A ray of white light is incident on a refracting surface AB of a glass prism and emerges out of the other refracting surface AC. Consider the following statements:

(a) The angle of refraction at surface AB is different for different colours of white light.

(b) The angle of refraction at the surface AC is the same for different colours.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

Correct option is A

Sol: The correct answer is (a) Only (a)

Key Points:

• When white light passes through a prism, it gets dispersed into its constituent colors (VIBGYOR) due to differences in refractive indices for different wavelengths.
• Shorter wavelengths (e.g., violet) refract more than longer wavelengths (e.g., red), causing the colors to spread out.

​Statement Analysis:

The angle of refraction at surface AB is different for different colours of white light.

• When white light enters the prism at surface AB, each wavelength refracts differently because the refractive index of the prism depends on the wavelength.
• Thus, the angle of refraction at surface AB varies for different colors
• This statement is correct.
  

 The angle of refraction at the surface AC is the same for different colours.

• At surface AC, the refracted light continues to bend according to the wavelength-dependent refractive index.
• Therefore, the angle of refraction at surface AC will also differ for each color, similar to surface AB.
• This statement is incorrect.