A straight glass rod appears to bend when placed in a beaker of water. What is the best explanation for this phenomenon?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: A straight glass rod appears to bend when placed in a beaker of water. What is the best explanation for this phenomenon?

Option 1: Light is reflected at the air-water interface.
This option suggests reflection is the primary cause of the apparent bending. While some light is indeed reflected at the boundary between air and water, the bending perception is not due to reflection alone; reflection would cause a change in brightness or a faint mirror-like effect, but not a lateral change in the apparent direction of the rod. The key observable—changing the apparent straight rod to a bent shape—relies on a change in the path of light entering and leaving the water, not simply bouncing off the surface.

Option 2: Light is refracted as it crosses the air-water interface.
This statement identifies refraction as the main mechanism. Refraction occurs because light travels at different speeds in air and in water, causing its path to bend at the interface according to Snell's law. When the rod is viewed through the water, the light rays change direction as they exit the water into air (or vice versa), leading to an apparent shift in the rod’s position and a bent appearance. This explanation aligns with the standard explanation for why objects submerged in a medium with a different optical density appear displaced.

Option 3: The water is warmer than the air.
Temperature differences between water and air could affect convection or density in macroscopic contexts, but temperature alone does not cause the optical distortion of the rod’s appearance. The bending effect is an optical phenomenon explained by changes in light speed and direction, not by thermal gradients in this setup.

Option 4: Light travels faster in water than in air.
This statement is factually incorrect for light in common mediums: light travels faster in air than in water. Since the speed is actually lower in water, assuming this option would contradict the fundamental basis for refraction. Misstating the relative speeds leads to an incorrect mechanism for the observed bending.

In summary, the observed apparent bending is best explained by refraction at the air-water interface, which alters the light’s path as it moves between media with different refractive indices. The other options either describe secondary or incorrect effects (reflection without causing the bending, thermal factors irrelevant to the optical path, or incorrect speed relations) that do not account for why the rod looks bent when viewed through water.

A straight glass rod appears to bend when placed in a beaker of water. What is the best explanation for this phenomenon?

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