Class 10 Physics simulations · Light – Reflection and Refraction

Real and apparent depth

Look straight down into a pool. Refraction makes the coin on the bottom appear raised.

Open the simulation

What to notice

Light bends away from the normal as it leaves the water, so the eye traces it back to a shallower point.

Key relation

apparent depth = real depth / n ; shift = d(1 − 1/n)

Try this

Try glass (1.5) and diamond (2.42) with the same depth.

What you can change

• Real depth: 0.2 to 3 m
• Refractive index: 1 to 2.42

More in Light – Reflection and Refraction

• Image in a concave mirror
• Two thin lenses in contact
• Refraction through a glass slab
• Image through a convex lens
• Images in two inclined mirrors
• Refraction and total internal reflection
• Spherical mirrors: ray diagram

See all Class 10 Physics simulations or every Physica simulation.