Question

Light enters a container of benzene at an angle of 43 degree to the normal; the refracted beam makes an angle of 27 degree with the normal. Calculate the index of refraction of benzene?

Answer 1

To calculate the index of refraction of benzene, use Snell's law and plug in the given values of the angles of incidence and refraction. The index of refraction of benzene is approximately 1.50.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the index of refraction of benzene, we can use Snell's law, which states that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is equal to the ratio of the speeds of light in the two media. In this case, we have the angle of incidence (43 degrees) and the angle of refraction (27 degrees) in benzene.

Using Snell's law, we can write:

n1 * sin(angle of incidence) = n2 * sin(angle of refraction)

where n1 is the index of refraction of the first medium (air in this case) and n2 is the index of refraction of the second medium (benzene in this case).

Plugging in the given values, we get:

n1 * sin(43) = n2 * sin(27)

Solving for n2, we find that the index of refraction of benzene is approximately 1.50.