Teacher’s Notes:

There are 3 main sequences in this set:

1. This shows the wave-fronts arriving at a shallower area
of a ripple tank, where the waves travel more slowly.
This time the shallow area is at an angle.
It is shown one step at a time, as you click your mouse.
You can talk it through, moving to the next step when you are
ready.
This should help to reduce misconceptions which often arise due
to the difficulty of seeing what is happening in a ripple tank.
2. This is the same sequence, but now automated so that a single
click starts it off, and the motion is now more evident.

3. The 3rd sequence shows the ‘normal’ line, the ‘angle of incidence’,
and the ‘angle of refraction’.

Naturally it pays to have a quick practice-run first.

To start the slide-show in Full Screen mode, press Function key <F5>,
or right-click and select Full Screen
(to return to ‘normal view’ press the <Esc> key).
There is a photocopiable sheet of the same diagram in the
Physics for You Teacher Support Pack, page 246.
Refraction
of waves
2
Learning Objectives
You should learn:

• What happens when a plane wave enters a

region where it travels more slowly, at an
angle
• What is meant by ‘angle of incidence’ and
‘angle of refraction’.
 water in a ripple tank

shallower
water

fast slowe
r

incident refracted
wave wave
 water in a ripple tank

shallower
water
fast
slowe
r

incident refracted
wave wave
 i
fast r
slowe
r

incident refracted
wave wave
Learning Outcomes
You should now be able to:

• Explain what happens when a plane wave

enters (at an angle) a region where it travels
more slowly
• Use the word ‘refraction’, and explain why
it happens
• Mark the ‘angle of incidence’ and the
‘angle of refraction’ correctly.
In Physics for You:

Further reading: pages 168, 184-5.

Questions on pages 190, 237.