Physics WebAssign Ch23 #11

For more Chapter 22 physics problems, see:

A cubical block of ice 51.0 cm on an edge is placed on a level floor over a speck of dust. Locate the image of the speck, when viewed from directly above, if the index of refraction of ice is 1.309.
_____cm below the upper surface of the ice

There is a small mistake in this video:
-- starting at 1:56, I begin to write the final equation in general form.

In the video, I wrote:
-(n1 X P)/n2 = q
The answer should be:
-(n2 X P)/n1 = 1
I reversed the position of n1 and n2.

Ultimately, whether you have n1 or n2 on top will depend on how you define each variable. You can see from the end of the film that I used the index of refraction for air as my n1 variable, but it should have been n2 is the index of refraction for air because the light has to travel through the ice first and then move into the air second.

Ultimately, the numerical answer given in the problem is correct, but if you are having problems with any given problem, this may be why.

[rachaelhaines]

Mike, for reference, this is problem #23:26 in Serway and Faughn physics book. Thanks for the example

[HAOTONGWANG-yzjb]

man， you got n1 and n2 the opposite way