Physics 11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction Name: ____________________________

Reflection
Law of Reflection: 𝜽𝒓 = 𝜽𝒊
 _______________ Reflection
o _______________ light rays are reflected _______________
 _______________ Reflection
o _______________ light rays are _______________ by irregularities in the surface.
 Plane Mirror
o Image is _______________
o Image is _______________ size
o Image is _____________ as far ___________ the mirror as you are in ___________ of it
 Since light rays appear to come from _______________
mirror, the image is called a _______________ image.
 If light rays _______________ to come from a _______________
location, the image is called a _______________ image.
 Real images can be _______________ on a screen, virtual
images _______________.
 ______________ mirrors only produce _____________ images.
How long must a plane mirror be to see your whole reflection?

Refraction
𝑚
 Speed of light in a vacuum: 𝑐 = 3.00 × 108
𝑠
 Light travels ____________ through materials due to light
___________, absorbed by, emitted by, and scattered by ___________.
Index of Refraction
 _______________to indicate relative _______________ of
light in a _______________
𝑐
𝑛=
𝑣
 When light hits the surface of a material part of
it is _______________
 The other part goes into the _______________
 The transmitted part is __________ (_______________)
Snell’s Law (The Law of Refraction)
𝒏𝟏 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽𝟏 = 𝒏𝟐 𝒔𝒊𝒏 𝜽𝟐
Where 𝒏𝟏 = index of refraction of incident medium, 𝒏𝟐 = index of refraction of second
medium, 𝜽𝟏 = angle of incidence (measured to normal), 𝜽𝟐 = angle of refraction (measured to normal)
You shine a laser into a piece of clear material. The angle of incidence is 35°. You measure the angle of refraction as 26°. What
is the material?

What is the speed of light in the material?

Created by Richard Wright – Andrews Academy To be used with OpenStax College Physics
Physics 11-03 The Laws of Reflection and Refraction Name: ____________________________
Homework
1. Using the law of reflection, explain how powder takes the shine off of a person’s nose. What is the name of the optical
effect?
2. Diffusion by reflection from a rough surface is described in this chapter. Light can also be diffused by refraction. Describe
how this occurs in a specific situation, such as light interacting with crushed ice.
3. Will light change direction toward or away from the perpendicular when it goes from air to water? Water to glass? Glass to
air?
4. Explain why an object in water always appears to be at a depth shallower than it actually is? Why
do people sometimes sustain neck and spinal injuries when diving into unfamiliar ponds or
waters?
5. Suppose a man stands in front of a mirror. His eyes are 1.65 m above the floor, and the top of his
head is 0.13 m higher. Find the height above the floor of the top and bottom of the smallest mirror
in which he can see both the top of his head and his feet. How is this distance related to the man’s
height? (OpenStax 25.1) bottom 0.825 m, top 1.715 m; not related
6. Show that when light reflects from two mirrors that meet each other at a right angle, the outgoing
ray is parallel to the incoming ray, as illustrated in figure 1. (OpenStax 25.2) See below Figure 1
7. Light shows staged with lasers use moving mirrors to swing beams and create colorful effects. Show that a light ray
reflected from a mirror changes direction by 2θ when the mirror is rotated by an angle θ. (OpenStax 25.3) See below
8. What is the speed of light in water? In glycerine? (OpenStax 25.5) 𝟐. 𝟐𝟓 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 m/s, 𝟐. 𝟎𝟒 × 𝟏𝟎𝟖 m/s
9. Calculate the index of refraction for a medium in which the speed of light is 2.012 × 108 m/s, and identify the most likely
substance based on Table 25.1. (OpenStax 25.7) 1.490, polystyrene
10. In what substance in Table 25.1 is the speed of light 2.290 × 108
m/s? (OpenStax 25.8) ice at 0° C
11. Components of some computers communicate with each other
through optical fibers having an index of refraction n = 1.55. What
time in nanoseconds is required for a signal to travel 0.200 m
through such a fiber? (OpenStax 25.11) 1.03 ns
12. (a) Using information in Figure 2, find the height of the
instructor’s head above the water, noting that you will first have to
calculate the angle of incidence. (b) Find the apparent depth of the
diver’s head below water as seen by the instructor. (OpenStax
25.12) 2.93 m, 1.37 m
25°
13. Suppose you have an unknown clear substance immersed in
water, and you wish to identify it by finding its index of refraction.
You arrange to have a beam of light enter it at an angle of 45.0°,
and you observe the angle of refraction to be 40.3°. What is the
index of refraction of the substance and its likely identity?
(OpenStax 25.13) 1.46, fused quartz

Figure 2

Figure 3 Answer
to #6 Figure 4 Answer to #7
Created by Richard Wright – Andrews Academy To be used with OpenStax College Physics