Subject of the Experiment: Geometric Optics

Name of the Experiment: Snell’s Law and Refraction

Estimated Completion Time: 15 minutes
Objectives and Learning Outcomes:
Student will be able to;
• observe the reflection phenomenon and verify the law of reflection (MEB).
• observe the refraction phenomenon. (AP, IB)
• discover Snell's law. (AP, IB)
• observe total reflection phenomenon, calculate the critical angle. (AP, IB)
• observe the parallel shift of light passing through a parallel-faced transparent
material, and calculate the amount of shift. (AP)

[Link]

At the boundary separating two different transparent mediums, the light is

partially reflected from that boundary and partially transmitted to the next medium
changing its direction, as shown in Figure 1. The direction of the incident, reflected,
and propagating (refracted) light is determined according to the angle they make with
the line perpendicular to the boundary surface (normal) at the point of the incidence.
Here, the angle of the incident ray is denoted by i, the angle of reflected light is denoted
by y, and the angle of incident light is denoted by r. According to the reflection principle,
the angles of incident and reflected light are equal, i.e. i = y. The direction of the
refracted light is determined by Snell's law.

Figure 1. Reflection and refraction of a light beam when striking the boundary between
two different materials.
 Refractive index:

The refractive index of a transparent medium is defined as the ratio of the speed
of light in vaccum to its speed in the transparent medium. This relationship is shown
in Equation (1).
𝑐
𝑛= (1)
𝑣

The speed of light in vacuum is constant and is approximately given as 𝑐 =

3.0 × 108 m/s. This value is the highest speed that light could have. Here, v is the
speed of light in a transparent medium such as water and glass.

The refractive index of a medium is inversely proportional to the wavelength of

the light traveling through it. For example, green light with a shorter wavelength is bent
more than red light with a longer wavelength when traveling through a transparent
medium.

Table 1. The refractive indices for materials subjected to red and green lights.

Medium Refractive index of red Refractive index of

light /n green light /n

Vacuum 1.0000 1.0000

Air 1.0003 1.0003

Water 1.33 1,39

Glass (light flint) 1.58 1,66

Plexiglass (acrylic) 1.51 1.59

Diamond 2.42 2.57

Refraction and Snell’s Law:

The change in the direction of light when it travels from a transparent medium
to another transparent medium is called refraction. The magnitude of this bending is
determined according to Snell's Law which is given by Equation (2).

𝑛1 Sin(i) = 𝑛2 Sin(r) (2)

n1 is the absolute refractive index of the medium for incident light, and n2 is the
absolute refractive index of the medium for transmitted light. The absolute refractive
index is defined as the refractive index of the medium relative to that of the vacuum
and can be obtained from Equation (1). The absolute refractive index can also be found
from Snell’s law as n = Sin(i)/Sin(r), when the medium of the incident light is vacuum
(𝑛1 = 1). The relative refractive index is defined as the ratio of the absolute refractive
indices of two different mediums. The relative refractive index (𝑛21 ) of the second
medium with respect to the first medium is given by Equation (3).
𝑛
𝑛21 = 𝑛2 (3)
1

Total Internal Reflection:

When light travels from a transparent medium with a larger refractive index to a
medium with a smaller one, it is bent away from the normal. Accordingly, by exceeding
a critical incident angle, the whole light can be reflected from the interface. This critical
angle is defined when the refraction angle becomes 90o. The magnitude of the critical
angle can be calculated by Equation (4).
𝑛
θ𝑐 = arcsin( 2 ) (4)
𝑛1

The total internal reflection phenomenon is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Total internal reflection

 As a result of the total internal reflection of the light, information can be
transmitted via fiber optic cables. There is a very thin transparent material in the center
of fiber optic cables, as shown in Figure 3, so that the light travels through the
transparent medium with a full reflection.

Figure 3. Light path in a fiber optic cable

[Link] and Materials

• Semicircular transparent blocks made of different materials (glass, plexiglass,

diamond, plexiglass filled with water)
• Red and green laser light sources
• Protractor plate, and refraction experiment setup.

[Link] Procedure
1. Listen to the lab assistant Amy for theoretical information on the experiment.
2. Use the VRLab Tablet to reach more theoretical information provided in the
“THEORY” part.
3. Use the VRLab Tablet to reach the experimental information provided in the
“EXPERIMENT” part. This part contains the procedure to carry out the experiment
and data tables to write down the measured and calculated values.
4. Press the "SAVE DATA" button after filling the tables. You can access your saved
data from your dashboard. You can compare your own results with values
measured and calculated by the VRLab system provided in the answer key table
right below the fillable table.
5. Use the “DRAW GRAPH” button to plot your data.
6. Press the “RESET” button to delete the previous entries.

