In a total internal reflection scenario, if the angle of incidence is 45° and the refractive index of the medium is 1.5, what is the angle of refraction?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a total internal reflection scenario, if the angle of incidence is 45° and the refractive index of the medium is 1.5, what is the angle of refraction?
45°
30°
60°
Total internal reflection occurs
Since the angle of incidence (45°) is less than the critical angle (approximately 41.8° for glass to air), total internal reflection does not occur, and the angle of refraction cannot be calculated.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
1 item
Q
Q: In a total internal reflection scenario, if the angle of incidence is 45° and the refractive index of the medium is 1.5, what is the angle of refraction?
Solution: Since the angle of incidence (45°) is less than the critical angle (approximately 41.8° for glass to air), total internal reflection does not occur, and the angle of refraction cannot be calculated.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand the scenario of total internal reflection. It occurs when light travels from a denser medium to a less dense medium.
Step 2: Identify the angle of incidence given in the question, which is 45°.
Step 3: Know that the critical angle is the angle of incidence above which total internal reflection occurs. For a medium with a refractive index of 1.5 (like glass), the critical angle is approximately 41.8°.
Step 4: Compare the angle of incidence (45°) with the critical angle (41.8°). Since 45° is greater than 41.8°, total internal reflection occurs.
Step 5: Since total internal reflection occurs, there is no angle of refraction to calculate. The light does not pass into the second medium.
