Snells Law Practice Problems

1. Light travels from crown glass (n=1.52) into air (n=1.00). The angle of refraction in
air is 60o. What is the angle of incidence in glass?
2. Light travels from crown glass (n=1.52) into water (n=1.33). The angle incidence in
crown glass is 40o. What is the angle of refraction in water?
3. If the index of refraction for diamond is 2.42, what will be the angle of refraction in
diamond for an angle of incidence, in water, of 60o?
4. A ray of light in air (n=1.00) strikes a block of quartz at an angle of incidence of 30o.
The angle of refraction of refraction is 20o. What is the index of refraction of the
quartz?
5. Light travels from air (n=1.00) into water (n=1.33). If the angle of refraction is 30o,
what is the angle of incidence?
6. A ray of light passes from air (n=1.00) into water (n=1.33) at an angle of incidence of
50o. What is the angle of refraction?
7. One ray of light in air (n=1.00) strikes a diamond (n=2.42) and another strikes a
piece of fused quartz (n=1.46), in each case at an angle of incidence of 40o. What is
the difference between the angles of refraction?
8. A light ray travelling through air has an angle of 39o. The light then enters into
another medium at an angle of 28o.
a. On the diagram below draw how light travels through the air into the unknown
medium. (Use a protractor to help you do this question).

air
unknown medium

b. On the diagram above label which medium is more dense and which is less
dense.
c. Calculate the index of refraction for the unknown medium.
d. What is the unknown medium?
9. A ray of light strikes a block of polyethylene (n=1.50) with angles of incidence of
(a) 0o (b) 30o (c) 60o. Determine the angle of refraction in each case.
10. A ray of light passes from water (n=1.33) into carbon disulphide (n=1.63) with an
angle of incidence of 30o. What is the angle of refraction in the carbon disulphide?