📚 CBSE Grade-10 Study Guide Open in the Study Guide single page app →
HomeScience

Science — CBSE Class 10 board question

Q1.
Give reasons for the following : Danger signals installed at airports and at the top of tall buildings are of red colour.
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2023 31/1/1 Q31 (a)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 06:54 · grounding rag
Model Answer

Red light has the longest wavelength among all colours of visible light. Due to its long wavelength, red light is least scattered by fog, smoke, or dust particles in the atmosphere. Therefore, red light can travel the longest distance without significant loss of intensity and is visible clearly from far away. This makes red colour ideal for danger signals at airports and tall buildings, ensuring they are visible even in poor weather conditions.

Source: Chapter 10, Section 10.6 – Scattering of Light

Explanation

The key concept here is scattering of light — shorter wavelengths (violet, blue) scatter more, longer wavelengths (red) scatter least. Examiners expect you to explicitly state: (1) red has the longest wavelength, (2) it is least scattered by fog/smoke, and (3) therefore visible from the greatest distance. Don't just say "red is not scattered" — say least scattered and link it to visibility from a distance. The textbook itself uses this example directly in Section 10.6.

If a question refers to an image, map, graph or diagram that is not shown here, open the Study Guide single page app, go to Library and find the actual CBSE question paper. The original papers are also available on the CBSE website: cbse.gov.in.
Previous-year CBSE Grade 10 board exam questions, organised by subject and chapter, each with a model answer — free to read and print.