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SREE NARAYANA PUBLIC SCHOOL
VADAKKEVILA, KOLLAM-10
(Affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education, New Delhi)
PHYSICS PROJECT WORK
NAME : Catherine Maria Joseph
CLASS : XII
BATCH : A
ROLL NO. : 23
ADMISSION NO : 11754
YEAROF STUDY : 2023-24
REGISTER NO :
Valued by Certified Bonafide Teacher in Charge
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Certificate
This is to certify that: Catherine Maria Joseph of Class: XII has
successfully completed her physics project on the topic
“Refractive Index of Various Liquids Using Hollow Prism” during
the academic year 2023-24 as per the guidelines issued by the
Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
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Acknowledgement
It is with great pleasure that I use this opportunity to thank everyone who
has helped me complete this project. I would like to extend my respect and
gratitude to our beloved principal Sri [Link] sir for his guidance. I
thank my Physics teachers Ms. Anju Gopi ma’am and Ms. Sona Babu ma’am
for their constant support and guidance throughout this project. I extend
my sincere thanks to the lab assistants for helping us with the project. And
last but not the least, I thank my parents and friends for helping me
complete this project.
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Index
Sl. No Content Page No.
1. Certificate 2
2. Acknowledgement 3
3. Aim 5
4. Apparatus 5
5. Theory 6
6. Procedure 7
7. Observation 8
8. Calculation 9
9. Result 9
10. Precautions 10
11. Bibliography 11
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Aim
To find out the refractive indices of different liquids using a hollow prism
Apparatus
Hollow glass prism
Various liquids like water, ethyl alcohol.
Bell pins
Drawing board
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Theory
A prism is a transparent optical element with flat
polished surfaces that refract light. Prisms can
be made from any material that is transparent,
including glass, Perspex, fluorite, and plastic. A
prism can be used to split light up into its
constituent colours. Prisms can also be used to
reflect light, using the principle of total internal reflection, or to split light
up into components having different polarizations (Nicol prism).
The refractive index of the liquid is given by the formula:
n = sin i/sin r = sin [(a+d)/2]/sin [a/2]
Where,
n = refractive index of the liquid
i = angle of incidence
d = angle of minimum deviation
r = angle of refraction
a = angle of prism
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Procedure
Fix a white sheet of paper on the drawing board with the help of
drawing pins
Keep the prism, and mark its boundary, by ABC.
Draw a normal PQ on the side AB
Draw the incident ray with angle of incidence in accordance with the
normal PQ and place 2 pins on the incident ray, so that they are in a
straight line
Place the prism filled with liquid on marked outline ABC
Now view the first two pins through side, AC, and place two more
pins in such a way that all four pins appear to be in the same straight
line.
Remove the prism, and join the impressions.
Label the diagram and shown
Repeat for all liquids with multiple angles of incidence.
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Observation
1. Water
Sl. No Angle of Prism Angle of incidence Angle of deviation (d)
(a) (i)
1. 60 35 22
2. 60 40 20
3. 60 45 22
4. 60 50 25
5. 60 55 28
2. Ethyl Alcohol
Sl. No Angle of Prism Angle of incidence Angle of deviation (d)
(a) (i)
1. 60 35 26
2. 60 40 25
3. 60 45 25
4. 60 50 26
5. 60 55 27
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Calculation
1. Water
n = sin[(60+22)/2]/sin[60/2]
= 1.306
2. Ethyl Alcohol
n = sin[(60+26)/2]/sin[60/2]
= 1.34
Result
1. Water
a. Experimental: 1.306
b. Actual: 1.33
2. Ethyl alcohol
a. Experimental: 1.36
b. Actual: 1.34
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Precautions
Angle of incidence should lie between 35 – 60 degrees.
Pins should be vertically fixed and should be in a straight line.
Distance between two points should not be less than 1 cm.
Same angle of prism should be used for all observations.
Arrow heads should be marked to represent emergent and incident
ray.
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Bibliography
1. NCERT Physics Part II – Ray Optics and Optical Instruments
2. [Link]