After hitting the ball into a water trap, a golfer looks into the pond and spies the ball within apparent easy reach. Reaching in to retrieve the ball, the golfer is surprised to find that it cannot be grasped even with a fully extended arm. Explain why the golfer was deceived into thinking that the location of the ball was close at hand.

Answer: The difficulty in reaching the ball underwater is due to the refraction of light. When the golfer looks at the ball, the light rays from the ball pass through two different media (water and air), causing the light to bend (refract) and subsequently altering the ball's perceived position. According to Snell's Law, the light bends away from the normal when exiting the water, resulting in the angle of refraction being larger than the angle of incidence. The golfer's brain interprets these refracted light rays as having traveled in a straight line, causing them to perceive the ball to be closer to the surface than it actually is. This misinterpretation makes it challenging for the golfer to grasp the ball, even with a fully extended arm.