Physics
A fish is looking at a 1.0 m high plant at the edge of a pond. Will the plant appear to the fish shorter or taller than its actual height? Draw a ray diagram to support your answer.
Refraction Plane Surfaces
54 Likes
Answer
When a fish is looking at a 1.0 m high plant at the edge of the pond, it appears to be taller than its actual height due to the refraction of the light rays travelling from one medium to another.
When the fish is looking at the plant, as air is a rarer medium in comparison to water, the ray OP will bend away from the normal while emerging out from the water to air.
But, when we extend the ray it appears to be coming from a higher point.
Hence, the plant will look taller than its actual height.
Answered By
34 Likes
Related Questions
A student puts his pencil into an empty trough and observes the pencil from the position as indicated in the figure.
(i) What change will be observed in the appearance of the pencil when water is poured into the trough?
(ii) Name the phenomenon which accounts for the above-started observation.
(iii) Complete the diagram showing how the student’s eye sees the pencil through water.
Water in a pond appears to be only three-quarters of its actual depth.
(a) What property of light is responsible for this observation? Illustrate your answer with the help of a ray diagram.
(b) How is the refractive index of water calculated from its real and apparent depths?
Draw a ray diagram to show the appearance of a stick partially immersed in water. Explain your answer.
A tank of water is viewed normally from above.
(a) State how does the depth of tank appears to change.
(b) Draw a labelled ray diagram to explain your answer.