One bright summer day a swimmer is floating with her head just above the surface

Question

One bright summer day a swimmer is floating with her head just above the surface of a large, clear lake where the water has index of refraction n-1.41. She comes upon a tall wooden post emerging from the water, when she looks into the water at just the right angle she can see the bottom of the post, which is at a depth h 5.30 m below the water's surface. As she floats away from the post, eventually she can no longer see the bottom of it. At what distance d from the post does this occur? 5.271 m refracted rays reflected rays Submit Answer Incorrect. Tries 1/99 Previous Tries

Explanation / Answer

by using Snell's law,

n1*sin(theta1)=n2*sin(theta2)

1.41*sin(theta1)=1*sin(90)

===> theta1=45.17 degrees

and

tan(theta1)=d/h

tan(45.17)=d/5.3

==> d=5.33 m

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse O
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.