Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can describe what a converging lens and a diverging lens do to rays parallel to the principal axis, and say on which side each focal point is. (Guide: “How a lens bends light”)
- I can explain the difference between a real image and a virtual image in terms of where the refracted rays meet. (Guide: “Real and virtual images”; Practice Q1)
- I can state that a thin lens has a focal point on each side and that f does not change when the object moves. (Guide: “How a lens bends light”)
- I can explain why covering part of a lens dims the image but does not remove part of it. (Guide: misconceptions; Practice Q3)
Calculation and skills
- I can draw the three principal rays for a converging lens and for a diverging lens to locate an image. (Guide: Figures 1 and 2)
- I can use 1/sᵢ + 1/sₒ = 1/f with the sign convention, including f < 0 for a diverging lens. (Guide: Worked examples 1 and 2; Practice Q2, Q5)
- I can calculate |M| = |sᵢ/sₒ| and the image height, and use the sign of sᵢ to say real or virtual, and so upright or inverted. (Practice Q5)
- I can find f from data by plotting 1/sᵢ against 1/sₒ and using the intercepts. (Guide: Worked example 3)
- I can set up and solve a lens–screen problem with a fixed object-to-screen distance. (Practice Q7)
Reasoning
- I can predict how the image distance and image size change as an object moves toward a converging lens. (Guide: image table, Figure 3; Practice Q4, Q6b)
- I can sketch sᵢ against sₒ for a converging lens and explain what happens at and inside the focal length. (Guide: Figure 3; Practice Q6)
- I can justify why a diverging lens never forms a real image of a real object. (Practice Q1)
All ticked? Move on to Topic 14.1, Properties of Wave Pulses and Waves, or return to the course roadmap.