If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the wavel
Practice Questions
Q1
If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the wavelength of light in that medium?
It increases
It decreases
It remains the same
It becomes zero
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the wavelength of light in that medium?
Step 1: Understand what refractive index means. It is a number that tells us how much light slows down in a medium compared to air.
Step 2: Know that the refractive index (n) is always greater than 1 for any medium other than air.
Step 3: Remember that the wavelength of light in a vacuum (λ) is longer than in any medium.
Step 4: Use the formula λ' = λ/n, where λ' is the wavelength in the medium, λ is the wavelength in a vacuum, and n is the refractive index.
Step 5: Since n is greater than 1, when you divide λ by n, the result (λ') will be smaller than λ.
Step 6: Conclude that the wavelength of light decreases when it enters a medium with a refractive index greater than 1.
Refractive Index – The refractive index (n) of a medium indicates how much light slows down and bends when entering that medium, affecting its wavelength.
Wavelength Change – The relationship between the wavelength of light in a vacuum and in a medium is given by the formula λ' = λ/n, where λ' is the wavelength in the medium, λ is the wavelength in vacuum, and n is the refractive index.
