Question

The phenomenon of splitting of light into its component colors is _ _ _ _ _ _.
A. Scattering
B. Reflection
C. Dispersion
D. Refraction

Answer 1

Hint: Recall the phenomenon given in the options and check which option suits the given question. Find out in which phenomenon the white light splits into colors of rainbow. The white light does not have to undergo reflection to split into its constituent colors.

Complete answer:
To answer this question, let us check every option one by one as follows.
Scattering: As we know, when the light ray falls on the surface or dust particles, the incident path of the light ray gets deviated from its original path. This phenomenon of light, we call it scattering of light. Thus, we see in the scattering, the white light does not split into its component colors. Therefore, the option A is incorrect.

Reflection: We know that when the light ray falls on the denser medium like a plane mirror, the light reflects back into the same medium. This phenomenon of light is known as reflection of light. Thus, we can see in the reflection of light, the white light does not split into its component colors. Therefore, the option B is incorrect.

Refraction: We have seen that when the light ray travels from a medium to another medium of different refractive index, the path of light in that medium bends towards or away from the normal line. This phenomenon of light is known as refraction. Thus, the option D is incorrect.

Dispersion: We have seen that when the white light passes through the glass prism, the white light gets dispersed into its component colors known as spectrum. Therefore, we see the phenomenon of splitting of light into its component colors is known as dispersion of light.

So, the correct answer is option C.

Note:Students must remember all the phenomenon of light given in the options. Note that only the dispersion phenomenon is able to split the white light into its component colors. These component colors are violet, indigo, blue, green, orange and red. These colors have different wavelengths and therefore they have different speeds in the glass prism.