Question

The swimming pool appears to be less deep than it actually is. Which of the following phenomenon is responsible for this?

Answer 1

When we look into a pool of water, we do not see the actual depth of the pool. We see a virtual image of the bottom of the pool. This is because, light rays from the bottom of the pool are bent away from the normal as they pass from water into the air (beacuse air is the rarer medium and water is the denser medium). This phenomenon is called the refraction of light. Due to this, the image of the bottom of the pool seems nearer to us and the pool appears less deep as shown in the figure.