EXPERIMENT 1:

Aim
To determine the focal length of (i) concave mirror by obtaining the image of a distant object.

Theory
Focal length of Concave Mirror

 A spherical mirror, whose reflecting surface is curved inwards, that is, faces
towards the centre of the sphere, is called a concave mirror.
 A concave mirror, like a plane mirror, obeys the laws of reflection of light.
 The rays of light coming from a distant object such as the sun or a distant tree can
be considered parallel to each other.
 When parallel rays of light fall on a concave mirror along its axis, the rays meet at
a point in front of the mirror and the image formed of the object is real, inverted
and very small in size.
 As the image formed by concave lens is real it can be obtained on a screen.
 The distance between the principal axis P of the concave mirror and the focus F is
the focal length of the concave mirror. It is denoted by letter ‘f’.

Materials Required
A concave mirror, a measuring scale, a screen a mirror holder and mirror stand.

Procedure

1. Select a distant object from the laboratory window (distance should be more than
50 ft).
2. Fix the concave mirror on the mirror stand placed on the table, facing the distant
object.
3. Place the screen in front of the reflecting surface of the mirror. Move the screen
back and forth until a clear, sharp image of the distant object is obtained on the
screen.
4. Measure the distance between the concave mirror and the screen with a metre
scale. This distance is the focal length of the given concave mirror. Record the
focal length.
5. Repeat the above procedure twice and record the readings. Take three readings
and calculate the average focal length.
 DIAGRAM:

Observation Table

[Link] Position of concave

Position of screen (S) Focal length/ = (M – S) cm
. mirror (M)

1.

2.

3.

Calculation
Mean value of focal length of concave mirror = _________ cm

Result
The focal length of the given concave mirror = _______cm

Precautions
1. The distant object must be well illuminated to produce a well illuminated and
distinct image.
2. Always place the concave mirror near an open window.
3. The polished surface of the concave mirror must face the distant object.
4. There should be no obstacle or hurdle in the path of rays of light from the distant
object, incident on the concave mirror.
5. The base of the stands of the concave mirror and screen should be parallel to the
measuring scale.
6. The mirror holder along with the mirror should be kept perpendicular to the
measuring scale for precise measurements.
EXPERIMENT 2:

AIM:To determine focal length of a given convex mirror:

Materials Required
Wooden bench, convex lens, a lens holder, a screen fixed to a stand, a measuring scale; etc.

Procedure

1. Arrange the wooden bench capable of holding the lens and screen horizontally on
a table, so that the lens and screen are not disturbed.
2. Keep the lens in a holder facing a distant object say tree branches.
3. Fix the screen on another holder and keep it on the bench.
4. Adjust the position of the screen in such a way that a sharp image of the given
distant object falls on it.
5. Note down the position of the lens in the table and the screen, and find the
differences and record the same. The difference will give the focal length of the
given convex lens.
6. Focus the lens towards various distant objects and repeat the experiment to find
the position of sharp image and thereby the focal length.
7. Add all the focal lengths found out and find the mean value of the focal length of
the convex lens.

DIAGRAM:

Observation Table

[Link]. Position of convex lens (L) Position of screen (S) Focal length/= (L – S) cm

1.
 2.

3.

Calculation
Mean value of focal length of convex lens =

Result
The focal length of the given convex lens = _____ cm

Precautions

1. Convex lens should be placed vertically.

2. There should be no obstacle or hurdle in the path of rays of light from the distant
object incident on the common lens.
3. In order to get a well illuminated and distinct image, it must be ensured that the
distanct object is well illuminated.
4. The base of the stands of the convex lens and screen should be parallel to the
measuring scale.
EXPERIMENT 3:

Aim
To trace the path of a ray of light passing through a rectangular glass slab for different angles of
incidence. Measure the angle of incidence, angle of refraction, angle of emergence and
interpret the result.

