ExpertHard6 marksExtended Response
AQA GCSE · Question 08.2 · Waves
Describe a method the student could have used to obtain the data in Table 1. You may include a labelled diagram.
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Table 1 shows the results:
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Angle of incidence (degrees): 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60
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Angle of refraction (degrees): 6, 12, 18, 23, 28, 32
Describe a method the student could have used to obtain the data in Table 1. You may include a labelled diagram.
<br><br>
Table 1 shows the results:
<br>
Angle of incidence (degrees): 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60
<br>
Angle of refraction (degrees): 6, 12, 18, 23, 28, 32
How to approach this question
This question requires a step-by-step description of a standard physics practical. Structure your answer logically.
- **Equipment:** What do you need? (e.g., glass block, paper, ray box, protractor, ruler).
- **Setup:** How do you set it up? (e.g., draw around the block).
- **Procedure:** What do you do? (e.g., shine a ray, mark its path).
- **Measurements:** What do you measure and how? (e.g., use a protractor to measure angles relative to the normal).
- **Control/Repetition:** How do you get a range of results? (e.g., change the angle of incidence).
Full Answer
**Method:**
1. Place a glass block on a piece of paper and draw around it.
2. Use a ray box to shine a single ray of light at an angle to the side of the block.
3. Use a pencil to mark the path of the incident ray and the emergent ray.
4. Remove the block and use a ruler to draw in the path of the ray inside the block, connecting the entry and exit points.
5. At the point where the ray enters the block, use a protractor to draw a normal line (a line at 90° to the surface).
6. Measure the angle of incidence (the angle between the incident ray and the normal).
7. Measure the angle of refraction (the angle between the refracted ray inside the block and the normal).
8. Repeat the experiment for a range of different angles of incidence (e.g., from 10° to 60°).
**Diagram:**
A simple diagram showing a glass block, incident ray, refracted ray, emergent ray, the normal, and the angles of incidence and refraction correctly labelled.
This experiment investigates how light bends (refracts) when it enters a denser medium (glass) from a less dense medium (air).
1. **Setup:** A rectangular glass block is placed on a sheet of plain paper and its outline is traced.
2. **Incident Ray:** A ray box is used to shine a narrow beam of light towards one of the long sides of the block. The path of this incoming (incident) ray is marked with two pencil dots.
3. **Emergent Ray:** The path of the ray coming out of the opposite side (the emergent ray) is also marked with two dots.
4. **Tracing Rays:** The block is removed. A ruler is used to join the dots to show the incident and emergent rays. The entry and exit points on the block outline are then joined to show the path of the refracted ray inside the glass.
5. **Normal and Angles:** At the point where the light ray entered the block, a normal is drawn (a line perpendicular to the surface of the block). A protractor is then used to measure the angle of incidence (i) between the incident ray and the normal, and the angle of refraction (r) between the refracted ray and the normal.
6. **Repetition:** The process is repeated for several different angles of incidence to obtain a set of results like those in Table 1.
Common mistakes
✗ Forgetting to draw the normal and measuring angles from the surface of the block instead.\n✗ Not being specific about what equipment to use (e.g., saying "a light" instead of "a ray box").\n✗ Describing a reflection experiment instead of a refraction experiment.
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