The bending of light as it passes through a prism is called:

## The reasoning When white light enters a prism, it doesn't just bend — it **splits into its component colors** (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). This splitting happens because different colors of light have different wavelengths and travel at slightly different speeds through glass. Each color bends by a different amount. This separation of white light into its spectrum of colors is called **dispersion**. Think of a rainbow from a prism — that's dispersion in action! ## Why the wrong options tempt you **Refraction (B)** is super tempting because light *does* refract (bend) when entering the prism. But refraction is just the bending at one surface — dispersion is the *result* of different refractions for different colors. **Reflection (A)** means bouncing back, like a mirror. Light doesn't bounce back through a prism. **Diffraction (C)** is bending around obstacles or through slits — not what happens inside a prism. ## Quick takeaway **Refraction makes light bend; dispersion makes it spread into colors** — a prism does both, but the question asks about the colorful splitting, which is dispersion.