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Looking into a fish tank, the same fish can appear to be in two different places at once. What causes this?
ALight bends on leaving the tank, so two ray paths both reach the eye
BThe glass of the tank splits every ray into two identical copies
CThe water absorbs half of the light, creating a fainter duplicate
DThe fish itself reflects light twice before it leaves the tank
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: A. Light bends on leaving the tank, so two ray paths both reach the eye
1. Light coming from the fish changes direction when it leaves the tank and crosses from water into air.
2. Light rays travelling along two different paths both reach the observer's eye, each appearing to come from a slightly different place.
3. This double appearance is caused by refraction at the water to air boundary, not by the glass splitting the ray or the fish reflecting twice.
_Source: OpenStax Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 16 "Mirrors and Lenses", section 16.2 Refraction_
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