What Do You See?

We used a pencil in a jar filled half-way with water during Science instruction today, as students learned that light rays bend when passing from one substance to another (light refraction).

The pencil appears to be broken because the light returning from the parts of the pencil below the water bends when it hits the water surface. The side of the pencil not in the water is seen from a different direction. Thus, the pencil appears to be broken.