Worksheet
Refraction Phenomena
1. What is the wavelength of green light, λ = 500 nm in a vacuum, while it is traveling through a diamond, n = 2.4?
125 nm
208 nm
407.6 nm
1200 nm
2. What is the frequency of the green light in question #1?
1.4 x 10
15
hz
1.7 x 10
14
hz
2.1 x 10
15
hz
6 x 10
14
hz
3. When white light passes through a triangular prism, which color is least deviated - that is, which color travels the fastest through glass?
green
orange
red
violet
yellow
4. If the index of refraction for green light in glass is 1.510 and for violet light is 1.523, what is the angular dispersion between the rays of these two wavelengths when emerge from the prism shown below? (Draw a diagram showing how the light travels through the prism.)
0.5712º
0.755º
0.7615º
5. What is the critical angle if light traveling in glass (n = 1.5) is submerged in water (n = 1.33)?
62.5 º
48.8º
41.8º
no critical angle exits for this combination
6. If the external medium remains constant, as a substance's index of refraction increases, the critical angle decreases.
True
False
7. Which of the following does NOT occur when light enters a less optically dense medium?
its wavelength lengthens
its frequency increases
its average speed increases
if it enters the medium obliquely, the angle of refraction is greater than its angle of incidence - it bends away form the normal
8. Light can no longer escape from an optically dense medium into air once it reaches an angle of incidence within the medium equal to or greater than 30º. What is the index of refraction for this medium?
2.7
2.0
1.9
1.7
9. Calcite crystals display two distinct indices of refraction and therefore two distinctly transmitted images (one along the ordinary ray and the other along the extraordinary ray). These crystals are part of a family of minerals called birefringent materials.
image courtesy of
Foto-Laboratory University of Pisa
When a polarizer is rotated above the crystal shown above,
both lines always remain visible.
it alternates in such a way that only one line is viewable within each 180º arc.
it alternates between neither line being visible or both lines being visible.
10. In an optical fiber, light actually
image courtesy of
Dr. Joseph Alward, University of the Pacific
curves in a direct parallel to the central axis of the fiber
travels in straight line segments between bounces
travels along the outer surface of the fiber causing it to glow
any of the above could happen depending on the type of fiber being utilized
11. Atmospheric refraction would make the total amount of daylight time available a bit
images courtesy of
Dr. Joseph Alward, University of the Pacific
longer
shorter
longer in the summer but shorter in the winter
12. A mirage is a result of atmospheric
image courtesy of
Dr. Joseph Alward, University of the Pacific
aberration
reflection
refraction
resonance
scattering
13. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the formation of a rainbow?
image courtesy of
Dr. Joseph Alward, University of the Pacific
light is internally reflected in the water drops
there is destructive interference between the reflections off the front and back surface of the rain drops causing only one color to be seen from each drop
light is dispersed during refraction while exiting from the water drops
the sun must be behind you at the same time that the raindrops are in front of you
the sky is bright under each rainbow where thousands of overlapping rainbows combine to form a "white glow"
14.
True or False
. In order for a person to view a rainbow, he only needs one raindrop since every raindrop disperses all of the colors in the spectrum.
True
False
15. The critical angle for a transparent medium is the minimum angle at which all light within the material is totally internally
refracted
reflected
absorbed
dispersed
diffused
16. Refraction causes the bottom of a swimming pool to appear
shallower than it physically is
deeper than it physically is
at exactly the depth specified in the pool contractor's building plans
17. When viewed from above, how deep would a coin resting in the bottom of a pan of water 20 cm deep, appear be?
25 cm
20 cm
15 cm
10 cm
5 cm
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