Essential University Physics, 3e (Wolfson)

Chapter 30 Reflection and Refraction

30.1 Conceptual Questions
1) A ray of light goes from one transparent material into another, as shown in the figure. What
can you conclude about the indices of refraction of these two materials?

A) n1 n2
B) n1 > n2
C) n1 = n2
D) n2 n1
E) n2 > n1
Answer: B
Var: 1

2) When light goes from one material into another material having a HIGHER index of refraction
A) its speed, wavelength, and frequency all decrease.
B) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same.
C) its speed decreases but its wavelength and frequency both increase.
D) its speed decreases but its frequency and wavelength stay the same.
E) its speed increases, its wavelength decreases, and its frequency stays the same.
Answer: B
Var: 1

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3) A ray of light strikes a boundary between two transparent materials, and there is no
transmitted ray, as shown in the figure. What can you conclude about the indices of refraction of
these two materials?

A) n1 n2
B) n1 > n2
C) n1 = n2
D) n2 n1
E) n2 > n1
Answer: B
Var: 1

4) Which one of the following is an accurate statement about light?

A) When light strikes a surface at Brewster's angle, the reflected and transmitted light are both
100% polarized.
B) When light strikes a surface at Brewster's angle, it is completely reflected at the surface.
C) When light strikes a surface at Brewster's angle, only the reflected light is 100% polarized.
D) When light strikes a surface at the critical angle, only the reflected light is 100% polarized.
E) When light strikes a surface at the critical angle, all the light passes through the surface.
Answer: C
Var: 1

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30.2 Problems
1) A ray of light passes from glass into a liquid, as shown in the figure. What is the speed of the
light in the liquid? (c = 3.00 108 m/s)

Answer: 2.81 108 m/s

Var: 1

2) Light strikes a 5.0-cm thick sheet of glass at an angle of incidence in air of 50. The sheet has
parallel faces and the glass has an index of refraction 1.50.
(a) What is the angle of refraction in the glass?
(b) After traveling through the glass the light re-emerges into the air. What is the final angle of
refraction in air?
(c) As it leaves the glass, by what distance is the path of the ray is displaced from what it was
before entering the glass?
Answer: (a) 31 (b) 50 (c) 1.9 cm
Var: 1

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3) Light in air is initially traveling parallel to the face AC of an equilateral triangular prism, as
shown in the figure. The prism is made of glass with an index of refraction of 1.52. If the light
does not strike the face AC, what is the angle between the ray as it leaves the prism at face BC
and the normal in air at that face?

A) 83
B) 19
C) 59
D) 27
E) 55
Answer: A
Var: 1

4) An oil layer that is 5.0 cm thick is spread smoothly and evenly over the surface of water on a
windless day. What is the angle of refraction in the water for a ray of light that has an angle of
incidence of 45 as it enters the oil from the air above? (The index of refraction for the oil is
1.15, and for water it is 1.33.)
A) 27
B) 32
C) 36
D) 39
E) 52
Answer: B
Var: 1

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5) In the figure, a laser positioned on a ship is used to communicate with a small two-man
research submarine resting on the bottom of a lake. The laser is positioned 12 m above the
surface of the water, and it strikes the water 20 m from the side of the ship. The water is 76 m
deep and has an index of refraction of 1.33. How far horizontally is the submarine from the side
of the ship?

A) 84.1 m
B) 64.1 m
C) 104 m
D) 74.1 m
E) 94.1 m
Answer: A
Var: 1

6) A tank holds a 1.44-m thick layer of oil that floats on a 0.96-m thick layer of brine. Both
liquids are clear and do not intermix. Point O is at the bottom of the tank, on a vertical axis. The
indices of refraction of the oil and the brine are 1.40 and 1.52, respectively. A ray originating at
O crosses the brine-oil interface at a point 0.60 m from the axis. The ray continues and emerges
into the air above the oil. What is the angle that the ray in the air makes with the vertical?
A) 48
B) 51
C) 54
D) 57
E) 60
Answer: C
Var: 1

