Answer the following. A State Snell's Law of refraction. B Define the refractive index of a material with respect to another material giving the mathematical expression.

ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Sample paper, session 2026-27 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 10 Science sample paper 2026-27: question 33

From the official CBSE sample question paper for 2026-27, section C, question 33, for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q33 · 2 marks · Very short answerLight – Reflection and Refraction

Answer the following.

A
State Snell's Law of refraction.
0 marks
B
Define the refractive index of a material with respect to another material giving the mathematical expression.
0 marks

Source: official sample paper from cbseacademic.nic.in (PDF). See it in the full Sample paper 2026-27.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Snell's law relates the sines of two angles.

Hint 2

Refractive index compares how fast light travels in the two media.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

A. Snell's law: for light of a given colour and a given pair of media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant.
$\frac{sin i}{sin r} = constant$
1 mark
B. The refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is the ratio of the speed of light in medium 1 to the speed of light in medium 2:
$n_{21} = \frac{v _{1}}{v _{2}}$
Here $v_{1}$ and $v_{2}$ are the speeds of light in media 1 and 2.
1 mark

Answer: A. $\frac{sin i}{sin r}$ = constant for a given colour and pair of media; B. $n_{21} = \frac{v _{1}}{v _{2}}$

Where the marks are

Correct statement of Snell's law, with the conditions (given colour and pair of media) (1 mark)
Definition of refractive index as a ratio of speeds, with $n_{21} = v_{1} / v_{2}$ (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Chapter: Light – Reflection and Refraction (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Topic: Refraction of Light and Refractive Index

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Light – Reflection and Refraction, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paperSample paper 2026-27: every question, by section.

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CBSE Class 10 Science sample paper 2026-27: question 33

Hints

Step-by-step solution

Revise the chapter

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