The diffraction grating: past paper questions

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• Question 30Oct/Nov 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Green laser light passes through a diffraction grating and forms an interference pattern. The diffraction grating contains $400\text{ lines per mm}$. The wavelength of the laser light is $550\text{ nm}$.

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• Question 30Oct/Nov 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Light of wavelength $\lambda$ is incident normally on a diffraction grating with a total number of $N$ lines in width $w$.

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• Question 28May/June 2026, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  A beam of white light is incident normally on a diffraction grating. Three bands of bright fringes are formed on a screen, labelled 1, 2 and 3 as shown. What are the colours of the fringes seen on the screen?

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• Question 29Oct/Nov 2025, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The equation $n\lambda =d\sin \theta$ can be used with a diffraction grating to find the wavelength of visible light.

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• Question 30Oct/Nov 2024, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  The diagram shows visible light incident normally on a diffraction grating.

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• Question 29Oct/Nov 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Light of wavelength $690\text{ nm}$ passes through a diffraction grating with $300\text{ lines per mm}$, producing a series of bright spots (maxima) on a screen. What is the total number of bright spots that are produced?

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• Question 29May/June 2026, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Light of wavelength $400\text{ nm}$ passes normally through a diffraction grating with a line spacing of $2.0\times {10}^{-6}\text{ m}$ and forms a diffraction pattern on a screen. What is the angle $\alpha$ between the second-order and the fourth-order diffracted rays?

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• Question 30May/June 2025, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Light of wavelength $680\text{ nm}$ is incident normally on a diffraction grating with $450\text{ lines}{\text{ mm}}^{-1}$. What is the angle of diffraction of the second-order maximum in the diffraction pattern that is produced?

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• Question 26May/June 2024, paper 11Multiple choice1 mark

  Light of frequency $6.7\times {10}^{14}\text{ Hz}$ in a vacuum is incident normally on a diffraction grating that contains $4.0\times {10}^5{\text{ lines m}}^{-1}$. What is the angle between the adjacent second and third order intensity maxima?

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• Question 5Oct/Nov 2023, paper 22Structured10 marksHas a diagram

  A beam of vertically polarised light is incident normally on a polarising filter, as shown in Fig. 5.1. The transmission axis of the filter is initially vertical.

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• Question 6May/June 2025, paper 23Structured8 marksHas a diagram

  State what is meant by diffraction.

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• Question 29May/June 2024, paper 13Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Light of wavelength $5.50\times {10}^{-7}\text{ m}$ from a laser is incident normally on a diffraction grating. The diffracted light is incident on a semicircular screen, as shown in the view from above.

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• Question 6May/June 2024, paper 22Structured6 marksHas a diagram

  Light of a single frequency is incident normally on a diffraction grating. An interference pattern of bright and dark fringes forms on the semicircular screen shown in Fig. 6.1. The light has wavelength $520\text{ nm}$.

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• Question 29May/June 2023, paper 12Multiple choice1 markHas a diagram

  Green light of wavelength $550\text{ nm}$ is incident normally on a diffraction grating and produces a diffraction pattern on a screen placed $3.5\text{ m}$ from the diffraction grating.

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