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A student carried out an experiment to verify Snell's law of refraction - Leaving Cert Physics - Question 3 - 2012
Question 3
A student carried out an experiment to verify Snell's law of refraction. The student measured the angle of incidence $i$ and the corresponding angle of refraction $r... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student carried out an experiment to verify Snell's law of refraction - Leaving Cert Physics - Question 3 - 2012
Step 1
Draw a labelled diagram of the apparatus used in the experiment.
Answer
To draw the apparatus used in this experiment, you should include the following components:
- Glass Block: A rectangular block where the refraction occurs.
- Ray Box with Laser: To emit a ray of light towards the glass block.
- Protractor/Ruler: To measure the angle of incidence and angle of refraction accurately.
- Sheet of Paper: Placed beneath the glass block to help visualize the rays.
Ensure that the diagram is neat and labels are clear.
Step 2
Describe how the student found the path of the ray of light passing through the glass block.
Answer
The student followed these steps to determine the path of light:
- Setup: A laser beam was directed at the glass block at a specific angle of incidence .
- Refraction Observation: The student observed where the light emerged from the block, tracing the path of the ray.
- Marking Angles: They used a protractor to measure the angle of refraction where the light exits the glass.
- Recording Data: Both angles and were carefully recorded for analysis.
Step 3
Indicate on the diagram the angles $i$ and $r$.
Answer
In your diagram, mark the angle of incidence as the angle between the incident ray and the normal (perpendicular line at the point of incidence) before it enters the glass. Mark the angle of refraction as the angle between the refracted ray and the normal after it exits the glass block. These should be clearly labeled.
Step 4
Step 5
How does the data in the completed table verify Snell's law of refraction?
Answer
The data in the table can be analyzed using Snell's law, which states that:
where and are the indices of refraction of the respective media. By comparing the ratios of rac{ ext{sin } i}{ ext{sin } r} for different angles, the results should be approximately constant, verifying that the sine of the angles of incidence and refraction follow the law for the given materials. For instance, the ratio calculated from the table shows similar values, confirming Snell's law.