Help on optics problems please they are due tonight

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around optics problems involving light reflection and refraction. Participants are addressing specific scenarios involving mirrors and prisms, with angles of incidence and refraction being key elements of the problems presented.

Discussion Character

  • Mixed

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to solve problems related to light reflection off mirrors and refraction through a prism, but expresses difficulty with the angles involved. Some participants question the interpretation of angles, particularly in relation to the normal and the setup of the mirrors.

Discussion Status

Participants have provided guidance on applying Snell's law and the law of reflection. There is acknowledgment of the original poster's attempts and corrections, but no explicit consensus on the final solutions has been reached.

Contextual Notes

There are indications of potential misunderstandings regarding angle measurements and the application of optics principles. The original poster has noted incorrect answers and has been encouraged to show their work for better assistance.

supermenscher
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help on optics problems...please...they are due tonight!

Two mirrors meet at an 125 degree angle. If light rays strike one mirror at 125 degrees, what angle do they leave the second mirror? I got 5 degrees and I tried negative 5 degrees, but both of those answers are wrong.

A diver shines a flashlight upward from beneath the water at a 47.5 degree angle to the vertical. At what angle does the light leaver the water. I got 71.5 degrees, and that answer was incorrect.

LIght is incident on an equlateral crown glass prism at a 42 degree angle to the normal on one face. Calculate the angle at which light emerges from the oppoiste face. Assume n = 1.56. I tried this problem twice, and got two wrong answers.

Can someone please help me :)
 
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supermenscher said:
Two mirrors meet at an 125 degree angle. If light rays strike one mirror at 125 degrees, what angle do they leave the second mirror? I got 5 degrees and I tried negative 5 degrees, but both of those answers are wrong.
I assume you are talking about plane mirrors? If so, I understand what "meeting at 125 degrees" probably means. But what does light striking at 125 degrees mean? Usually the angle is given with respect to the normal, thus can only go as high as 90 degrees.

A diver shines a flashlight upward from beneath the water at a 47.5 degree angle to the vertical. At what angle does the light leaver the water. I got 71.5 degrees, and that answer was incorrect.
Apply Snell's law of refraction. You mixed up the indices of refraction for air and water.

LIght is incident on an equlateral crown glass prism at a 42 degree angle to the normal on one face. Calculate the angle at which light emerges from the oppoiste face. Assume n = 1.56. I tried this problem twice, and got two wrong answers.
Apply Snell's law of refraction and some triangle geometry.
 
Sorry I made a typo, the light ray strikes one mirror at 40 degrees
 
Thanks for your help doc al
 
All three solved correctly?
 
Yes, I followed the formulas given and plugged in the numbers
 
I got the other 2 right, but I still can't get the first one with the mirrors and angle. Thank you for you help so far
 
It's probably too late for your deadline, but the first one is just the law of reflection (\theta_i = \theta_r) with a little triangle geometry thrown in.
 
thank u doc al
 

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