Chapter 12 Question 3
 
a. What do you understand by visual angle? Use this to explain why a coin held near the eye may have the same apparent size as a moon. 2 marks
 
Visual angle of an object is the angle subtended by the object at the eye. It determines the size of image on the retina. So, it determines the apparent size of the object. 1
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The moon subtends a small angle at our eyes:.
  0.5
When a coin is placed closed to the eye, the visual angle may be larger than that of the moon, and so appears to be larger. 0.5
 
b. Using suitable ray diagrams, describe how accommodation for objects at different positions can be achieved in
i)    the human eye.
6 marks 
 
Human eyes accomodate by varying the focal length of the eye lens.
To view near objects, the ciliary muscle contracts, increasing the thickness of the lens and reducing the focal length.
To view distant objects, the ciliary muscle relaxes, reducing the thickness of  the lens and increasing the focal length.
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ii)     the camera.  
 
A camera accomodates by varying the position of the lens relative to the film.
To focus near objects, the lens moves outward (away from the film).
To focus distant objects, the lens moves inward (towards the film).
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c. Give an account on the following common optical defects of the human eye
i)    shortsightedness
8 marks
 
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A short-sighted person can see near objects clearly but cannot focus on distant objects. The image of a distant object is focused in front of the retina because the focal length of the eye is too short for the length of the eyeball (see Fig.a).  1
This can be corrected by suitable concave lens (see Fig.b).
Suppose a short-sighted person can see clearly objects between 25 cm to 200 cm. The focal length of the correcting concave lens is f = -200 cm. The new far point is now at infinity. But the new near point is given by
Thus, the range of vision is smaller than a normal eye. 1
 
ii)     long-sightedness.
Explain how these effects may be corrected. Show that after corrections are made, the ranges of vision in both cases are less than a normal eye.
 
 
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A long-sighted person can see distant objects clearly but cannot focus on near objects. The image of a near object is focused behind the retina because the focal length of the eye is too long for the length of the eyeball (see Fig.a).  1
This can be corrected by suitable convex lens (see Fig.b).
Suppose a long-sighted person can see clearly objects between 200 cm to infinity. The focal length of the correcting convex lens is given by
Since the images for objects at 28.6 cm are now at infinity, the new far point is 28.6 cm.
Thus, the range of vision is only between 25 cm and 28.6 cm. 1
 
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