An experiment on Refraction

Definition: Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed.

Materials needed:
Coin
Bowl
Water

Steps/Procedure:
First, put the bowl on a table and place the coin into the bowl. Make sure the coin is at the bottom of the bowl. Next, keep looking at the coin while moving backwards slowly until the coin is out of sight. Stand at the same position and get a person to pour water into the bowl.

Result:
One can see the coin at that position now (after adding water).

Explanation: As the water is poured into the bowl, the light is refracted. This made the image of the coin "move up" which enable our eyes to see the coin again, however, this image is virtual as it is not the actually coin we are seeing.

Picture of the diagram:


Reflections:
I chose to do this experiment as firstly, I am learning the topic of light and this is one of the components of it. This experiment is one of the many which show refraction of light but I feel that one would be able to understand the "secret" behind refraction of light best through this simple experiments. I have also seen question on this experiment coming out in my practice papers, thus I was inspired to do this experiment. After doing this experiment, I indeed understand this topic better.

Image from:http://www.wisedude.com/science_engineering/refraction_light.htm