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GCSE Combined Science · key term
The angle between the incoming ray and the normal.
Used by AQA and Edexcel
Specification 6.6.2.2 · Paper 6
Revise: Electromagnetic Wave Properties and RefractionThe angle of incidence is between the incoming ray and the normal. The angle of refraction is between the refracted ray and the normal.
Paper 5, Paper 6
The angle between an incoming ray and the normal at a boundary.
Revise: Electromagnetic waves in matter and the refraction core practicalKeep the material and block the same while changing the entry angle. This allows you to investigate how angle of refraction depends on angle of incidence, rather than mixing the effects of angle and material.
Measure angles from the normal, not from the surface. A ray meeting the surface at right angles has an angle of incidence of 0°.
For the core practical graph, put angle of incidence on the horizontal axis and angle of refraction on the vertical axis. Plot both directions on the same axes and draw separate smooth curves of best fit.
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