When light passes from air into water (n1 = 1.00, n2 = 1.33), what happens to speed and bending?

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Multiple Choice

When light passes from air into water (n1 = 1.00, n2 = 1.33), what happens to speed and bending?

Light changes speed and direction when it crosses into a medium with a different refractive index. Moving from air to water, light slows down because water has a higher refractive index (about 1.33) than air (about 1.00). When the wave slows at the boundary, its path also changes direction, bending toward the normal (the line perpendicular to the surface). Snell’s law says n1 sin(theta1) = n2 sin(theta2). Since n2 is larger, sin(theta2) = (n1/n2) sin(theta1) is smaller than sin(theta1), so theta2 is smaller than theta1. Therefore, light slows down and bends toward the normal as it enters water.

Light changes speed and direction when it crosses into a medium with a different refractive index. Moving from air to water, light slows down because water has a higher refractive index (about 1.33) than air (about 1.00). When the wave slows at the boundary, its path also changes direction, bending toward the normal (the line perpendicular to the surface). Snell’s law says n1 sin(theta1) = n2 sin(theta2). Since n2 is larger, sin(theta2) = (n1/n2) sin(theta1) is smaller than sin(theta1), so theta2 is smaller than theta1. Therefore, light slows down and bends toward the normal as it enters water.

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