A ray of light traveling in air enters diamond (refractive index n = 2.42) at an angle of incidence of 30°. What is the angle of refraction inside the diamond?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. 11.9°

  1. Step 1: Apply Snell's law: n1 sin(theta1) = n2 sin(theta2).
  2. Step 2: Here n1 = 1.00 (air), theta1 = 30°, n2 = 2.42 (diamond).
  3. Step 3: sin(theta2) = (1.00 * sin(30°)) / 2.42 = 0.50 / 2.42 = 0.2066.
  4. Step 4: Compute arcsin(0.2066): theta2 = arcsin(0.2066) approx 11.93°.
Answer
11.9°.
Why not the others: '18.5°' uses n = 1.58; '24.2°' confuses refractive index with degrees; '15.0°' simply halves the incident angle.

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