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Lenses: GCSE Combined Science Physics practice questions

Foundation and Higher · Grade 6

A second set of questions on lenses. They are different from the ones on the topic page. Try each, then open the answer and compare your working.

More questions

Question 1 Hard

An image is 15 cm high and the magnification is 5. Work out the object height.

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Answer: 3 cm

  1. object height = image height ÷ magnification
  2. 15 ÷ 5 = 3 cm

Question 2 Hard

An object is placed closer to a converging lens than its principal focus. Describe the image that is formed.

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Answer: It is virtual, upright and magnified.

  1. The object is closer than the principal focus.
  2. The image is virtual, upright and magnified.

Question 3 Hard

Explain why a diverging lens cannot form an image on a screen.

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Answer: It spreads the rays apart, so they never meet and the image is virtual.

  1. The lens spreads the rays out.
  2. The rays do not meet, so the image is virtual.

Question 4 Hard

An image has a magnification of 0.5 and the object is 8 cm high. Work out the height of the image.

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Answer: 4 cm

  1. image height = magnification × object height
  2. 0.5 × 8 = 4 cm

Quick checks

Short questions with options. Choose one before you open the answer.

Check 1

What shape is a converging lens?

  1. thinner in the middle than at the edges
  2. thicker in the middle than at the edges
  3. completely flat
Show answer

thicker in the middle than at the edges Thicker in the middle than at the edges. It is also called a convex lens.

Check 2

What does a converging lens do to parallel rays of light?

  1. brings them together at one point
  2. spreads them apart
  3. stops them
Show answer

brings them together at one point It brings them together at the principal focus.

Check 3

What is the principal focus of a converging lens?

  1. the centre of the lens
  2. the edge of the lens
  3. the point where parallel rays meet
Show answer

the point where parallel rays meet The point where parallel rays meet after passing through the lens.

Check 4

What is the focal length of a lens?

  1. the thickness of the lens
  2. the distance from the lens to the principal focus
  3. the height of the object
Show answer

the distance from the lens to the principal focus The distance from the centre of the lens to the principal focus.

Check 5

What shape is a diverging lens?

  1. thinner in the middle than at the edges
  2. thicker in the middle than at the edges
  3. a perfect sphere
Show answer

thinner in the middle than at the edges Thinner in the middle than at the edges. It is also called a concave lens.

Check 6

What does a diverging lens do to parallel rays of light?

  1. brings them to a focus
  2. makes them parallel again
  3. spreads them apart
Show answer

spreads them apart It spreads them apart so they seem to come from a point on the object side.

Check 7

What kind of image does a diverging lens always make?

  1. real, upside down and bigger
  2. virtual, upright and smaller
  3. real, upright and bigger
Show answer

virtual, upright and smaller A virtual, upright, smaller image.

Check 8

What is a real image?

  1. rays actually meet, so it can be shown on a screen
  2. rays only seem to meet, so it cannot be shown on a screen
  3. an image seen in a mirror
Show answer

rays actually meet, so it can be shown on a screen An image formed where the light rays actually meet. It can be shown on a screen.

Check 9

What is a virtual image?

  1. rays really meet at it
  2. an image that can be caught on paper
  3. rays only seem to come from it
Show answer

rays only seem to come from it An image where the rays only seem to come from. It cannot be shown on a screen.

Check 10

Which type of image can be caught on a screen?

  1. a virtual image
  2. a real image
  3. neither kind
Show answer

a real image A real image, because the light really arrives there.

Check 11

What type of lens is a magnifying glass?

  1. a converging lens
  2. a diverging lens
  3. a flat mirror
Show answer

a converging lens A converging lens, used with the object closer than the principal focus.

Check 12

Where must the object be for a magnifying glass to work?

  1. further than the principal focus
  2. touching the screen
  3. closer to the lens than the principal focus
Show answer

closer to the lens than the principal focus Closer to the lens than the principal focus.

Check 13

What image does a magnifying glass make?

  1. real, upside down and smaller
  2. virtual, upright and magnified
  3. real, upright and smaller
Show answer

virtual, upright and magnified A virtual, upright, magnified image.

Check 14

Write the equation for magnification in words.

  1. image height ÷ object height
  2. object height ÷ image height
  3. image height + object height
Show answer

image height ÷ object height magnification = image height ÷ object height.

Check 15

What is the unit of magnification?

  1. centimetres
  2. metres per second
  3. no unit
Show answer

no unit It has no unit. It is a ratio, so the units cancel.

Check 16

What does a magnification of 0.5 mean?

  1. the image is twice the height of the object
  2. the image is half the height of the object
  3. the image is the same size as the object
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the image is half the height of the object The image is half the height of the object.

Check 17

An object is 4 cm high and its image is 20 cm high. What is the magnification?

  1. 5
  2. 16
  3. 0.2
Show answer

5 magnification = 20 ÷ 4 = 5.

Check 18

A lens has a magnification of 3. The object is 2.4 cm high. How high is the image?

  1. 0.8 cm
  2. 5.4 cm
  3. 7.2 cm
Show answer

7.2 cm image height = 3 × 2.4 = 7.2 cm.

Check 19

An image is 10 cm high and the magnification is 2. How high is the object?

  1. 20 cm
  2. 5 cm
  3. 12 cm
Show answer

5 cm object height = 10 ÷ 2 = 5 cm.

Check 20

An object is 5 mm high and its image is 2 cm high. What should you do before working out the magnification?

  1. change both heights to the same unit
  2. add the two heights
  3. do nothing, because units do not matter
Show answer

change both heights to the same unit Change both heights to the same unit, for example 2 cm = 20 mm.

Check 21

Why can you not use a diverging lens to put a picture on a screen?

  1. it is too thin to hold light
  2. it absorbs all the light
  3. its rays spread apart, so the image is virtual
Show answer

its rays spread apart, so the image is virtual It only makes virtual images, because the rays spread apart and never meet.

Check 22

What is wrong here: 'A converging lens is thinner in the middle and spreads rays out.'

  1. nothing, that is correct
  2. it describes a diverging lens, not a converging one
  3. converging lenses are thin but they bend rays towards a point
Show answer

it describes a diverging lens, not a converging one A converging lens is thicker in the middle and brings rays together.

Check 23

Why does a magnifying glass only magnify when it is close to the object?

  1. the object must be inside the principal focus
  2. the glass heats up when it is far away
  3. light cannot travel far through glass
Show answer

the object must be inside the principal focus The object must be closer than the principal focus. Further away, the image is real and upside down.

Check 24

A student says the image from a magnifying glass is real and can be caught on paper. What is wrong?

  1. the paper is too small
  2. magnifying glasses cannot form images
  3. the image is virtual, so paper will not catch it
Show answer

the image is virtual, so paper will not catch it The image is virtual, so there is no light there to land on paper.

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