Is it true that the refraction (bending) of light causes straws in the glass of water to appear broken or bent at the water's surface?

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True

False

answer is A.

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Detailed Solution

The above statement is true.
When a ray of light goes from one medium to another, its speed gets changed due to the different optical densities of the medium. When the ray of light enters an optically denser medium, its speed gets reduced. Due to this, it gets slightly bent towards the normal and its opposite is also true when light enters an optically rarer medium. It gets bent away from the normal. When light rays from the immersed part of the straw enter the air, it moves slightly away from the normal. Thus the straw appears to be broken.
Optical illusions often occur due to mistaken judgments or errors in vision. As the sun's rays pass through rain, the droplets separate (refract) the white light into its component colours.

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