Light Reflection and Refraction Lab Using PhET Simulation:

Question 1: What do you notice about the angles of the reflected and refracted light? Briefly, give a qualitative description of the following features:

Question 2: What happens to the reflected and refracted rays as you change the angle of the incident light beam?

Question 3: What does changing the index of refraction do to the refracted and reflected light?

Question 4: With air as the top medium and water as the bottom medium, use your protractor to adjust your laser to so it creates an angle of incidence of 30o. What is the angle of reflection? What is the angle of refraction? Using Snell's Law equation, what is the mathematical solution for θ₂?

Question 5: As you increase the angle of incidence (move laser lower), what happens to the angle of refraction? Does it move toward the normal or away from the normal? What happens to its intensity?

Question 6: Change the top medium to water and the bottom medium to air. Once again, set the incident angle at 30o. What is the angle of refraction? Compare your answer to the angle of refraction in question 1. Did the angle of refraction increase (move away from the normal) or decrease (move toward the normal)?

Question 7: At what angle of incidence does the refracted light travel perpendicular to the normal, along the boundary layer? What do we call this angle? You won't be able to see this in the simulation, but you can get close. Calculate this angle using Snell's Law.

Question 8: With your angle of incidence set at 30o again, select ‘Mystery A' as the medium in the bottom layer. What do you notice about the angle of refraction compare to air as the bottom medium? Does ‘Mystery A' have a higher or lower indices of refraction than that of water? Solve for the indices of refraction of ‘Mystery A' using Snell's Law. Mystery A has a higher indices of refraction than water. The refraction is 0.96.

Question 9: Knowing that the speed of light through air is approximately 2.99x108 m/s, what is the speed of light through glass? Through ‘Mystery A'?