Theory

 Refraction of Light: When light passes from one medium to other it

deviates/changes its path, this property of light is called refraction of light.
 Normal Ray: A ray of light which forms an angle of 90° with the refracting surface
is said to be normal. When a ray of light travels along the normal, it does not
suffer any refraction.
 Incident Ray: A ray of light that travels towards the refracting surface is called
incident ray.
 Refracted Ray: A ray of light that changes its path when passes through a
refracting surface is said to be refracted ray.

 Emergent Ray: A ray of light which emerges out into the original medium after
refraction is said to be an emergent ray.
 Lateral Displacement: The perpendicular shift in the path of light, seen when it
emerges out from the refracting medium is called lateral displacement.
 Angle of Incidence (i): The angle formed between the normal and incident ray is
called angle of incidence.
 Angle of Refraction (r): The angle formed between the refracted and normal ray is
called angle of refraction.
 Angle of Emergence (e): The angle formed between the normal and emergent ray
is called angle of emergence.
 DRAN: When a ray of light travels from denser medium to rarer medium it bends
away from the normal.
 RDTN: When a ray of light travels from rarer medium to denser medium, it bends
towards the normal.
 During Refraction:
(i) Angle of incidence = Angle of emergence.
(ii) Incident ray and emergent ray are parallel.
 Laws of Refraction:
(i) The incident ray, the normal ray and the refracted ray, all lie in the same plane.
(ii) The ratio of the sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is a
 constant quantity for the two given media. This law is also known as Snell’s law.
sin i/ sin r
This constant value is called the refractive index of the second medium with
respect to the first.

Materials Required
A drawing board, 4-6 all pins, white sheet of paper, rectangular glass slab, a protractor, a scale,
a pencil and thumb pins.

Procedure

1. Take a soft drawing board. Fix a white sheet on it with the help of thumb pins.
2. Place the rectangular glass slab in the centre of the white paper and draw its
outline boundary with pencil.
3. Mark this rectangular figure obtained as ABCD.
4. On one side of this figure, i.e., AB take one point E, draw a perpendicular EN and
label it as normal ray.
5. With the help of a protractor draw one angle of 30° with the EN. Fix two pins P
and Q on the ray of this angle, the distance between the pins should be more than
4-5 cm.
6. Put the glass slab on the rectangular figure ABCD.
7. See through the glass slab from side CD and fix pin R and S such that when seen
through the glass slab all
the pins lie in straight line, [i.e., Pins P, Q, R and S should lie in straight line when
seen through the glass slab], ‘
8. Now, remove the pins P, Q, R and S one by one and draw small circles around the
pin points.
9. Remove the glass slab.
10. Join points R and S such that it meets CD at point F.
Draw perpendicular to CD at point F as N’M’.
11. Join points E and F with the pencil.
12. Measure the angles formed at AB and CD, i.e., the incident angle, refracted angle
and emergent angle.
13. Extend ray PQ with scale and pencil in dotted line. It will be parallel to ray FRS.
The distance between these two parallel rays is called lateral displacement (d).
14. Measure the lateral displacement.
15. Repeat the above procedure for angles 45° and 60°.
 DIAGRAM

ABCD = Glass slab

P, Q, R, S = All pins ∠PEN = ∠i = incident angle = 30°

EN and FM’ = Normal rays

∠MEF = ∠r = refracted angle

∠SFM’= ∠e = emergent angle = 30° ~ 31°
d = lateral displacement.

Glass Slab Experiment Observations Table

∠i – ∠e
Angle of incidence
Angle of refraction Angle of emergence
[Link].
∠r = ∠MEF ∠e = ∠SFM’ ∠PEN – ∠SFM’
∠i = ∠PEN

1. 30°

2. 45°

3. 60°
Conclusion

1. The angle of incidence is nearly equal to the angle of emergence.

2. The angle of refraction is less than angle of incidence because light is travelling
from rarer to denser optical medium.
3. The lateral displacement remains the same for different angles of incidences.
4. When the light ray travels from optically rarer medium (air) to optically denser
medium (glass) the light bends towards the normal.

