Consider the following statements : I. > If a person looks at a coin which is in a bucket of water, the coin will appear to be closer than it really is. II. > If a person under water looks at a coin above the water surface, the coin will appear to be at a

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Submitted by examrobotsa on

Q: 116 (IAS/1999)
Consider the following statements :
I. If a person looks at a coin which is in a bucket of water, the coin will appear to be closer than it really is.
II. If a person under water looks at a coin above the water surface, the coin will appear to be at a higher level than it really it.
Which of the above statements is/are correct ?

question_subject: 

Science

question_exam: 

IAS

stats: 

0,34,12,34,7,1,4

keywords: 

{'coin': [0, 3, 6, 4], 'higher level': [0, 1, 0, 0], 'water': [65, 15, 80, 129], 'bucket': [0, 1, 1, 1], 'water surface': [0, 1, 0, 1]}

Both the statements provided in the question deal with the concept of refraction, which is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.

Statement I: When a person looks at a coin in a bucket of water, it appears lifted due to refraction. The light rays from the coin are bent or refracted as they move from the water (a denser medium) into the air (a less dense medium) which makes the coin appear closer than it actually is.

Statement II: Conversely, if a person is underwater and looking at a coin above the water surface, the light rays from the coin travelling from air (less dense medium) to water (denser medium) undergo refraction, and the coin appears to be at a higher level than it actually is.

So, both statement I and statement II are correct, making option 1 (I and II) the right answer.