BWhen light travels from one medium into another, direction of motion changes if the index of refraction of the two materials differ. Snell's Law defines how the change of direction relates to the index of refraction of the two materials.
Here is a good introduction to Snell's Law and its application.
Big Ideas
Big Idea 1: Objects and systems have properties such as mass and charge. Systems may have internal structure.
Bid Idea 2: Fields existing in space can be used to explain interactions.
Big Idea 3: The interactions of an object with other objects can be described by forces.
Big Idea 4: Interactions between systems can result in changes in those systems.
Big Idea 5: Changes that occur as a result of interactions are constrained by conservation laws.
Big Idea 6: Waves can transfer energy and momentum from one location to another without the permanent transfer of mass and serve as a mathematical model for the description of other phenomena.
Big Idea 7: The mathematics of probability can be used to describe the behavior of complex systems and to interpret the behavior of quantum mechanical systems.
Learning Objectives
BoxSand Learning Objectives
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.BS.1: Be able to apply Snell's Law of Refraction to any system
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.BS.2: Be able to identify all relevant angles in a given system
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.BS.3: Be able to identify the conditions for Total Internal Refraction
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.BS.4: Be able to improve use of geometry in analysis Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.BS.5: Students should understand the principles of reflection and refraction, so they can:
- Determine how the speed and wavelength of light change when light passes from one medium into another.
- Show on a diagram the directions of reflected and refracted rays.
- Use Snell’s Law to relate the directions of the incident ray and the refracted ray, and the indices of refraction of the media.
- Identify conditions under which total internal reflection will occur.
College Board Learning Objectives
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.CB.6.E.3.1: The student is able to describe models of light traveling across a boundary from one transparent material to another when the speed of propagation changes, causing a change in the path of the light ray at the boundary of the two media. [SP1.1, 1.4]
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.CB.6.E.3.2: The student is able to plan data collection strategies as well as perform data analysis and evaluation of the evidence for finding the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction for light crossing boundaries from one transparent material to another (Snell’s law). [SP4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3]
Optics.Snell's-Law.LO.CB.6.E.3.3: The student is able to make claims and predictions about path changes for light traveling across a boundary from one transparent material to another at non-normal angles resulting from changes in the speed of propagation. [SP6.4, 7.2]
Enduring Understanding and Essential Knowledge
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Enduring Understanding |
Essential Knowledge |
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Optics.Index-Refraction.EU.CB.6.E: The direction of propagation of a wave such as light may be changed when the wave encounters an interface between two media. |
Optics.Index-Refraction.EK.CB.6.E.3: When light travels across a boundary from one transparent material to another, the speed of propagation changes. At a non-normal incident angle, the path of the light ray bends closer to the perpendicular in the optically slower substance. This is called refraction.
Relevant Equations: $n =\frac{c}{v}$ $n_{1}\sin \theta_{1} = n_{2}\sin \theta_{2}$ |
Assumptions
Describe what the assumptions are and why they're important
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History
History
Physics Fun
Fun stuff
Kitty learns about refraction through experiment.
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