What happens to the light ray when it hits the boundary at an angle greater than
Practice Questions
Q1
What happens to the light ray when it hits the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle?
It is refracted
It is absorbed
It is reflected back into the denser medium
It passes into the rarer medium
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What happens to the light ray when it hits the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle?
Correct Answer: Total internal reflection occurs.
Step 1: Understand that light travels through different materials, like air and water.
Step 2: Know that when light moves from a denser medium (like water) to a less dense medium (like air), it can change direction.
Step 3: The angle at which the light hits the boundary between the two materials is called the angle of incidence.
Step 4: The critical angle is a specific angle of incidence. If the light hits the boundary at an angle greater than this critical angle, something special happens.
Step 5: When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, the light does not pass into the less dense medium (air).
Step 6: Instead, the light ray reflects back into the denser medium (water) instead of refracting out.
