For light entering from air into a higher-index medium, the refracted ray bends toward the normal.

• A. False
• B. True
• C. It depends on the incidence angle
• D. It bends away from the normal

Answer: (B)

Light entering a higher-index medium from air slows down and changes direction so it moves closer to the normal. Snell’s law, n1 sin i = n2 sin r, shows why: with n2 > n1, the ratio n1/n2 is less than 1, so sin r = (n1/n2) sin i is smaller than sin i. That makes the refracted angle smaller than the incident angle, meaning the ray bends toward the normal. So the statement is true, and the light does not bend away from the normal in this scenario.