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Wave Optics

Previous year questions with solutions · 2025 – 2026

35Questions
27Papers covered
4.84% ↑21.1%Weightage in 2026
’25
’26
Year-wise statistics questions · papers · average per paper · weightage
YearQuestionsPapersAvg / paperWeightage
202623191.24.84% ↑21.1%
2025121214.00%

⚠ 1 of these questions are out of the current syllabus (marked on the question).

22 questions · newest paper first

1

In interference experiment the path difference between two interfering waves at a point A on the screen is /3, where is the wavelength of these waves, and at another point B the path difference is /6. The ratio of intensities at points A and B is .

  1. 3
  2. 4
  3. 1/3
  4. 1/4
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 6th April Morning Shift
2

In a Young double slit experiment, the wavelength of incident light is 6000 Å, the separation between slits S1 and S2 is 5 cm and the distance between slits plane and screen is 50 cm, as shown in the figure below. If the resultant intensity at P is equal to the intensity due to individual slits, the path difference between interfering waves is Å. [figure]

  1. 4000
  2. 3000
  3. 2000
  4. 1000
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 6th April Evening Shift
3

In Young's double slit experiment, the fringe width of the interference pattern produced on the screen is 2.4 μm. If the experiment is carried out in another medium having refractive index 1.2, the fringe width will be μm.

  1. 1.2
  2. 2
  3. 2.4
  4. 2.88
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 5th April Morning Shift
4

The maximum intensity in a Young's double slit experiment is I0. Distance between the slits (d) is 5 , where is the wavelength of light used. The intensity of the fringe, exactly opposite to one of the slits on the screen, placed at D=10d is .

  1. I04
  2. I02
  3. I0
  4. 3I04
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 5th April Evening Shift
5

A slit of width a is illuminated by light of wavelength . The linear separation between 1st and 3rd minima in the diffraction pattern produced on a screen placed at a distance D from the slit system is .

  1. D a
  2. 1.5 D a
  3. 2 D a
  4. 3 D a
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 4th April Morning Shift
6

A telescope with objective diameter R is used to observe a distant star emitting light of wavelength 500 nm, at a resolution of 5 10-7 radian. The value of R is cm.

  1. 61
  2. 122
  3. 244
  4. 305
Out of syllabusJEE Main 2026 (Online) 4th April Morning Shift
7

An unpolarized light is incident on the plane interface of air-dielectric medium shown in figure. If the incident angle is equal to Brewster angle, identify the expression representing reflected wave. [figure]

  1. (Ex i+Ey j) (kx-kz- t)
  2. (Ex i+Ez k) (kx+ky- t)
  3. (Ex j+Ey k) (ky+kz- t)
  4. (Ex i+Ey j+Ez k) (kx+ky-kz- t)
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 4th April Morning Shift
8

An unpolarized light of certain intensity passes through a combination of two polarizers whose transmission axes are at 30° and 90°, respectively, with respect to the horizontal axis. A third polarizer with its transmission axis at 60° with the horizontal axis is placed between the two existing polarizers. The ratio of the output intensities with and without the third polarizer is .

  1. 3/4
  2. 4/3
  3. 9/4
  4. 4/9
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 4th April Evening Shift
9

Given below are two statements : In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below :

  1. Both Statement I and Statement II are false
  2. Both Statement I and Statement II are true
  3. Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. Statement I is false but Statement II is true
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 28th January Morning Shift
10

An unpolarised light is incident at an interface of two dielectric media having refractive indices of 2 (incident medium) and 2 3 (refracted medium) respectively. To satisfy the condition that reflected and refracted rays are perpendicular to each other, the angle of incidence is

  1. 45
  2. 60
  3. 10
  4. 30
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 24th January Morning Shift
11

In the Young's double slit experiment the intensity produced by each one of the individual slits is Io. The distance between two slits is 2 mm. The distance of screen from slits is 10 m. The wavelength of light is 6000 . The intensity of light on the screen in front of one of the slits is

  1. Io2
  2. Io
  3. 2Io
  4. 4Io
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 24th January Evening Shift
12

When an unpolarized light falls at a particular angle on a glass plate (placed in air), it is observed that the reflected beam is linearly polarized. The angle of refracted beam with respect to the normal is . ( -1(1.52) = 57.7 , refractive indices of air and glass are 1.00 and 1.52, respectively.)

  1. 36.3
  2. 39.6
  3. 42.6
  4. 32.3
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 23rd January Evening Shift
13

Which of the following are true for a single slit diffraction?

  1. B, D only
  2. A, D only
  3. A, C, E only
  4. B, C only
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 22nd January Evening Shift
14

In a double slit experiment the distance between the slits is 0.1 cm and the screen is placed at 50 cm from the slits plane. When one slit is covered with a transparent sheet having thickness t and refractive index n (= 1.5), the central fringe shifts by 0.2 cm. The value of t is cm.

  1. 6.0 10-3
  2. 8 10-4
  3. 5.0 10-3
  4. 5.6 10-4
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 21st January Morning Shift
15

Given below are two statements : In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the options given below :

  1. Both Statement I and Statement II are true
  2. Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  3. Statement I is false but Statement II is true
  4. Both Statement I and Statement II are false
JEE Main 2026 (Online) 21st January Evening Shift
16

In a Young's double slit experiment, the source is white light. One of the slits is covered by red filter and another by a green filter. In this case:

  1. there shall be alternate interference fringes of red and green.
  2. there shall be an interference pattern for red distinct from that for green.
  3. there shall be an interference pattern, where each fringe's pattern center is green and outer edges is red.
  4. there shall be no interference fringes.
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 8th April Evening Shift
17

Two plane polarized light waves combine at a certain point whose electric field components are E1 = E0 t E2 = E0 ( t + 3 ) Find the amplitude of the resultant wave.

  1. 1.7 E0
  2. E0
  3. 0.9 E0
  4. 3.4 E0
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 7th April Morning Shift
18

In a Young's double slit experiment, the slits are separated by 0.2 mm. If the slits separation is increased to 0.4 mm, the percentage change of the fringe width is :

  1. 25\%
  2. 50\%
  3. 0\%
  4. 100\%
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 4th April Morning Shift
19

Two polarisers P1 and P2 are placed in such a way that the intensity of the transmitted light will be zero. A third polariser P3 is inserted in between P1 and P2, at particular angle between P2 and P3. The transmitted intensity of the light passing through all three polarisers is maximum. The angle between the polarisers P2 and P3 is :

  1. /6
  2. 3
  3. 4
  4. /8
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 4th April Evening Shift
20

Two monochromatic light beams have intensities in the ratio 1:9. An interference pattern is obtained by these beams. The ratio of the intensities of maximum to minimum is

  1. 8 : 1
  2. 4 : 1
  3. 3 : 1
  4. 9 : 1
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 3rd April Evening Shift
21

Width of one of the two slits in a Young's double slit interference experiment is half of the other slit. The ratio of the maximum to the minimum intensity in the interference pattern is:

  1. 3 : 1
  2. (2 2 + 1) : (2 2 - 1)
  3. 9 : 1
  4. (3 + 2 2) : (3 - 2 2)
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 3rd April Evening Shift
22

A light wave is propagating with plane wave fronts of the type x + y + z = constant. The angle made by the direction of wave propagation with the x-axis is :

  1. -1(2/3)
  2. -1 ( 1 3 )
  3. -1 ( 13 )
  4. -1 ( 23 )
JEE Main 2025 (Online) 2nd April Morning Shift