Refraction of Light with PhET Interactive Simulations

What happens to light when it undergoes refraction?

• It bounces off a surface.

• It changes color.

• It bends as it enters a new material.

• It speeds up in all materials.

In the study of light refraction, what is the 'normal line'?

• The path of the light ray before it hits a new material.

• A line that is parallel to the surface where light enters a new material.

• An imaginary line that is perpendicular to the surface where light enters a new material.

• The path of the light ray after it bends.

If light travels from one material to another, and both materials have the same index of refraction, what will happen to the light ray?

• It will bend towards the normal line.

• It will bend away from the normal line.

• It will not bend at all.

• It will reflect completely.

When light passes from a material with a lower index of refraction to a material with a higher index of refraction, how does the light ray bend?

• It bends away from the normal line.

• It bends towards the normal line.

• It does not bend.

• It reflects back into the first material.

When a light ray hits a boundary between two materials, what is the ray that bounces back called?

• Incident ray

• Refracted ray

• Reflected ray

• Normal line

If light passes from one material to another and does not bend, what can be said about the index of refraction of the two materials?

• The first material has a greater index of refraction.

• The second material has a greater index of refraction.

• Both materials have the same index of refraction.

• The light is traveling faster in the second material.

When light passes from a material with a lower index of refraction to a material with a higher index of refraction, how does the light ray bend?

• It bends away from the normal line.

• It bends towards the normal line.

• It does not bend at all.

• It reflects completely.

If the angle of incidence (alpha) is 50 degrees and the angle of refraction (beta) is 18.5 degrees, what is the approximate index of refraction (n) of the second material? (Use sin 50° ≈ 0.766 and sin 18.5° ≈ 0.317)

• 0.41

• 1.50

• 2.42

• 3.00