CHAPTER 5: LIGHT

5.3 TOTAL INTERNAL

REFLECTION
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Define critical angle
• Explain total internal reflection of light
• Relate the critical angle to the refractive
index
• Describe natural phenomenon involving total
internal reflection
• Describe application of total internal
reflection
• Solve problems involving total internal
reflection
 What is a critical angle?
• When light enters from
a denser medium to a
less dense medium, it
is refracted away from
the normal. A small
part of the incident ray
is reflected inside the
glass.
 What is a critical angle?
• As the angle of
incidence increases,
the angle of
refraction increases.
The angle of
refraction reaches
90⁰.
 What is a critical angle?
• At this moment, the
light is refracted
along the glass-air
boundary. The angle
of incidence in the
denser medium at
this limit is called the
critical angle, c.
 What is a critical angle?
• Critical angle, c, is the angle of incidence
when the angle of refraction is 90 ⁰
 Explain Total Internal Reflection
• If the angle of incidence
is increased further so
that it is greater than
the critical angle, i > c ,
the light is not refracted
anymore, but is
internally reflected.
This phenomenon is
called total Internal
reflection
•
 Explain Total Internal Reflection
• 2 conditions for total
internal reflection to
occur:
1. Light rays enters
from a denser
medium to a less
dense medium.
2. i > c
 Activity 1: Total Internal Reflections
and Critical Angle
Aim: To show the effect of increasing the angle
of incidence on the angle of refraction when
light travels from a denser medium to a less
dense medium
• Apparatus: Ray box, semicircular glass block,
protractor
 Procedure:
1. Trace the outline of the glass block on a
piece of paper and mark the centre of the
glass block as O. Draw the normal line, N.
 Procedure:
2. Direct a light ray towards O from the curved edge
with angle of incidence i = 20⁰. Observe the ray
emerging from the glass block.
3. Increase the angle of incidence slowly and
observe the change in the refracted angle.
4. When the refracted angle is 90⁰, mark the angle
of incidence, i. Measure and the record the value
of i.
5. Increase the value of i and observe the direction
of the ray after reaching the border between the
two mediums.
 Result
1. If the angle of refraction, r < 90⁰,
• light ray is refracted _________
away from normal.
• as the incident angle increases, the angle of
increases
refraction ____________.
2. When the refracted angle is 90⁰, the angle of
incidence, i = __________.
c = critical angle
3. When the incidence angle is further
increased, the ray upon reaching the border
between the two mediums will be
_______________________
Total internal reflection
Explain why the light ray must be directed at the
centre of the glass block from the curved edge?
The incidence ray always parallel to normal line to
get a straight line
Critical angle = 42°
i<c i=c i>c

Refracted Refracted ray is Total

away from at the boundary internal
normal of glass - air reflection
 Relationship between Critical Angle, c
and Refractive Index, n
Referring to figure d and using Snell’s law, write an
equation that gives the relationship between the
critical angle, C, the refracted angle and the
refractive index of liquid-Y
Light travel from denser to
less dense medium
n = sin r
sin i
n = sin 90
i = c , r = 90°
sin c
 Relate the critical angle to the
refractive index
n= 1 .
sin c
n = index of
refraction
c = critical angle
 Solve problems involving total
internal reflection
1. A light rays incident on a
plastic block at X. Which
shows the critical angle of
plastic?
1. The refractive index of water is 1.33. What is
the critical angle of the water.

n = 1/sin c
sin c = 1/n = 1/1.33

c = 48°
2. Figure 2 shows three light rays, X, Y and Z,
incident at the mid-point of AB of a semi
circular glass block of critical angle 42°.
<NOZ = 30° , <NOY = 42° and <NOX = 60°.
Draw the direction of the rays of X, Y and Z
from O and label them as X’, Y’ and Z’
respectively.
 30°
42°
60° 60°
3. Predict what will happen to the incident light
ray shown in the image. Support your
answer with calculations. (Refractive index
of water is 1.3)

n = 1/sin c
sin c = 1/n = 1/1.33

c = 50°

i>c,
total internal reflection
4.[ Refractive index of glass =
1.51 ]
(a) Determine the critical
angle of the glass.
sin c = 1 .
1.51
45⁰
c = 42 ⁰

(b) Draw the ray light after it

passes through a point P
until the direction of the ray
of light unchanged.
5. The diagram shows a light ray travelling from
air into a glass prism. What is the critical
angle of the glass?

50⁰
Critical angle = 42⁰
In which direction does
the light move from
point Q?
 Diamond Glass

c = 42°
c = 24° High critical angle of
Low critical angle of glass gives leakage of
diamond gives total light. Refracted away
internal reflection from normal
In hot days, a person travelling in a car will see
an imaginary pool of water appearing on the
surface of the hot road
2. The layers higher up
are cooler and denser.

1. The layers of air near the ground are hotter

and less dense.
3. Light ray from the sky
travels from denser to 4. It will refract away
less dense medium from the normal

5. Angle of incidence
increases until it reaches
an angle greater than
the critical angle, i > c

6. Total internal
Reflection occurs
7. The light is reflected 8. The eyes interpret
towards the eye of the light comes from the
observer. road not from the sky.

9. The observer will see the image of the

sky (as pool of water) appearing on the
road surface.