Question

If light has a speed of 122,000 mps in a transparent medium, what is the index of refraction of the medium? A. n = 1.52

B. n = 1.00
C. n = 2.0
D. n = 0.66

Answer 1

`A.\hspace{3}n=1.52`

Step-by-step explanation:

The refractive index of a medium is a measure to know how much the speed of light within the medium is reduced. It can be calculated with the next equation:

`n=(c)/(v)` (1)

Where:

`c=Speed\hspace{3}of\hspace{3}light\hspace{3}in\hspace{3}vacuum\\n=Refractive\hspace{3}index\\`

`v=Velocity\hspace{3}of\hspace{3}light\hspace{3}in\hspace{3}the\hspace{3}medium`

The speed of light in the vacuum is approximately 300,000 km/s. In order to work with the same units let's do the proper conversion with the velocity of the medium:

`122,000(mi)/(s) *(1.60934km)/(1mi)=196339.48(km)/(s)`

Finally, replacing the data in (1):

`n=(300,000)/(196339.48) =1.527965746\approx1.52`