Understanding Light Refraction

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Date:

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice

1. Which statement best describes how light travels in a uniform medium?

In straight lines

In curved paths

Only as waves that go around corners

2. When you place a pencil partly in a glass of water it looks bent. This is because:

The water changes the pencil's colour

Light changes direction as it passes from air to water (refraction)

The water makes the pencil shorter

3. Choose the best description of refraction at a boundary between air and glass:

The light changes speed and bends towards the normal when it enters glass from air

The light speeds up and bends away from the normal when it enters glass from air

The light stops at the surface and then continues straight through

4. Check all that apply: When light refracts at a boundary:

The direction of the light can change

The light's speed can change

The light always becomes brighter

The light's colour always changes

✏️ Part 2: Short Answers & Diagram

5. In one clear sentence, define "refraction".

6. Explain why the straw appears to bend when part of it is in water. Give a short scientific explanation (2–3 lines).

7. Draw a diagram below showing a light ray travelling from air into water. Include and label: the incident ray, the normal, and the refracted ray. Show the ray bending towards the normal.

8. A beam of light goes from water into air at a steep angle (close to the surface). Will the light bend towards or away from the normal when it leaves the water? Briefly explain your answer.