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PHYS 2202 LAB: Physics II

Week 11

Reflection and Refraction-ONLINE VERSION ADDENDUM

by

Naeamah Rabeea

Due Date: 22/04/2021

Submission’s Date: 22/04/2021

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Objective

The main objective of this lab is to study the refraction and reflection of light for various
incidence angles and interfaces.

Equipment Used

This is an online version of the lab and no lab equipment is used to perform this lab.

Theory

The angle of refraction of a ray moving from one interface to another can be calculated from
Snell’s law equation shown below.

n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2 … . . (1)

From the above eq (1), n1 is the incident index, n2 is the refracted index, θ1 is the incident
angle and θ2 is the refracted angle.

The velocity of the ray when it is entered into the second interface can be calculated from the
equation below.

c
v= … . . (2)
n

When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, total internal reflection occurs
and it can be calculated from the equation shown below.

n2
θc = sin−1 ( ) … . . (3)
n1

Index of refraction of the glass prism can be calculated from the equation shown below.

1 ̅
sin 2 (D + A)
n= … . . (4)
1
sin( A)
2

Procedure

We will open the following link to perform the experiment.

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/bending-light/latest/bending-light_en.html

We will open the intro screen and will measure the angle of refraction for angles of incidences
20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees for Air-Water, Air-Glass and Water-Glass interface. Then, we will
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calculate the angle of refraction for 20, 30, 40 and 50-degree angles of incidences using Snell’s
law. Then, we will calculate and record the velocity of the three rays. Then, we will record all
the results in tabular form. Then, we will use the More Tools screen to perform a refraction by
switching on the laser for the two interfaces Air-MysteryA and Air-MysteryB for 20, 30, 40,
50, 60 and 70-degree angles of incidences. Then, we will plot the sinθ2 vs sinθ1 graph and
record the slope to find the refractive indices of these two substances. Then, we will use the
water-air interface calculate the angle of refraction for angles of incidence 45 degrees, 47
degrees, 49 degrees and 50 degrees to observe and record the total internal reflection. Then, we
will calculate the critical angle for the Water-Air, Glass-Air and Glass-Water interfaces. Then,
we will use the Prisms screen and 50-degree angle of incidence for a glass prism and measure
the angle of the prism. Then, we will calculate the angle of deviation of the prism and refractive
index of glass. Finally, we will repeat the above steps for another angle of incidence and will
record the results.

Data Analysis

PART IA Snell’s Law for Air-Water interface

Angle of Incidence Angle of Refraction Theoretical Angle Velocity (c)

(degrees) (degrees) of Refraction
(degrees)
20 14.9 14.86 0.75
30 22 22.02 0.75
40 28.8 28.82 0.75
50 35.1 35.07 0.75

Snell’s Law: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2

Incident index: n1 = 1

Refracted index: n2 = 1.333

For incident angle: θ1 = 20o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 20o ) = 14.86o
n2 1.333

For incident angle: θ1 = 30o

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n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 30o ) = 22.02o
n2 1.333

For incident angle: θ1 = 40o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 40o ) = 28.82o
n2 1.333

For incident angle: θ1 = 50o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 50o ) = 35.07o
n2 1.333

c 1c
v= = = 0.75c
n 1.333

PART IA Snell’s Law for Air-Glass interface

Angle of Incidence Angle of Refraction Theoretical Angle Velocity

(degrees) (degrees) of Refraction
(degrees)
20 13.2 13.22 0.67c
30 19.5 19.52 0.67c
40 25.4 25.42 0.67c
50 30.7 30.72 0.67c

Snell’s Law: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2

Incident index: n1 = 1

Refracted index: n2 = 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 20o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 20o ) = 13.22o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 30o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 30o ) = 19.52o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 40o

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n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 40o ) = 25.42o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 50o

n1 1
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 50o ) = 30.72o
n2 1.5

c 1c
v= = = 0.67c
n 1.5

PART IA Snell’s Law for Water-Glass interface

Angle of Incidence Angle of Refraction Theoretical Angle Velocity

(degrees) (degrees) of Refraction
(degrees)
20 17.8 17.82 0.5c
30 26.4 26.42 0.5c
40 34.9 34.92 0.5c
50 42.9 42.92 0.5c

Snell’s Law: n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2

Incident index: n1 = 1.333

Refracted index: n2 = 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 20o

n1 1.333
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 20o ) = 17.82o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 30o

n1 1.333
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 30o ) = 26.42o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 40o

n1 1.333
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 40o ) = 34.92o
n2 1.5

