MCAT Question A Day - 9/5/13 - Answer!
White light incident on an air/glass interface is split into a spectrum within the glass. Which statement is most accurate?
A. Red light has the greatest angle of refraction.
B. Violet light has the greatest angle of refraction.
C. Yellow light has the greatest angle of refraction.
D. The color with the greatest angle of refraction cannot be determined from the information given.
The correct answer is (B). The higher frequency of a light sample, the greater its energy and the faster its speed through any medium. From Snell’s law the velocity and sin(theta) with respect to the normal are inversely proportional. Of the choices, violet light has the highest frequency and, therefore, the highest velocity, and, therefore, the greatest angle of refraction.
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