Which of the following terms is used for the splitting of white light into its component colours?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Dispersion of light
When white light passes through a glass prism, its colours bend by different amounts and spread out into a band of seven colours (VIBGYOR), called a spectrum. This splitting of white light into its colours is called dispersion; a rainbow is a natural example.
Why the other options are incorrect
Option (2) Scattering of light — Incorrect. Scattering is light being thrown in all directions by small particles, which makes the sky look blue.
Option (3) Reflection of light — Incorrect. Reflection is light bouncing back from a surface such as a mirror; it does not separate the colours.
Option (4) None of these — Incorrect. Dispersion, in Option (1), is the name of this splitting.