Refraction

9SCIE - Radiation and the Human Body

Finn Le Sueur

2024

Mahi Tuatahi

Blooket

Ngā Whāinga Ako

  1. I can explain what refraction is.

Write the date and ngā whāinga ako in your book

Refraction

The bending of light when it changes speed as it enters a new medium.

Medium: Any type of matter that radiation can travel through. E.g. air, water, glass.

Law of Refraction

When light travels into a more dense medium it slows down and bends towards the normal. When it moves into a less dense medium, it speeds up and bends away from the normal.

The normal is a 90 degree angle to the surface.

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Cloze

Copy this diagram and paragraph into your book. Fill in these missplaced words: speeds up, eye, Sun, less, reflects, away.

As the fish ________ light from the ______, some rays will enter your ___ and you will therefore see a fish. When the light leaves the water, it enters air which is a _____ dense medium. The light therefore __________ and bends ________ from the normal. This means that the fish appears to be higher in the water than it actually is, and the fisherperson may miss.

Refraction and Colour

  • Not all light refracts equally. Some do it better than others!
  • Red light refracts the worst, while purple refracts the best
  • Using this principle, light that appears “white” which comes from the Sun, can be split up into a rainbow!
  • This is how rainbows work with rain droplets

Task

Complete the rainbow questions in your booklet on page 7.