The property of light that determines how much it bends when entering a new medium is its _______________.

The property of light that determines how much it bends when entering a new medium is its _______________.

• A. Speed
• B. Frequency
• C. Wavelength
• D. Amplitude

Answer: (C)

When light crosses into a different medium, its speed changes. That change in speed at the boundary makes the wavefront tilt and the light bend, which is refraction. The amount of bending depends on how much the speed changes between the two media (captured by Snell’s law, which relates the speeds or, equivalently, the refractive indices). The frequency stays the same across the boundary, so the wavelength must adjust in the new medium according to lambda = v/f. In other words, bending is governed by the speed in the media (or the refractive index), while the wavelength shifts because the speed changes but the frequency does not.

When light crosses into a different medium, its speed changes. That change in speed at the boundary makes the wavefront tilt and the light bend, which is refraction. The amount of bending depends on how much the speed changes between the two media (captured by Snell’s law, which relates the speeds or, equivalently, the refractive indices). The frequency stays the same across the boundary, so the wavelength must adjust in the new medium according to lambda = v/f. In other words, bending is governed by the speed in the media (or the refractive index), while the wavelength shifts because the speed changes but the frequency does not.