Question

You send a beam of light from a material with index of refraction 1.21 into an unknown material. In order to help identify this material, you determine its index of refraction by measuring the angles of incidence and refraction for which you find the values 41.9° and 37.3° , respectively. What is the index of refraction of the unknown material?

Answer 1

refractive index of the unknown material is 1.33.

Step-by-step explanation:

μ₁ = 1.21

incidence angle (i) = 41.9°

refraction angle (r) = 37.3°

Let us assume μ be the refractive index of the unknown material

according to snell's law of refraction.

μ₁ sin i = μ₂ sin r

1.21 × sin 41.9° = μ × sin 37.3°

μ = 1.33

hence the refractive index of the unknown material comes out top be 1.33