alleryStart learning →What is refraction?
AChange of a ray's direction on passing through matter
BBouncing of a ray back from a polished surface
CSplitting of white light into separate colours
DComplete absorption of light in a dense solid
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Change of a ray's direction on passing through matter
1. Refraction is the changing of a light ray's direction, loosely called bending, when it passes through variations in matter.
2. It is what makes a fish in a tank appear to sit in a different place from where it really is.
3. Bouncing back from a polished surface is reflection, a different process governed by its own law.
4. Splitting white light into colours is dispersion, which is one consequence of refraction rather than its definition.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 25 "Geometric Optics", section 25.3 The Law of Refraction_
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