Question

Which of the following colours is scattered minimum?
(A). Violet
(B). Blue
(C). Red
(D). Yellow

Answer 1

Hint: White light is made up of seven colours of different wavelengths. Scattering is the deviation of light from its original path. The property of scattering depends on the wavelength of light used. If wavelength increases scattering decreases and vice versa.

Complete answer:
White light is made up of seven different colours namely, violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red. This is called the spectrum of white light. Each colour has a distinct wavelength and they fall under the visible range of wavelengths. That is why these colours are visible to the naked eye. Colours in a rainbow are arranged in the order of decreasing wavelengths.
The distance between two successive peaks or troughs in a wave is called the wavelength. Its SI unit is metre.
When light travels in air, it gets deviated from its original path due to the presence of dust particles or molecules of air. This phenomenon is called scattering of light. The extent of scattering of light is inversely proportional to the wavelength of light, this means that, the smaller the wavelength of the light used, the more scattered it will be.
Therefore, since violet has the smallest wavelength so it gets scattered the most and as red has the longest wavelength it gets scattered the minimum.

So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note: Scattering of light has a lot of applications in our day to day life. Most danger signs or other important sign boards are made to be red in colour so that the colour does not scatter and can be seen even from a distance. The sky appears to be blue in the day because sunlight gets scattered in all the directions.