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7) The speed of light in a material is

between the material and a vacuum?
A) 30
B) 21
C) 24
D) 27
Answer: A

What is the critical angle of a light ray at the interface

Var: 31

8) The critical angle in air for a particular type of glass is 39.0. What is the speed of light in this
class glass? (c = 3.00 108 m/s)
A) 1.97 108 m/s
B) 1.94 108 m/s
C) 1.91 108 m/s
D) 1.89 108 m/s
E) 2.00 108 m/s
Answer: D
Var: 1

9) What is the critical angle for light traveling from crown glass (n = 1.52) into water (n = 1.33)?
A) 42
B) 48
C) 53
D) 57
E) 61
Answer: E
Var: 1

10) An optic fiber is made of clear plastic with index of refraction of 1.50, surrounded by air.
For what angles of incidence will light remain within the plastic fiber?
A) 21.1
B) < 38.3
C) > 38.3
D) < 41.8
E) > 41.8
Answer: E
Var: 1

11) An optical fiber made of glass with an index of refraction 1.50 is coated with a plastic with
index of refraction 1.30. What is the critical angle of this fiber at the glass-plastic interface?
A) 90.0
B) 41.8
C) 60.1
D) 50.2
E) 61.1
Answer: C
Var: 1
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12) A glass plate whose index of refraction is 1.56 is immersed in a liquid. The surface of the
glass is inclined at an angle of 42.0 with the vertical. A horizontal ray in the glass is incident on
the interface. When the liquid is a certain alcohol, the incident ray arrives at the interface at the
critical angle. What is the index of refraction of the alcohol?
A) 1.04
B) 1.02
C) 1.00
D) 0.984
E) 1.06
Answer: A
Var: 50+

13) A tank holds a 1.44-m thick layer of oil that floats on a 0.96-m thick layer of brine. Both
liquids are clear and do not intermix. Point O is at the bottom of the tank, on a vertical axis. The
indices of refraction of the oil and the brine are 1.40 and 1.52, respectively. A ray originating at
O reaches the brine-oil interface at the critical angle. What is the distance of this point from the
axis?
A) 1.5 m
B) 1.7 m
C) 1.9 m
D) 2.1 m
E) 2.3 m
Answer: E
Var: 1

14) A ray of light traveling in air strikes the surface of a certain plastic slab at 63.0 with respect
to the normal in air. It travels in the plastic slab at a 30.6 angle with respect to the normal. Find
the critical angle for the plastic in air.
Answer: 34.8
Var: 50+

15) A ray of light consisting of blue light (wavelength 480 nm) and red light (wavelength 670
nm) is incident on a thick piece of glass at 80. What is the angular separation between the
refracted red and refracted blue beams while they are in the glass? (The respective indices of
refraction for the blue light and the red light are 1.4636 and 1.4561.)
A) 0.27
B) 0.33
C) 0.36
D) 0.46
E) 0.54
Answer: A
Var: 1

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16) A beam of light of two different wavelengths enters a pane of glass 3.00 mm thick at an angle
of incidence of 56. The indices of refraction for the two different colors are 1.514 and 1.528.
Because of dispersion, the colored beams, although parallel, are separated by a small distance.
How far apart are they?
A) 0.057 mm
B) 0.0083 mm
C) 0.025 mm
D) 0.014 mm
E) 0.0062 mm
Answer: D
Var: 1

17) Light consisting of a mixture of red and blue light enters a 40, 70, 70 prism along a line
parallel to the side opposite the 40 vertex. The index of refraction of the prism material for blue
light is 1.530, and for red light it is 1.525. What is the angle between the two emerging beams of
light?
A) 0.5
B) 0.9
C) 0.1
D) 0.3
E) 0.7
Answer: D
Var: 1

18) The critical angle for an air-glass interface is 29.6. When a light ray in air is incident on the
interface, the reflected ray is 100% polarized. What is the angle of refraction of that ray?
A) 26.3
B) 25.7
C) 25.1
D) 24.5
E) 23.9
Answer: A
Var: 50+

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