The human eye is a natural optical instrument that focuses light onto the retina using the cornea and a flexible lens. The ability of the eye lens to change focal length and see objects at different distances is called accommodation. Common defects of vision — myopia (short-sightedness), hypermetropia (long-sightedness) and presbyopia — arise when images do not form on the retina, and are corrected with suitable concave, convex or bifocal lenses. A glass prism refracts and disperses white light into its component colours, the spectrum, because each colour bends by a different amount. The same dispersion and scattering of light explain the rainbow, the reddish colour of the rising and setting sun, and the blue colour of the clear sky, where shorter blue wavelengths are scattered most by air molecules.
The human eye and accommodationDefects of vision and their correctionRefraction through a prism and dispersionAtmospheric refractionScattering of light
Key terms
Accommodation
The eye lens adjusting its focal length to focus near and far objects.
Myopia / hypermetropia
Short-sightedness / long-sightedness defects of vision.
Dispersion
Splitting of white light into its component colours.
Scattering of light
Redirection of light by particles, e.g. making the sky blue.
Extra questions & answers
QUESTIONS
EXERCISES
Try one from this chapter
The human eye forms an image of an object on the:
Flashcards & interactive practice
Practice quiz · The Human Eye and the Colourful World
Score on this chapter, climb the leaderboard, and get an AI diagnosis of your mistakes.
Double-checked questions Real exam pattern 1 free test every month, then ₹9 per test
#1
The Human Eye and the Colourful World
Start here
Science 10 Qs · ~10 min
Instant score, answer review and weak-topic diagnosis
Data & insights
Trending in Class 10 this weekThe chapters students are reading most right now
