Question: Suppose you have sunlight shining on two clear containers of water on a table. Light waves refract through one of the containers but diffract around the other container. Describe how the two containers are different.
A link would be useful too, or a website!
(I have to write three lines, it's not a lot)
Please help me! I'm in 8th grade. Something simple, my book doesn't have the answers and all I the help I have found has a too high level.
the one that is diffracting means that the waves are bending around the object, and the one that is refracting
is bending the wave because of the change of speed
how are you
The question (Glencoe P Science) is silly. It is an inference question without backup understanding.
Wondering if one of the containers has sharp edges.
neap thats the answer. thank me later
To understand how light waves refract through one container and diffract around the other, we need to know the basic principles of refraction and diffraction. Refraction occurs when light waves bend as they pass from one medium to another, such as from air to water. This bending is due to the change in speed of light as it enters a different medium. On the other hand, diffraction refers to the bending and spreading out of light waves when they encounter an obstacle or an edge.
In the case of the two containers, the one in which light waves refract is most likely made of a transparent material with parallel sides, such as glass, while the one in which light waves diffract is likely to have a rough or irregular surface, such as a frosted or textured glass.
For a more detailed explanation and visual examples, you can visit the following link:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/light-waves/introduction-to-light-waves/a/refraction-and-snell-s-law
This link is from Khan Academy, which offers educational resources for various subjects and different grade levels. It provides a comprehensive and easily understandable explanation of refraction and Snell's law, which is the mathematical relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction.