Practice Quiz

MTEL Technology and Engineering

Category - Tech and Engineering

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A person places a pencil in a glass of water and notices that the pencil appears to bend at the point of entry into the water. This illusion occurs primarily because:
  1. Light behaves as either a wave or a particle depending on the medium.
  2. Some media absorb more light than others.
  3. Eyes process light differently depending on the medium observed.
  4. Light travels at different speeds in different media.
Explanation
Correct Response: D. The parts of objects below the surface of the water appear to be at a different angle than the parts that are above the surface. This is because light bends as it passes between mediums with different indices of refraction. The index of refraction of a medium describes the speed of light in that medium. This phenomenon of bending light is known as refraction. This phenomenon is not related to the particle/wave duality of light (A), nor to differential absorption of light (B). It is also not related to the ways that the eyes process light (C).
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