Act-class 23-geometric optics

PHS 151QR - Class Activities Class 23 - Reflection and refraction As discussed in class, light can be reflected and refracted when a beam of light encounters an interface between two media and this helps us, in certain cases, to form images. We are going to be exploring these concepts in more detail by performing simulations. Part 1: Simulations: https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Physics-Interactives/Refraction-and- Lenses/Refraction/Refraction-Interactive **Try different 2 incident angles for each trial: 30 degrees and 60 degrees and complete the table. trial n1, above n2, below Incident Angle (deg) Reflected Angle (deg) Refracted Angle (deg) 1 Air Water 30 60 30 60 20 40 2 Air Diamond 30 60 30 60 10 20 3 Water Diamond 30 60 30 60 15 30 4 Water Air 30 60 30 60 40 0 5 Diamond Air 30 60 30 60 0 0 6 Diamond Water 30 60 30 60 65 0 Part 2: Take the case of light passing from diamond to water (trial #6). You can see that the angle of refraction is greater than the angle of incidence. However, at a certain point, the refracted ray disappears, and total reflection occurs (no refracted ray). By varying the incident angle between 20 degrees and 40 degrees, determine the largest incident angle such that a refracted ray can still be observed. Why do you think only reflection occurs for larger incident angles? Part 3: Conclusions 1. What can you conclude about the angle of the reflected ray in all cases? a. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME 2. What happens to the angle of the refracted ray when n1 < n2 ? 1