AP Physics: Vision and Optical Instruments flashcards

Question 1

What is it called when rays fail to meet at a single focus because a lens or mirror is limited or flawed?

Accepted Answer

Aberration

Question 2

What is the eye's ability to adjust its focal length called?

Accepted Answer

Accommodation

Question 3

Which optical technology uses computers to adjust lenses and mirrors so image distortions are corrected?

Accepted Answer

Adaptive optics

Question 4

Which vision defect results when the cornea cannot properly focus an image onto the retina?

Accepted Answer

Astigmatism

Question 5

Which part of the visual system lets people see colors as fairly consistent under varied conditions?

Accepted Answer

Color constancy

Question 6

Which microscope is built from two convex lenses, an ocular lens near the eye and an objective lens?

Accepted Answer

The compound microscope

Question 7

What is the lens (or lens combination) closest to the observer's eye in an optical instrument called?

Accepted Answer

The eyepiece

Question 8

What is the object point that an unaccommodated eye images onto the retina called?

Accepted Answer

The far point

Question 9

What is another term for hyperopia?

Accepted Answer

Farsightedness

Question 10

In color vision, what name is given to the identity of a color as it relates to the spectrum?

Accepted Answer

Hue

Question 11

In which visual defect do distant objects look blurred because their images form in front of the retina?

Accepted Answer

Myopia (nearsightedness)

Question 12

What is another term for myopia?

Accepted Answer

Nearsightedness

Question 13

Which number, NA = n sin α, expresses how well a lens can resolve fine detail in an observed object?

Accepted Answer

Numerical aperture

Question 14

What is the lens nearest the object being examined called?

Accepted Answer

The objective lens

Question 15

Which condition makes the eye's lens progressively less able to focus on nearby objects?

Accepted Answer

Presbyopia

Question 16

Which theory of color and brightness perception has a name blending retina and cortex?

Accepted Answer

Retinex theory

Question 17

Which photoreceptors in the human retina are active at higher light levels?

Accepted Answer

Cones

Question 18

What name is given to a ratio tied to the focal lengths of an instrument's objective and its eyepiece?

Accepted Answer

Angular magnification

Question 19

Which eye condition has light arriving at the retina too early, ahead of forming a focused image?

Accepted Answer

Hyperopia (farsightedness)

Question 20

When the eye is fully accommodated, what is the closest position at which it still focuses an object sharply on the retina?

Accepted Answer

The near point

Question 21

Which photoreceptors in the human retina handle vision in dim light?

Accepted Answer

Rods

The cards