Question

Which property of light is known as rectilinear propagation of light?
A) Light does not need a material medium to travel
B) Light does not change the property of media through which it travels
C) Light always travels in a straight line.
D) All of the above.

Answer 1

Hint: Different properties possessed by light are given in the question, out of the given options, we will check which of the properties has similar meaning to that of rectilinear propagation.Rectilinear propagation means the movement in a straight line

Complete step by step answer:
Rectilinear refers to something related to straight line and propagation means movement or motion.Therefore, rectilinear propagation of light is the property of light about its movement in a straight line.
Checking the options:
A) Light does not need a material medium to travel: As light is electromagnetic radiation, it propagates by changing the energy in electric and magnetic fields as per the requirement and hence does not need any medium for propagation.
This property is not known as the rectilinear propagation of light.
B) Light does not change the property of the medium through which it travels: When the light is passed through any medium, the properties of the medium do not change and remain exactly the same (can be seen around with sunlight, tube light, etc.
This property is not known as rectilinear propagation of light as well.
C) Light always travels in a straight line: If we try to pass the light through the bent tube, it won’t pass through it due to its tendency of traveling in a straight line.
This property is known as the rectilinear propagation of light.
Therefore, the property of light to travel in a straight line is known as rectilinear propagation of light, option C).

Note:Light makes it possible for us to see things around us.It undergoes reflection and refraction (bending of light due to change in medium).