Question

When light goes from one material into another material having a HIGHER index of refractionA) its speed decreases but its wavelength and frequency both increaseB) its speed, wavelength, and frequency all decreaseC) its speed increases, its wavelength decreases, and its frequency stays the sameD) its speed decreases but its frequency and wavelength stay the sameE) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same

Answer 1

When light goes from one material into another material having a HIGHER index of refraction , E) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same.

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Further explanation

Let's recall Snell's Law about Refraction as follows:

$\boxed{n_1 \sin \theta_1 = n_2 \sin \theta_2}$

where:

n₁ = incident index

θ₁ = incident angle

n₂ = refracted index

θ₂ = refracted angle

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In this problem, we will use this following formula:

$\boxed{ \frac{n_1}{n_2} = \frac{v_2}{v_1} }$

where:

n₁ = incident index

v₁ = incident speed

n₂ = refracted index

v₂ = refracted speed

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From above formula we could conclude that the speed of light is inversely proportional to the index of refraction. Therefore, when light goes from one material into another material having a HIGHER index of refraction , its speed will decrease.

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As we know that :

$\boxed{v = \lambda f}$

Speed of light is directly proportional to the wavelength of light.

If the speed of light decreases , then wavelength of light will also decrease.

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Conclusion:

When light goes from one material into another material having a HIGHER index of refraction , E) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same

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Answer details

Grade: High School

Subject: Physics

Chapter: Light

Answer 2

Answer:

E) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same

Explanation:

First of all, the frequency of a light wave does not depend on the medium, while wavelength and speed do. Therefore, the frequency remains costant.

In particular, the speed of light in a medium is given by:

$v=\frac{c}{n}$

where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and n is the index of refraction. From the formula, we see that v and n are inversely proportional: so, when the light moves into a material with higher index of refraction, its speed decreases.

Moreover, speed is related to wavelength by

$v=\lambda f$

where $\lambda$ is the wavelength and f is the frequency. Since the two quantities are directly proportional, this means that since the speed decreases, the wavelength decreases as well.

So, the correct choice is

E) its speed and wavelength decrease, but its frequency stays the same