Question

A pencil when dipped in water in a glass tumbler, appears to be bent at the interface of air and water. Will the pencil appear to be bent to the same extent, if instead of water we use liquids like, kerosene or turpentine. Support your answer with reason.

Answer 1

No. Bending will be different in different liquids since velocity of light at the interface separating two media depends on the relative refractive index of the medium. A substance having higher refractive index is optically denser than another substance having lower refractive index. Thus higher the refractive index of a substance, more it will change the direction of a beam of light passing through it.