A ray of light in glass is incident on a glass-air interface as shown. You would expect the ray to pass through

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When light travels from a denser medium to a rarer medium, it bends away from the normal. In this diagram, the light ray is traveling from glass to air, so it will bend away from the normal at point 2. Since the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, the entire ray will be reflected off the glass-air interface at point 3. However, some of the ray will also be refracted at point 2 and will continue to travel through the air. This refracted portion of the ray will pass through point 4. Therefore, the expected path of the ray is through points 2 and 4, making choice D the correct answer.

A Ray of Light in Glass Is Incident on a Glass-Air