3. Waves

Diffraction — Quiz

Test your understanding of diffraction with 5 practice questions.

Practice Questions

Question 1

When light passes through a single slit, the diffraction pattern observed on a screen consists of a central bright maximum and alternating dark and bright fringes. If the wavelength of the incident light is increased, what effect does this have on the angular width of the central maximum?

Question 2

A diffraction grating is used to separate different wavelengths of light. If the grating has a grating constant $d$ (the distance between adjacent slits) and light of wavelength $\lambda$ is incident normally, what is the condition for the $n$-th order principal maximum?

Question 3

Consider a diffraction grating with a large number of slits. How does increasing the number of slits (while keeping the grating spacing constant) affect the sharpness and intensity of the principal maxima in the interference pattern?

Question 4

In a single-slit diffraction experiment, the intensity of the central maximum is significantly higher than that of the subsequent secondary maxima. What is the approximate ratio of the intensity of the first secondary maximum to the intensity of the central maximum?

Question 5

Rayleigh's criterion is used to determine the minimum angular separation at which two point sources can be resolved by an optical instrument. For a circular aperture of diameter $D$, what is the mathematical expression for this minimum angular separation ($\theta_{\text{min}}$)?