SCIENCE 10 – LESSON GUIDE 7 – TERM 1
APEC SCHOOLS
SY: 2018 – 2019; TERM 1
SCIENCE 10
LESSON HANDOUT # 6: Optics (Refraction)
Name: ____________________________________
Grade | Section: ____________________________
Learning Objectives
• Apply the laws of refraction to describe the angle
of refraction formed by different materials;
• Define refractive index of a medium in terms of
ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to that in a
medium; and
• Use refraction to explain daily phenomena and
applications of it.
Refraction is the bending of light rays when they
travel from one material to another. Refraction only
occurs when light passes through the two materials
that have different densities.
Figure 1. Refraction of light
PARTS OF A RAY DIAGRAM
Medium 1 – air (less dense)
Medium 2 – glass (more dense)
Normal – line perpendicular to the surface or point of
incidence (Line N)
Incident ray – light ray entering medium 1 (Point A to
Point O)
Refracted ray – light ray leaving medium 1 (Point O
to Point B)
Angle of incidence – angle from the incident ray to
the normal (<I )
Angle of refraction – angle from the refracted ray to
the normal (< r)
REFRACTIVE INDEX
Refractive index (n) is defined as the ratio of the
speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in the
medium. Refractive index depends on the material
or medium.
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Date: _____________________________
Refractive index can be defined mathematically as:
𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
=
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙
The speed of light in vacuum is constant which is
300 000 000 m/s.
Remember: The higher the value of the refractive
index of a medium, the slower the light travels.
For light travelling from vacuum (a material where
there is no particle) to any other material (optical
medium), the constant ratio sin i/sin r is also known
as the index of refraction of the material. To
determine the refractive index of a material we use
the formula:
sin 𝑖
𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 =
sin 𝑟
Where; i = is the angle of incidence in vacuum
r= is the angle of refraction
This relationship is known as Snell’s law. Snell’s
law is a formula that illustrated the relationship
between the angle of incidence and refraction.
LAWS OF REFRACTION
1. First law of refraction states that the incident
ray, the normal and the refracted ray all lie in the
same plane.
2. Second law of refraction or Snell’s Law states
that for two given media, the ratio of the sine of
the angle of incidence I to the sine of the angle
of refraction r is a constant.
 SCIENCE 10 – LESSON GUIDE 7 – TERM 1

Figure 2. Laws of refraction

• The incident light ray bends toward the

normal when it enters an optically denser
medium at an angle which forms the
refracted light ray.
• The incident light ray bends away from
the normal when it enters an optically less
dense medium at an angle which forms the
refracted light ray.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
http://www.madeiracityschools.org/userfiles/391/Clas
ses/33397/Snells%20Law%20Worksheet%20and%2
0answers.pdf

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