In the present work we discuss the approach used by some high school physics textbooks about the phenomenon of light refraction. In the introductory chapters to the refraction of light, images of objects partially immersed in containers filled with water are presented ”broken” and, in some cases, ”separated”, when viewed laterally. Besides characterizing the textbooks within a set of established criteria, we also present an experimental proposal with the intention of deepening the discussion about the theme. Using the Snell-Descartes law, we show measures related to the positions of images formed from a straw partially immersed in different water levels for two types of containers: one of circular base and another rectangular.
Keywords:
refraction; optics; physics teaching