A thin lens made of material of refractive index has focal length in air. Its focal length in a medium of refractive index will be:
- A
- B
- C
- D
A thin lens made of material of refractive index has focal length in air. Its focal length in a medium of refractive index will be:
Correct answer:A
Standard Method
Given: Refractive index of the lens is . Refractive index of the medium in the question is . Focal length in air is .
Find: The focal length of the lens in the medium.
From the solution, the governing relation used is
For this question, .
Substitute the values from the question:
Hence,
Therefore, the focal length in the medium is .
Discrepancy note: the solution text is for a different medium value in parts of the page and incorrectly labels option A. Using the same formula shown there with the actual question data gives , so the defensible correct option is D.
Using the medium refractive index from the mismatched the solution instead of the question. That is wrong because the question clearly gives , not . Always substitute values from the question being solved.
Applying the lens maker relation with the wrong denominator, such as using instead of in the ratio form used here. This changes the sign and magnitude. Write the formula carefully before substitution.
Treating the new focal length as directly proportional only to the medium refractive index. That is wrong because the dependence comes through the relative refractive index of lens and medium. Use the full relation, not a visual guess from and .
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