How does light bend when it passes through different materials?

Light bends when it passes through different materials because it changes speed, just like a toy car that slows down or speeds up depending on what surface it’s rolling on.

Imagine light is like a toy car, zooming along the floor. If it goes from a smooth tile to a soft rug, it might slow down and change direction. That’s refraction, when light bends because it changes speed in different materials.

When light moves from one material into another, say from air into water or glass, its speed changes, which makes it change direction. Think of it like a car moving from a highway to a gravel road, the wheels on one side might slow down first, making the whole car turn.

You can see this when you look at a straw in a glass of water. The straw seems to bend where it meets the water, that’s refraction in action! It's not magic; it's just light changing direction as it moves from air into water, just like your toy car changes direction on different surfaces.