For incident angle: θ1 = 50o

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n1 1.333
θ2 = sin−1 ( sin θ1 ) = sin−1 ( sin 50o ) = 42.92o
n2 1.5

c 0.75c
v= = = 0.5c
n 1.5

PART IB (Unknown refracting indices) for Air-MysteryA interface

Angle of Angle of sin𝛉𝟏 sin𝛉𝟐 Velocity

Incidence Refraction
(degrees) (degrees)
20 8.1 0.34 0.14 0.41c
30 11.9 0.5 0.21 0.41c
40 15.4 0.64 0.26 0.41c
50 18.5 0.76 0.32 0.41c
60 21.0 0.86 0.35 0.41c
70 22.9 0.93 0.38 0.41c

Slope: m = 0.4057

So, Slope = sinθ1 /sinθ2 = n which gives the refractive index of MysteryA around 2.44.
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PART IB (Unknown refracting indices) for Air-MysteryB interface

Angle of Angle of sin𝛉𝟏 sin𝛉𝟐 Velocity

Incidence Refraction
(degrees) (degrees)
20 14.2 0.34 0.245 0.71c
30 20.9 0.5 0.356 0.71c
40 27.4 0.64 0.46 0.71c
50 33.2 0.76 0.547 0.71c
60 38.2 0.86 0.618 0.71c
70 42.2 0.93 0.671 0.71c

Slope: m = 0.723

So, Slope = sinθ1 /sinθ2 = n which gives the refractive index of MysteryB around 1.38.

PART II Total Internal Reflection (a)

Angle of Incidence Angle of Refraction Angle of Reflection

(degrees) (degrees) (degrees)
45 70.3 45
47 76.9 47
49 - 49
50 - 50
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PART II Total Internal Reflection (b)

Angle of Incidence Angle of Refraction Angle of Reflection

(degrees) (degrees) (degrees)
48.5 87.2 48.5
48.55 87.3 48.55
48.60 - 48.6
48.65 - 48.65

PART III Critical Angle for Water-Air interface

n1 = 1.333, n2 = 1

n 1
θc = sin−1 (n2) = sin−1 (1.333) = 48.6o which is the same as measured experimentally.
1

PART III Critical Angle for Glass-Air interface

n1 = 1.5, n2 = 1

n2 1
θc = sin−1 ( ) = sin−1 ( ) = 41.8o
n1 1.5

PART III Critical Angle for Glass-Water interface

n1 = 1.5, n2 = 1.333

n2 1.333
θc = sin−1 ( ) = sin−1 ( ) = 62.7o
n1 1.5

PART IV Prism for 50 degrees angle of incidence

Angle of deviation from the protractor: 73.5 degrees

Refractive index of Glass = 1.5

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Questions

c 1c
For Air-Water interface, v = n = 1.333 = 0.75c makes sense because the speed of light is less

in water due to its high refractive index (1.33) as compared to the refractive index of air (1).

c 1c
For Air-Glass interface, v = n = 1.5 = 0.67c makes sense because the speed of light is less in

glass due to its high refractive index (1.5) as compared to the refractive index of air (1).

c 0.75c
For Water-Glass interface, v = n = = 0.5c makes sense because the speed of light is less
1.5

in glass due to its high refractive index (1.5) as compared to the refractive index of water (1.33).

For Part IB (Unknown refracting indices), sinθ1 should be on x-axis and sinθ2 should be on y-
axis.

For PART II Total Internal Reflection, it was observed that the ray gets refracted for angles 45
degrees and 47 degrees and for 49 degrees and 50 degrees, total internal reflection occurs which
suggests that the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle. Moreover, the ray gets
refracted for angles 48.5 degrees and 48.55 degrees and for angles above 48.55 degrees, total
internal reflection occurs which suggests that the angle of incidence becomes greater than the
critical angle.

Conclusion

We performed this lab to study the refraction and reflection of light for various incidence angles
c
and interfaces. The formulas used in the lab were n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2 , v = n and θc =
n
sin−1 (n2). All the theoretical and experimental results and obtained graphs are listed in the
1

tabular form in the data analysis section of the report. It was observed that for interfaces with
high refractive index, the speed of light ray decreases. Moreover, total internal reflection occurs
when the angle of incidence becomes greater than the critical angle.