EXPERIMENT: LIGHT ANGLES When a wave encounters a new medium, two events may take place. The wave may reflect off the new medium, refract into the new medium, or have some combination of reflection and refraction. This lab will look at the laws that govern each possibility. OBJECTIVES Investigate the law of reflection. Investigate Snell's Law for refraction. Investigate the concept of total internal reflection. Observe, record, and describe incident angles and angles of refraction, angles of reflection, critical angles and index of refraction in different medium. The PhET® Simulation: Bending Light will be used to collect data. Click below to start the PhET® Simulation. PhET® is a registered trademark owned by the Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate, and is being used under license. Start by clicking on the Intro button. Start with mediums of air and water, with air on the top and water on the bottom. Turn the laser on by pushing the red button. Move the laser back and forth to get an idea of what is happening. Part I: Angle of Reflection Reflection is the bouncing of a wave off a medium interface. All angles are measured from a normal, which is a line perpendicular to the medium interface. In this part, you will compare the angle of the incidence to the angle of reflection – where both angles are measured from the normal. Drag the protractor from the left side and place it so its enter is where the normal and the medium interface cross. Move the laser to six different initial angles. Record the angle at which the light goes in, incident angle, and the angle at which the light reflects off, reflected angle. Record each angle pair in a data table. What do you notice about the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection? Explain your response. Do you believe this relationship between incident and reflected angles would occur even if the medium interface were curved, like a curved mirror? Justify your response. Part II: Refraction Refraction is the bending of a wave as it passes