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An incident light ray strikes water at an angle of 20 degrees. The index of refraction of air is 1.0003, and the index of refraction of water is 1.33. The angle of refraction rounded to the nearest whole number is?

User Arcanine
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5 votes

Answer:

15 degrees

Step-by-step explanation:

User Justin Lucente
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In order to determine the angle of the refracted ray, we may apply Snell's law, which states that the ratio of the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction is constant for a given wave when it passes through two different media. Mathematically, this is:
n₁sin(∅₁) = n₂sin(∅₂)
Where n is the refractive index. Substituting the values given into the equation:
1.0003 * sin(20°) = 1.33 * sin(∅)
∅ = 14.91

The angle of the refracted ray is 15°.
User Ozi
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