1. The best definition of refraction is ____.

a. passing through a boundary b. bouncing off a boundary

c. changing speed at a
boundary

d. changing direction when crossing a

boundary

2. If carbon tetrachloride has an index of refraction of 1.461, what is the

speed of light through this liquid? (c = 3 x 108 m/s)
a. 4.38 x 108 m/s

b. 2.05 x 108 m/s

c. 4.461 x 108 m/s

d. 1.461 x 108 m/s

3. A ray of light in air is incident on an air-to-glass boundary at an angle of

30. degrees with the normal. If the index of refraction of the glass is 1.65,
what is the angle of the refracted ray within the glass with respect to the
normal?
a. 56 degrees

b. 46 degrees

c. 30. degrees

d. 18 degrees

4. If the critical angle for internal reflection inside a certain transparent

material is found to be 48.0 degrees, what is the index of refraction of the
material? (Air is outside the material).
a. 1.35

b. 1.48

c. 1.49

d. 0.743

5. Carbon disulfide (n = 1.63) is poured into a container made of crown glass

(n = 1.52). What is the critical angle for internal reflection of a ray in the
liquid when it is incident on the liquid-to-glass surface?
a. 89.0 degrees

b. 68.8 degrees

c. 21.2 degrees

d. 4.0 degrees

6. Carbon tetrachloride (n = 1.46) is poured into a container made of crown

glass (n = 1.52). If the light ray in glass incident on the glass-to-liquid
boundary makes an angle of 30 degrees with the normal, what is the angle of
the corresponding refracted ray with respect to the normal?
a. 55.5 degrees

b. 29.4 degrees

c. 31.4 degrees

d. 19.2 degrees

7. A light ray in air is incident on an air to glass boundary at an angle of 45.0

degrees and is refracted in the glass of 30.0 degrees with the normal. What
is the index of refraction of the glass?
a. 2.13

b. 1.74

c. 1.23

d. 1.41

8. A beam of light in air is incident at an angle of 35 degrees to the surface of

a rectangular block of clear plastic (n = 1.5). The light beam first passes
through the block and reemerges from the opposite side into air at what
angle to the normal to that surface?
a. 42 degrees

b. 23 degrees

c. 35 degrees

d. 59 degrees

9. A light ray in air enters and passes through a block of glass. What can be
stated with regard to its speed after it emerges from the block?
a. speed is less than when in
glass

b. speed is less than before it entered glass

c. speed is same as that in glass

d. speed is same as that before it entered

glass

10. Which of the following describes what will happen to a light ray incident
on an air-to-glass boundary?
a. total reflection

b. total transmission

c. partial reflection, partial

transmission

d. partial reflection, total

transmission

11. Which of the following describes what will happen to a light ray incident
on an air-to-glass boundary at an angle of incidence less than the critical
angle?
a. total reflection

b. total transmission

c. partial reflection, partial

transmission

d. partial reflection, total

transmission

12. Which of the following describes what will happen to a light ray incident
on an glass-to-air boundary at an angle of incidence greater than the critical
angle?
a. total reflection

b. total transmission

c. partial reflection, partial

transmission

d. partial reflection, total

transmission

13. What is the angle of incidence on an air-to-glass boundary if the angle of

refraction in the glass (n = 1.52) is 25 degrees?
a. 16 degrees

b. 25 degrees

c. 40 degrees

d. 43 degrees

14. A ray of white light, incident upon a glass prism, is dispersed into its
various color components. Which one of the following colors experiences the
greatest amount of refraction?
a. orange

b. violet

c. red

d. green

15. When light from air hits a smooth piece of glass (n = 1.5) with the ray
perpendicular to the glass surface, which of the following will occur?
a. reflection and transmission at an angle of 0
degrees

b. dispersion

c. refraction at an angle of 41.8 degrees

d. all of the above will

occur

16. If total internal reflection occurs at a glass-air surface, then _____.

a.
b.
c.

no light is refracted
no light is reflected
light is leaving the air and hitting the glass with an incident angle
greater than the critical angle
d.
light is leaving the air and hitting the glass with an incident angle less
than the critical angle
17. When light from air hits a smooth piece of glass with the ray
perpendicular to the glass surface, the part of the light passing into the glass
_____.

a. will not change its speed

b. will not change its direction

c. will not change its wavelength

d. will not change its intensity