---
title: "Monochromatic light of wavelength \\(\\lambda\\) passes through an aperture system and forms a light intensity pattern on a viewing screen located at a distance \\(D\\) from the aperture. The relative light intensity \\(I/I_0\\) as a function of position \\(y\\) on the screen is shown in the graph. Which of the following claims correctly identifies the aperture configuration responsible for this pattern and accurately predicts how the intensity pattern changes if a second identical slit is added parallel to the first at a center-to-center distance \\(d > a\\)?"
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url: "https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117281/"
date_modified: "2026-08-04T06:45:13+00:00"
---

# Monochromatic light of wavelength \(\lambda\) passes through an aperture system and forms a light intensity pattern on a viewing screen located at a distance \(D\) from the aperture. The relative light intensity \(I/I_0\) as a function of position \(y\) on the screen is shown in the graph. Which of the following claims correctly identifies the aperture configuration responsible for this pattern and accurately predicts how the intensity pattern changes if a second identical slit is added parallel to the first at a center-to-center distance \(d > a\)?

Monochromatic light of wavelength \(\lambda\) passes through an aperture system and forms a light intensity pattern on a viewing screen located at a distance \(D\) from the aperture. The relative light intensity \(I/I_0\) as a function of position \(y\) on the screen is shown in the graph. Which of the following claims correctly identifies the aperture configuration responsible for this pattern and accurately predicts how the intensity pattern changes if a second identical slit is added parallel to the first at a center-to-center distance \(d > a\)?

![A 2D line plot showing relative light intensity I over I_0 on the vertical axis ranging from 0.0 to 1.0, versus position y in centimeters on the horizontal axis ranging from -3.0 cm to +3.0 cm. The curve is symmetric about y = 0. At y = 0, the intensity reaches a maximum peak of 1.0. The central peak slopes smoothly downward on both sides, reaching zero intensity at y = -1.2 cm and y = +1.2 cm. Outside the central peak, there are smaller secondary peaks centered at y = -1.8 cm and y = +1.8 cm, each reaching a peak height of approximately 0.05. The curve drops back to zero at y = -2.4 cm and y = +2.4 cm. Axis labels are clearly marked: horizontal axis labeled y (cm) with ticks at -3.0, -2.0, -1.0, 0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and vertical axis labeled Relative Intensity I/I_0 with ticks at 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0. No other labels, lines, text, or axes appear.](https://nerd-notes.com/wp-content/uploads/ubq-frq-generated/stem-fig-1-1785825912-2nytti.jpg)

- **A.** The pattern is produced by a single slit of width \(a\); adding the second slit will modulate the intensity with closely spaced interference fringes while keeping the zero-intensity envelope minima fixed at \(y = \pm 1.2\text{ cm}\).
- **B.** The pattern is produced by a single slit of width \(a\); adding the second slit will double the width of the central intensity peak from \(2.4\text{ cm}\) to \(4.8\text{ cm}\) because twice as much light passes through the aperture.
- **C.** The pattern is produced by double slits of separation \(d = 1.2\text{ cm}\); adding a second slit will cause the central peak to split into two separate peaks centered at \(y = \pm 0.6\text{ cm}\).
- **D.** The pattern is produced by a single slit of width \(a\); adding the second slit will eliminate the zero-intensity minima at \(y = \pm 1.2\text{ cm}\) because light from the second slit fills in the dark regions.

*The answer key and step-by-step explanation are available to logged-in users at https://nerd-notes.com/ubq/117281/*