What happens when light waves travel from air through a denser medium?
a
They will speed up and bend.
b
They will slow down and bend.
c
They continue to travel in a straight line.
d
They continue to travel in a zigzag line.
b
They will slow down and bend.
The correct answer is b - They will slow down and bend. When light waves travel from air through a denser medium, such as water or glass, they experience a change in speed. This change in speed causes the light waves to bend, a phenomenon known as refraction.
To understand why light waves slow down and bend when they pass from air into a denser medium, we need to consider the refractive index, which is a measure of how much a material can slow down the speed of light compared to its speed in a vacuum. The refractive index of a denser medium is higher than that of air.
According to Snell's law of refraction, the angle at which light is bent when it passes from one medium to another is determined by the refractive indices of the two mediums. When light enters a denser medium, it slows down because the refractive index is higher. As a result, the light wave changes direction and bends towards the normal (an imaginary line perpendicular to the interface between the two mediums). This bending of light is what causes objects to appear shifted when we look at them through water or glass.
So, in summary, when light waves travel from air through a denser medium, they slow down and bend due to the change in the refractive index. The correct answer is b - They will slow down and bend.