A child is looking at a reflection of the sun in a pool of water.When she puts on a pair of Polaroid sunglasses with a vertical transmission axis,she can no longer see the reflection.At what angle is she looking at the pool of water?
A)45.0°
B)48.8°
C)53.1°
D)61.6°
E)77.3°

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When light reflects off a surface, it becomes polarized. The reflected light from the water has a horizontal polarization. When the child puts on Polaroid sunglasses with a vertical transmission axis, only vertically polarized light can pass through, and the horizontally polarized light (the reflection) is blocked. For maximum polarization to occur, the angle between the reflected light and the axis of the sunglasses should be 90° (i.e., perpendicular). Therefore, the angle between the child's line of sight and the reflected light should be 90-53.1 = 36.9°. The complementary angle of 36.9° is 53.1°, which is the angle at which the child is looking at the pool of water.

A Child Is Looking at a Reflection of the Sun