A ray enters a glass with n ≈ 1.52 from air at incidence 60°. What is the refracted angle approximately?

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Multiple Choice

A ray enters a glass with n ≈ 1.52 from air at incidence 60°. What is the refracted angle approximately?

Explanation:
When light enters a denser medium, its path bends according to Snell’s law: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2. Here the light goes from air (n1 ≈ 1.00) into glass (n2 ≈ 1.52) with an incident angle θ1 of 60°. Solve for the refracted angle: sin θ2 = (n1/n2) sin θ1 ≈ (1/1.52) × sin 60° ≈ 0.569. Taking the inverse sine gives θ2 ≈ 34.6°. So the ray bends toward the normal and the refracted angle is about 34.6°.

When light enters a denser medium, its path bends according to Snell’s law: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2. Here the light goes from air (n1 ≈ 1.00) into glass (n2 ≈ 1.52) with an incident angle θ1 of 60°. Solve for the refracted angle: sin θ2 = (n1/n2) sin θ1 ≈ (1/1.52) × sin 60° ≈ 0.569. Taking the inverse sine gives θ2 ≈ 34.6°. So the ray bends toward the normal and the refracted angle is about 34.6°.

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