Physics IV: Light and Optics

Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm

Study Guide: Reflection and Refraction

Reflection of Light
1. Light Reflections occur when light bounces off a reflective surface. Most of
what our eyes see in the world is reflected light.
2. The Law of Reflection: The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of
The Law of incidence about the normal line.
Reflection 3. Angle of Incidence: The angle at which a light ray reaches a reflective
surface.
4. Angle of Reflection: The angle at which a light ray bounces off of a reflective
surface.
5. Normal Line: An imaginary line perpendicular (0 degrees) to the surface of
a reflective surface (at any one point). Think of the normal line as the 0 degree
base line on which most reflection and refraction calculations are based.
6. The incident ray, reflective ray, and normal line are all on a plane. (This is a
great idea as keeping calculations within two dimensions simplifies the math.)
Diffuse and Regular Reflection
1. Diffuse (or irregular) surfaces bounce light in many different directions. They
do not produce recognizable images.
2. Regular surfaces produce regular reflections, in which light rays bounce
in parallel directions. This produces recognizable images.
3. Each individual ray reflects according to the law of reflection.
Refraction of Light
1. Light travels at a different speed in different media.
2. Light changes direction (or bends) as it enters a new medium of a different
density if it enters at an angle other than 0 degrees.
3. Optically dense matter slows light.
4. When light enters an optically denser medium (such as from air to water), it
travels more slowly, bends toward the normal, and the angle of reflection is
less than the angle of incidence.
5. Although in reflections, the incident and reflective angles are always equal,
in refractions the angles are usually not equal.

Transition ∆ of Speed Bend Diff. of Angles

Lighter → Denser Slower → Normal Reflection is < Incidence
Air → Water Slower → Normal Reflection is < Incidence
Denser → Lighter Faster ← Normal Reflection is > Incidence
Water → Air Faster ← Normal Reflection is > Incidence

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 Physics IV: Light and Optics
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm

Snell’s Law
Although the angle of incidence clearly affects the angle of refraction, the angle of
refraction does not vary directly with the angle of incidence. (Note: A direct
variance results in a linear equation, such as y = 2x. The relationship between
incident and refractive angles is not that straightforward.)
The Dutch scientist Willebrord Snell (1591 – 1629) discovered the mathematical
relationship now known as Snell’s Law. The following equation applies to light
traveling from a vacuum into a denser medium.

sin of the angle of the incident ray

Index of refraction of the medium = (1)
sin of the angle of the refractive ray

sin i
n= (2)
sin r

Where
• n = Index of refraction of the medium
• i = Incident ray
• r = Refractive ray
To apply the equation for light traveling from any medium into any other medium,
we convert it to the following. If we have any three values, we can find the fouth.

n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2

Where
• n1 = Index of refraction of the first medium
• n2 = Index of refraction of the second medium
• θ1 = Angle of incidence
• θ2 = Angle of refraction

Figure 1: Example of Refraction (Source: Wikipedia)

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 Physics IV: Light and Optics
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm

Example Indexes of Refraction

Every medium has an index of refraction. Vacuum has in index of 1. All other
matter has a higher index. Here are some commonly used values.

Medium Index of Refraction

Vacuum 1
Air 1.0003
Carbon dioxide 1.00045
Hydrogen 1.000139
Oxygen 1.000271
Water 1.333
Crown glass 1.517
Dense flint glass 1.655
Diamond 2.417

Example Angles

Angles (In Degrees) 0 30 45 60 90 180 270 360

Angles (In Radians) 0 π/6 π/4
√ √π/3 π/2 π 3π/2 2π
sin 0 1/2 1/ 2 3/2 1 0 −1 0
approx. sin 1/1.414 1.732/2

Trigonometry Functions

sin θ = opp/hyp csc θ = 1/sin θ = hyp/opp

cos θ = adj/hyp sec θ = 1/cos θ = hyp/adj
tan θ = opp/adj cot θ = 1/tan θ = adj/opp

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 Physics IV: Light and Optics
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm

Example 1
A ray of light traveling through air is incident upon a sheet of crown glass at an
angle of 30°. What is the angle of refraction? (Note that the refractive index of air
is so close to that of a vacuum that we can round to 1.00.)
Given:
• Refractive index of air: n1 ≈ 1.00
• Refractive index of crown glass: n2 ≈ 1.52 (rounded to the nearest hundredth)
• Incident angle: θ1 = 30.0°
• Reflective angle: θ2 = x°

n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2 Original equation (3)

n1 sin θ1
sin θ2 = Isolate the unknown value (4)
n2
1.00 sin 30.0°
= Replace known values (5)
1.52
0.5
= = 0.329 Simplify numerator (6)
1.52
θ2 = 19.2° Find sin−1 of 0.329 (7)

Example 2
A ray of light traveling through air falls on the surface of a transparent glass slab.
The ray makes
√ an angle of 45° with the normal. Given that the refractive index of
the glass is 2, find the angle made by the refracted ray within the slab.

sin 45° √
= 2 (8)
sin r
1
sin r = √ × 45° (9)
2
1 1 1
=√ ×√ = (10)
2 2 2
( )
1 1
Thus, as sin r = , the angle of refraction would be, r = sin−1 = 30° (11)
2 2

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 Physics IV: Light and Optics Name
Summerfield Waldorf School and Farm Date

Practice: Snell’s Law and Angles of Refraction

1) A ray of light traveling through water is incident upon a sheet of dense flint glass at an angle
of 45°. What is the angle of refraction?

2) A ray of light traveling through air is incident upon water at an angle of 0°. What is the
angle of refraction?

3) A ray of light traveling through air falls on the surface of a transparent glass slab. The ray
makes an angle of 60° with the normal. Given that the refractive index of the glass is 1.517,
find the angle made by the refracted ray within the slab of glass.

4) A light beam makes an angle of 60 degrees to the normal as it strikes a transparent substance
with a partially reflective surface. Part of the beam is reflected from the surface into the
air and part is refracted through the substance. The reflected and refracted beams make an
angle of 90 degrees with each other. What is the index of refraction of the substance? (Use
the back side of this page to make a diagram and show your calculations.)

Ron Liskey 5 v1. 30 April 2023