refraction of light

Question 1

refraction

Answer 1

the bending of light as it travels at an angle from one medium to a different medium

Question 2

how does light travel in the same medium?

Answer 2

in a straight line and at a constant speed

Question 3

what happens when light travels from one medium to another?

Answer 3

the light rays refract (“bend”)

Question 4

fermat’s principle

Answer 4

when light travels from one point to another, it follows the path that will take the least time
in a single medium, the path that takes the least time is a straight line

Question 5

refracted ray

Answer 5

ray that is bent upon entering a second medium

Question 6

angle of refraction

Answer 6

the angle between the normal and a refracted ray

Question 7

angle of incidence ___ angle of reflection

Answer 7

=

Question 8

when does the light ray bend towards the normal?

Answer 8

a light ray travels from a medium in which its speed is faster (less dense medium) to a medium in which its speed is slower (denser medium)

Question 9

when does the light ray bend away from the normal?

Answer 9

a light ray travels from a medium in which its speed is slower (denser medium) to a medium in which its speed is faster (less dense medium)

Question 10

how much a light ray refracts is determined by _____________

Answer 10

the extent of the change in the speed of light as it travels from one medium to another

Question 11

when light passes from one medium to the next and the change in the speed of light becomes greater (faster), the angle of refraction becomes ________

Answer 11

greater

Question 12

index of refraction (n)

Answer 12

ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the speed of light in a given medium

Question 13

what does the n stand for in n = c/v?

Answer 13

index of refraction

Question 14

what does the c stand for in n = c/v?

Answer 14

speed of light in a vacuum

Question 15

the speed of light in a vacuum

Answer 15

3 x 10 to the power of 8 m/s

Question 16

what does the v stand for in n = c/v?

Answer 16

speed of light in a particular medium

Question 17

why is the index of refraction always greater than 1?

Answer 17

the speed of light is always higher in a vacuum than in a medium

Question 18

dispersion

Answer 18

the process of separating colours by refraction

Question 19

each colour of light travels at ______________ in any medium

Answer 19

a slightly different speed

Question 20

when do all the wavelengths of light and all the other forms of electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed (speed of light)?

Answer 20

only in a vacuum

Question 21

when does partial reflection and refraction occur?

Answer 21

as light reaches a boundary between two media

Question 22

in partial reflection and refraction, some light is reflected and some is refracted, but ___________

Answer 22

not equally

Question 23

as the angle of incidence increases, more light will be _______ and less _________

Answer 23

reflected / refracted

Question 24

critical angle

Answer 24

angle of incidence that produces an angle of refraction at 90 degrees and no light passes into the second medium

Question 25

what does the critical angle depend on?

Answer 25

the optical densities of the 2 media

Question 26

when does total internal reflection occur?

Answer 26

when the angle of incidence increases past the critical angle

Question 27

how can total internal reflection occur?

Answer 27

light travels from a more dense medium (speed is lower) to a less dense medium (speed is higher) the refracted ray angle increases more than the incident angle moving away from the normal towards the boundary of the two media

Question 28

total internal reflection | eventually the refracted ray hits 90 degrees, the incident angle at which this occurs is called the __________

Answer 28

critical angle

Question 29

total internal reflection | as the incident ray angle increases beyond the critical angle, the light no longer refracts because ___________

Answer 29

the refracted ray would no longer be in the second medium; all the light is reflected back into the first medium

Question 30

for angles of incidence greater than the critical angle, _________ occurs

Answer 30

total internal reflection

Question 31

what is the equation for the index of refraction (n)?

Answer 31

n = c/v