Angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the behavior of light rays as they interact with mirrors and different materials, specifically focusing on angles of incidence, reflection, and refraction, as well as the calculation of the index of refraction for quartz.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between the angles of incidence and reflection, questioning the correctness of calculated angles and the application of Snell's law for refraction. There is discussion about the index of refraction for air and quartz, and participants clarify their understanding of the necessary values for calculations.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing feedback on each other's reasoning and calculations. Some have reached a clearer understanding of the index of refraction, while others are still exploring the implications of different types of quartz on the calculations.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of varying indices of refraction for different types of quartz, which may affect the calculations being discussed. The original poster's assumptions about the context of the problem are also questioned.

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A ray of light strikes a mirror at an angle of 53 degrees to the normal.

A) what is the angle of reflection?
Ans: 53 degrees

B) what is the angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray?
Ans: 53+53 = 106 degrees

C) A ray of light has an angle of incidence of 30 degres on a block of quartz and an angle of refraction of 20 degrees. What is the index of refraction for this block of quartz?
Ans: Nr = (1.54) (sin 30) / (sin20) = 2.25

are the above answers correct?

thanks
 
Last edited:
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Where did the 1.54 com from in:?
"Nr = (1.54) (sin 30) / (sin20) = 2.25"
Is the light ray in air before it hits the quartz? I am assuming so. So one of your indexes of refraction in the above equation should be 1 since 1 is the index of refraction of air.
 
but... don't i have to specify the index of refraction of quartz which is 1.54... i don't see where the index of refraction of air would fit in..

EDIT: nevermind figured it out... so basically it'll be Nr= sin 30/sin20?
 
Last edited:
Yes that looks good with the edit
 
great.. thanks much :)
 
No problem and thank you for the response at the end it is nice to know that I helped.
 
jai6638 said:
but... don't i have to specify the index of refraction of quartz which is 1.54... i don't see where the index of refraction of air would fit in..

EDIT: nevermind figured it out... so basically it'll be Nr= sin 30/sin20?

The problem ASKED for the index of refraction of quartz! Actually there are different kinds of quartz that have slightly varying indices of refraction. Since sin(30)/sin(20)= 1.46, that's not too far off your value.
 
Yeah I looked it up. It think this type of quartz is Fused quartz, do either of you know the difference between fused quartz and just plain old quartz?
 

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