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What is scattering of light ?… (Class 10 Science 2026, Q36)

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ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2026, set 31/2/1 · 3 marks · Short answer

CBSE Class 10 Science 2026: question 36

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2026, paper 31/2/1, section C, question 36, for 3 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q36 · 3 marks · Short answerThe Human Eye and the Colourful World

What is scattering of light ? How is scattering of light different from reflection of light ? Explain.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 31/2/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Think about what happens when sunlight enters a dusty room through a small hole.

Hint 2

Compare the direction of light after reflection from a mirror with the direction after hitting tiny particles.

Hint 3

Recall why the sky looks blue: what role does particle size play?

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.

  1. Scattering of light: When light strikes very small particles of a medium (dust, smoke, air molecules), it gets spread out in different directions. This is called scattering of light.

    1 mark

  2. Difference from reflection: In reflection, light bounces back from a surface in one fixed direction, following the laws of reflection (angle of incidence = angle of reflection). In scattering, light is thrown in all directions.

    1 mark

  3. Reflection does not depend on the size of the reflecting surface's particles, but in scattering, the colour of the scattered light depends on the size of the particles. Very fine particles scatter mainly blue light (blue sky), while larger particles scatter all colours and appear white.

    1 mark

Answer: Scattering is the spreading of light in many directions by small particles of a medium; reflection sends light back in one fixed direction, and it does not depend on particle size, whereas the colour of scattered light does.

Where the marks are

  • Correct definition of scattering of light (1 mark)
  • Difference: reflection is in a fixed direction, scattering is in all directions / scattered colour depends on particle size (2 marks)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from The Human Eye and the Colourful World, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2026 board paper, set 31/2/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.