IB MYP 4-5 Physics | Waves |Wave phenomena including refection, refraction, diffraction Practice Question

Ans:

When light passes from one medium to another, such as from air to water or from air to glass, it undergoes refraction. Refraction occurs because light travels at different speeds in different mediums.

If a ray of light passes from a medium with a lower refractive index to a medium with a higher refractive index, such as from air to water, the ray bends toward the normal line, perpendicular to the surface of the medium. This bending of the light ray toward the normal is known as “towards normal” refraction.

The phenomenon of refraction and the direction of bending depend on the relative refractive indices of the two mediums involved. The angle at which the light ray bends depends on the incident angle and the refractive indices of the mediums.

It’s important to note that the bending of light towards the normal occurs when light travels from a medium with a lower refractive index to a medium with a higher refractive index. If the situation is reversed, and light travels from a medium with a higher refractive index to a medium with a lower refractive index, the light ray would bend away from the normal, known as “away from normal” refraction.

So we can see ray is bending towards normal after each refraction , means they are going in to higher refractive index. $\rm{Air<water<glass}$