Experiment 1

Aim

To trace the path of a ray of light incident normally on one of the

refracting faces equilateral prism and to measure the angle of
deviation .

Apparatus Required

Equilateral glass prism ,few sheets of white paper, drawing board

drawing pencil, protractor ,etc.

Theory

Prism: A prism is a wedged shaped portion of a transparent medium

bounded by two plane surfaces each other at a suitable angle. These
surfaces are called the refracting surfaces and angle between them is
as the angle of prism.

Critical Angle (i): The angle of incidence in denser medium for which
the angle of refraction in rarer medium is 90° is called the critical angle
of the denser medium.

The critical angle for refraction from glass to air is about 42° and that
from water to air is 48°.

Total Internal Reflection (TIR): When a ray of light travelling from

denser medium to rarer me incident at the interface of two medium at
an angle greater than the critical angle for the two medis, the totally
reflected back to denser medium. This phenomenon is called Total
Internal Reflection (TIR).

Hence, the conditions for total internal reflection are:

(a) The light should travel from denser to the rarer medium.

(b) Angle of incidence should be greater (not equal) than critical angle,

When a ray of light is incident normally on the surface of a prism the

light ray may be totally reflected back into the prism from the second
face, if the angle of incidence inside the prism is greater critical angle
of the prism.

Procedure:

1. Fix a white sheet on the drawing board using pins.

 2. Place the equilateral glass prism on the sheet and trace its outline
as triangle ABC.

3. Mark a point P on face AB and draw a normal to the surface at P.

4. Draw the incident ray along the normal line so it is perpendicular to

face AB.

5. Fix two pins along this incident ray to guide the light path.

6. Place the prism back in position using the outline and observe the
emergent ray.

7. Inside the prism, the ray travels in a straight line and strikes face AC
at an angle of 60° (internal angle).

8. Since this angle is greater than the critical angle (~42° for glass),
the ray undergoes Total Internal Reflection.

9. The reflected ray then travels towards face BC, where it emerges
out.

10. Use two more pins to trace the emerging ray. Remove the prism
and join the rays to complete the path.

Result:

The path of the light ray is successfully traced.

It is observed that even at normal incidence, the light ray undergoes

Total Internal Reflection inside an equilateral prism due to the prism’s
internal geometry.

Precautions :

1. Use a sharp pencil to trace the outlines and rays for

accuracy.

2. Ensure the incident ray is exactly normal (perpendicular) to face AB.

3. The prism must be placed accurately on its traced outline each time.

4. Use thin optical pins and view them in a straight line to see the ray
path properly.

…………………………………………………………

Experiment 2
Aim :

To trace the path of a single ray of light passing through a rectangular glass
slab, measure the angle of incidence, angle of refraction, and angle of
emergence. Also, measure the lateral displacement.

THEORY:

When a ray of light passes from one transparent medium to another

transparent medium it bends from it path. This phenomenon of bending of
ray or change in the direction of ray of light is called refraction of light.
Refraction occurs due to change of speed of light in different media .
Medium in which speed of light is more called optically rarer medium and the
medium in which speed of light is less is called optically denser medium

(1)When a ray of light travels from rarer to denser medium it bends

towards the normal
(2)When a ray of light travels from denser to rarer medium it bends away
from the normal

Lateral Displacement: The perpendicular distance between the emergent ray

and incident ray when the light passes out of a glass slab is referred to as
lateral displacement.

PROCEDURE

(a) Take a wooden board and fix a sheet of paper using thumb pins at the
corners,

(b) Keep the given rectangular glass slab and mark it boundary and name it
ABCD and remove the glass slab.

(c) Choose a point O on side AB and draw a perpendicular NM through it.

(d) Draw a line making an angle of 30° with normal ON. Mark this line as the
incident ray.

(e) Now carefully place the glass slab in the outline ABCD again.

(g) Fix two pins (P1, P2) on the incident ray with, the separation 4-6 cm. Now
looking from the opposite side CD of the glass slab, trace the position of
refracted images of pins P1 and P2 mark these position with Pins P3 and P4
respectively.

(h) It should be noted that all the pins should appear to be in a straight line.

(i) Now remove the glass slab and the pins and encircle each pin prick on the
sheet.

(j) Join the positions P3 and P4 and extend the ray upto the outline CD. Mark
this ray as the emergent ray.

(k) Join the points O and P. Line OP can also be referred to as the refracted
ray.

(. l) Now draw a perpendicular N 'M' to outline CD through point P.

(m) Now with the help of a protractor measure the angle of incidence, angle
of refraction and angle of emergence.

(n) Produce the incident ray and measure the perpendicular distance d',
which gives the lateral displacement

Result

1. Angle of emergence and angle of incidence are found to be

almost same.
2. Angle of incidence was found to be greater than angle of
refraction indicating that glass is denser than air.

Precautions:

(a) The glass slab should be placed within the outline marked.

(b) Pins should be fixed vertically.

(c) The foot of all the pins should be in one line when viewed through
the slab.

(d) The incident ray should be between 30° to 60°.

(e) The separation of the pins should be at least 4 to 6 cm.

………………………………

Experiment 3

Aim:

To find the focal length of a convex lens using the distant object method,
follow these steps:

Theory:

When a distant object (like the sun or a faraway building) is used, the rays
coming from it are considered parallel, and they converge at the focus of the
convex lens after refraction.

Apparatus Required:

Convex lens, Lens holder, Screen (like a white paper or screen mounted on a
stand) ,Measuring scale ,Distant object (like a tree or building at least 10
meters away)

Procedure:

1. Fix the convex lens vertically in the lens holder.

2. Place a screen behind the lens.

3. Face the lens toward a distant object (e.g., a tree or a far building).

4. Move the screen back and forth until a sharp and clear image of the
object is formed on the screen.
 5. Measure the distance between the lens and the screen. This distance is
approximately equal to the focal length of the lens.

Result:

The focal length of the given convex lens is……cm.

Precautions:

1. Place the lens vertically in the holder to avoid tilting and ensure accurate
focusing.

2. Use a distant object (at least 10 meters away) so that the rays are nearly
parallel.

3. Adjust the screen carefully to obtain a sharp and well-defined image.

4. Avoid parallax error while measuring the distance between the lens and
the screen.