(b) For lenses in contact, P=P_1+P_2=(+5)+(-2)=+3\,D.
Focal length f=1/P=1/3\,m=+33.3\,cm. Since P>0, the combination behaves as a convex (converging) lens.
(c) f=+33.3\,cm, u=-25\,cm.
1/v=1/f+1/u=1/33.3+1/-25=0.030-0.040=-0.010\,cm^-1
v=-100\,cm. The image is virtual, erect and magnified, formed 100\,cm in front of the combination on the object's side (object lies within the focal length).
Case-based questions (4 marks)
A student uses a convex lens of focal length 10\,cm as a magnifying glass to read fine print and also to obtain a sharp image of a distant window on a screen.
(i) When the lens is used as a magnifying glass, where must the object be placed relative to the lens?
(ii) State the nature of the image seen through the magnifying glass.
(iii) When a sharp image of the distant window is formed on the screen, at what distance from the lens is the screen? Give a reason.
(iv) If the object is now placed 10\,cm from the lens, where is the image formed?
Show model answer
(i) The object must be placed between the optical centre and the focus, i.e. within the focal length (<10\,cm).
(ii) The image is virtual, erect and magnified, on the same side as the object.
(iii) The screen is at 10\,cm (the focal length). A distant object sends nearly parallel rays, so u and 1/v=1/f, giving v=f=10\,cm; the real, inverted, diminished image forms at the focus.
(iv) With the object at F (u=-10\,cm, f=10\,cm): 1/v=1/10-1/10=0, so v=. The image is formed at infinity (rays emerge parallel).
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Are these Refraction through a Lens important questions free?
Yes. All 13 ICSE Class 10 Physics important questions for Refraction through a Lens are free, with full model answers and no login required.Do these Refraction through a Lens questions follow the latest ICSE syllabus?
Yes — they are aligned to the CISCE latest syllabus syllabus for ICSE Class 10 Physics, so nothing here is outside the current course.How should I practise the Refraction through a Lens important questions?
Attempt each question on paper first, then reveal the model answer to check your method — not just the final result. Re-do anything you got wrong the same day.What types of questions are covered for Refraction through a Lens?
A full mix — multiple-choice questions, assertion–reason questions, very short answer questions, short answer questions, long answer questions, case-based questions — so every format in the ICSE paper is covered.
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