Question

A pencil when dipped in water in a glass tumbler appears to be at the interface of air and water. Will the pencil appear to be bent to the same extent, if instead of water we use liquids like, kerosene or turpentine. support your answer with reason​

Answer 1

Answer:

A pencil when dipped in water in a glass tumbler appears to be bent at the interface of air and water due to phenomenon of refraction of light. ... Hence, pencil will appear to be bent more or less depending on the refractive index of the medium

Explanation:

When a pencil is kept in a glass tumbler of water, it appears bent due to refraction of light. When a ray of light travels from a rarer medium(air) to a denser medium(water) it bends towards the normal. Thus, the pencil appears bent.

However, if the pencil is kept inside turpentine or kerosene the bending is not the same as water since it is less dense than water(refractive index of kerosene is greater than water)

The refraction of light occurs because the speed of light changes when light travels from one medium to another. Therefore, the pencil will not appear to be bent to the same extent, when it is dipped in kerosene or turpentine. This is because refractive index of kerosene or turpentine is different than the refractive index of water and hence speed of light will be different in kerosene than that in water