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Which of the following rays of light is moving from a medium in which it moves relatively fast into a medium in which it moves slower? List all that apply ... .
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The Direction of Bending:
Refraction is the bending of the path of light as it passes across the boundary between two media. The direction of bending is dependent upon the relative speed at which light moves within the two media. The rules are:
- When light passes from a medium in which it travels faster into a medium in which it travels slower, the light ray will refract towards the normal line.
- When light passes from a medium in which it travels slower into a medium in which it travels faster, the light ray will refract away from the normal line.
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The diagram shows two media (shaded pink and yellow), a solid black boundary line, and an incident and refracted ray (red). The incident ray is the ray approaching the boundary. Upon crossing the boundary, the light might bend away from the normal; in such cases, the refracted ray would be oriented further from the normal line than the incident ray was. Or the light might bend toward the normal line; in such cases, the refracted ray would be the ray that is closest to the normal line.
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Often times a good strategy is critical to success on a physics question. The following game plan should serve you well:
- Use the rules for the direction of bending to determine whether the light should be bending toward or away from the normal line. See the Know the Law section.
- Then determine which of the four diagrams represent a light ray bending in the direction consistent with step 1.
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