Question

A fish is looking at a 1.0 m high plant at the edge of a pond. Will the plant appear to the fish shorter or taller than its actual height? Draw a ray diagram to support your answer.

Answer 1

The plant will look taller than its actual height.

Let the fish is looking from the point O. As the ray OP emerges out from water to air, it will bend away from the normal MN because air is a rarer medium in comparison of water. But if we extend ray OP then it will meet at Q due to which the plant AB will look taller than its actual height.