Precautions

1. The glass slab should be perfectly rectangular with all its faces smooth.
2. The drawing board should be soft so that pins can be easily fixed on it.
3. The angle of incidence should lie between 30° and 60°.
4. All pins base should lie in straight line.
5. While fixing the pins P and Q or the pins R and S, care should be taken to maintain
a distance of about 5 cm between the two pihs.
6. Draw thin lines using a sharp pencil.
7. Use a good quality protractor having clear markings.
8. Place the protractor correctly to measure the angles.
9. Perpendiculars should be drawn correctly.

EXPERIMENT 4:
Aim
To trace the path of the rays of light through a glass prism.

Theory

 A prism has a triangular base and three triangular lateral surfaces. These surfaces
are inclined to each other.
Refraction of light through a prism
 In the given figure, ABC represents the base of a glass prism. Let PE be the
incident ray of light on face AB of the prism. EF represents the bending of light
when it enters the prism and hence show the refraction of light.
 RS is the emergent ray at face AC of the prism.

The ∠BAC of the prism is called the angle of the prism and it is denoted by ‘A’.
The angle D shows the angle of deviation.

• angle of incidence ∠i, i. e., ∠PQN

 In the figure, the relation between

• angle of refraction ∠r, i.e., ∠FEN,

• angle of deviation ∠D, i.e., ∠HGF and
• angle of prism ∠A, i.e., ∠BAC. ∠A + ∠D = ∠i + ∠e

Materials Required
A white sheet, soft board, thumb pins, 4-6 all pins, prism, pencil, scale, protractor, drawing
board.

Procedure

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

2. Place a glass prism on it in such a way that it rests on its triangular base. Trace the
outline of the prism using a pencil.
3. Draw a thin line NEN normal (perpendicular) to face AB of the prism. Also draw a
straight line PE making an angle preferably between 30° and 60° as shown in
figure.
4. Fix two pins at a distance of 5 cm from each other on the line PE as shown in the
figure, later mark these points of pins as P and Q.
5. Look at the images of the pins, fixed at P and Q, through the other face of the
prism, i.e., AC.
 6. Fix two more pins, at points R and S vertically such that the feet of pins at R and S
appear to be on the same straight line as the feet of the images of the pins P and
Q when viewed through the face AC of the prism.
7. Remove the pins and the glass prism.
8. Join and produce a line joining R and S, let this line meet the prism at point F.
9. Extend the direction of incident ray PQE till it meets the face AC. Also extend

10. Mark the angle of incidence ∠i, angle of refraction ∠r and the angle of
(backwards) the emergent ray SRF so that these two lines meet at a point G.

emergence ∠e and ∠D as shown in the figure.

11. Repeat the experiment for more angle of incidence preferably between 30° and
60°.

Glass Prism Experiment Observations

1. The light ray enters the prism at surface AB, bends towards the normal on
refraction.
2. At surface AC of the prism, this light ray bends away from the normal because it
travels from a glass to air.
3. The peculiar shape of the prism makes the emergent ray bend at an angle to the
direction of the incident ray. This angle is called the angle of deviation (∠D).

Conclusion

1. The light ray, i.e., the incident ray first bends towards the normal when it gets

2. The angle of deviation first decreases with the increase in angle of incidence ∠i. It
refracted in the prism and while leaving the prism it bends away from the normal.

attains a minimum value then increases with further increase in angle of

incidence.

Precautions

1. A sharp pencil should be used for drawing the boundary of the prism.
2. Use soft board and pointed pins.
3. The pins should be fixed at a distance of 5 cm or more.
4. The pins should be fixed vertically and immediately encircled after they are
removed.
5. While viewing the col-linearity of pins and images, the eye should be kept at a
distance from the pins so that all of them can be seen simultaneously. The col-
linearity of all the four pins can be confirmed by moving the head slightly to either
side while viewing them. They all appear to move together.
6. The angle of incidence should be between 30° and 60°.
7. Proper arrows should be drawn for the incident ray, refracted ray and emergent
ray.