Part 1. Exploring the refractive index of a transparent medium:

1. In this part, you will explore the relationship between the refractive index of a
transparent material and the angles of incidence and refraction. The absolute
refractive index of air is assumed to be 1.
2. Put one of the semicircular transparent materials above or below the protractor
plate of the device. If you want to find the relative refractive index of one medium
with respect to another one, put one of the semicircles at the bottom and the other
at the top of the protractor plate.
3. Turn on the laser source. Use the "Red Light" and "Green Light" buttons on the
device to change the color of the light. Use the "⮝" and "⮟" direction buttons on
the set to change the laser’s incidence angle.
4. Set the angle of incidence to a small value, for example, 10 o, then write this value
and the refracted angle value in Table 1.1.
5. Repeat the above step for a total of seven (7) different data, increasing the angle
of incidence a little each time, and fill Table 1.1.
6. After filling the table, you can plot the graph of Sin(r) versus Sin(i) or you can
analyze the graph by clicking the “Draw Graph” button.
7. Do not forget to write your experiment findings that can be the answer to the
research question in the results section.
8. If you want to do the experiment with other materials, you can clear the table by
pressing the "Reset" button and restart the experiment.
9. When you click the “Save Data” button, the table and graph will be saved.

Part 2. Finding the critical angle between two mediums:

1. In this part of the experiment, you will measure the critical angle at which the light
is refracted in 90o while traveling from a transparent medium with a large refractive
index to a medium with a smaller one.
2. Put one of the semicircular transparent objects on the protractor plate.
3. Turn on the laser source, use the "Red Light" and "Green Light" buttons on the
device to change the color of the light. Use the "⮝" and "⮟" direction buttons on
the set to change the laser’s incidence angle.
4. Adjust the incident laser beam at a small angle from the side of the transparent
object.
5. Gradually increase the angle of incidence until the angle of refraction is 90 o. This
measured angle is the critical angle.
6. After setting the angle of incidence as the critical angle, fill Table 2.1.
7. If you want to do the experiment with other materials, you can clear the table by
pressing the "Reset" button and restart the experiment.
8. Save the table values by pressing the “Save Data” button. You can access your
data from your dashboard
[Link] and Tables

Table 1.1. Raw and processed data for Snell's Law

Write down
research question

Sine of Refracted Sine of

Incident Angle
Incident Angle Angle Refracted
/i/Degree
/Sin(i) /r/Degree Angle /Sin(r)

Slope of the best fit line

y-intercept of the best fit line

Refractive Index of the medium

Color of Light

State the control, independent and dependent

variables of the experiment respectively.

Results
Table [Link] internal reflection data

The name of the first medium the light comes

Refractive index of the first medium

Angle of incidence / Degree

Sine of incidence angle

Name of the second medium in which light is

refracted

Refractive index of the second medium

Angle of refraction/Degree

Sine of refracted angle

Critical angle/Degree
5. Graphs

Graph 1. Graph of Table 1.1 data for Snell's law

[Link] and Discussion

1. What are the sources of uncertainty in measurements? Discuss.

2. Does the ray coming to the surface connecting two transparent media reflect?
If it is reflected, is the angle of reflection equal to the angle of incidence?
3. Rank the light intensities of incident, reflected and refracted rays from the
largest to the smallest. Discuss the reasons.
4. How does a ray change direction when it passes from a medium with a small
refractive index to a medium with a higher index of refraction?
5. Define the total reflection.
 6. Define the critical angle.
7. Calculate the amount of the beam shifting incident on the parallelepiped
transparent plate depending on the angle of incidence, refractive index and plate
thickness.

7. Post-Laboratory Evaluation
1. Research Fermat's principle, evaluate Snell's law within the scope of this
principle.
2. Investigate why the index of refraction changes according to the color of the
light.
3. Why does a ray change direction when it passes from a medium with a low index
of refraction to a medium with a higher index of refraction?
4. Research how fiber optic communication cables work. Investigate how optical
signals are converted to electrical signals and vice versa.
5. Explain why the pen in a glass of water looks broken.
6. Explain why the bottom of a swimming pool appears shallower than normal.