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The headlights of a car are 1.6 m apart and produce light ofwavelength 575 nm in

ID: 1754959 • Letter: T

Question

The headlights of a car are 1.6 m apart and produce light ofwavelength 575 nm in vacuum. The pupil of the eye of the observerhas a diameter of 4.0 mm and a refractive index of 1.4. What is themaximum distance from the observer that the two headlights can bedistinguished?

a. 8.0 km
b. 13 km
c. 16 km
d. 11 km
e. 9.1 km The headlights of a car are 1.6 m apart and produce light ofwavelength 575 nm in vacuum. The pupil of the eye of the observerhas a diameter of 4.0 mm and a refractive index of 1.4. What is themaximum distance from the observer that the two headlights can bedistinguished? 8.0 km 13 km 16 km 11 km 9.1 km

Explanation / Answer

Given separationof the head lights x = 1.6 m wavelength = 575 nm The pupil of the eye of the observer has adiameter d = 4.0 mm                                                                                  = 4 * 10 ^ -3 m refractive index n = 1.4 wavelength in medium ' = / n                                        = 410.71 nm                                        = 410.71 * 10 ^ -9 m Let the maximum distance from the observer that the twoheadlights can be distinguished be D then we know from the formula x = 1.22 D / d from this D = x d / 1.22                   = 12.77 * 10 ^ 3 m                   ~ 13 km                   =