EXPERIMENT – 01

Aim
To determine the focal length of a Concave mirror by obtaining the image of a distant object.

Theory
Following are the ways to obtain the focal length of the concave mirror:

● A concave mirror is defined as the spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is curved inwards and follows
laws of reflection of light.
● The light rays coming from a distant object can be considered to be parallel to each other.

● If the image formed is real, inverted and very small in size, then the parallel rays of light meet the point in the
front of the mirror.
● The image formed by the convex lens is real and can be obtained on the screen.

● f is used to denote the difference between the principal axis P and the focus F of the concave mirror.

Materials Required

1. A concave mirror
2. A measuring scale
3. A screen holder
4. A mirror holder
5. A mirror stand

Procedure

1. The distance between the selected distinct object should be more than 50 ft.
2. The concave mirror placed on the mirror stand and the distant object should be facing each other.
3. The screen should be placed in front of the reflecting surface of the mirror. To obtain a clear, sharp image the
screen should be adjusted.
4. Using a metre scale the distance between the concave mirror and screen can be determined. The distance is the
same as the focal length of the given concave mirror.
5. Repeat the above procedure thrice to calculate the average focal length.

Experimental Setup
Observation Table

Sl.no Position of concave mirror Position of screen Focal length = (M-

(M) (S) S)
Cm

1 60 cm 50 cm 10 cm

2 60 cm 50 cm 10 cm

3 60 cm 50 cm 10 cm

Calculation
Following is the mean value of the focal length of concave mirror:

f1+f2+f3 / 3 cm=10+10+10 / 3 cm=30/3 cm=10cm

Result
10 cm is the focal length of the concave mirror.

Precautions

1. To get a well illuminated and distinct image of the distinct object, the distant object should be well
illuminated.
2. A concave mirror should be always placed near an open window.
3. The polished surface of the concave mirror and the distinct object should be facing each other.
4. There should not be any hurdle between the rays of light from the object and the concave mirror.
5. The screen and the concave mirror stand should be parallel to the measuring scale.
6. The mirror holder along with the mirror should be perpendicular to the measuring scale.

EXPERIMENT : 02

AIM : To determine the focal length of a Convex lens by obtaining the image of a distant object.

THEORY :
Following are the ways to obtain the focal length of convex lens:

● The convex lens is thicker in the middle and thinner at the edges and is also known as the converging lens.

● The refracted rays from the parallel beam of light converge on the other side of the convex lens.

● If the image is obtained at the focus of the lens, the image would be real, inverted and very small.

● f is the focal length which is the difference between the optical centre of the lens and the principal focus.

● The image can be obtained on the screen as the image formed by the lens is real.

Materials Required

1. A wooden bench
2. A convex lens
3. A lens holder
4. A screen fixed to a stand
5. A measuring scale

Experimental Setup :

Procedure

1. Without disturbing the lens and screen, arrange both of them on the wooden bench.
2. Place the lens on the holder facing a distant object.
3. Place the holder with the screen on the bench.
4. The position of the screen should be such that the sharp image of the distant object is obtained on it.
5. The difference between the position of the lens and the screen is equal to the focal length of the given convex
lens.
6. Now shift the focus to towards various other distant object and calculate the focal length of the convex lens.

Observation Table

Sl.no Position of convex lens (L) Position of screen (S) Focal length = (L-S) cm

1 60 cm 50 cm f1 = 10cm

2 60 cm 50 cm f2 = 10cm
 3 60 cm 50 cm f3 = 10cm

Calculation
Following is the mean value of the focal length of convex lens:

(f1+f2+f3)/ 3cm=10 + 10 +10 / 3 cm=30 / 3 cm= 10cm

Result
10 cm is the focal length of the convex lens.

Precautions

1. The placing of the convex lens should be vertical.

2. There should not be any hurdle between the rays of light from the object and the convex lens.
3. To get a well illuminated and distinct image of the distinct object, the distant object should be well
illuminated.
4. The convex lens stand and the screen should be parallel to the measuring scale.

EXPERIMENT 03

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

Theory

What is a prism?
A prism is defined as a polyhedron with a triangular base and three rectangular lateral surfaces. It is
used as an optical object to study the behaviour of white light when it is passed through it. The light
bends at various angles like an angle of incidence, angle of reflection, angle of refraction, and angle of
deviation.

What is the angle of deviation?

The angle of deviation is defined as the angle between the incident ray and the emerging ray.

Materials Required
Following are the list of materials required for this experiment:

● A white sheet

● Soft board

● Thumb pins

● 4-6 all pins

● Prism

● Pencil

● Scale
 ● Protractor

● Drawing board

Experimental Setup

Procedure

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

2. Place the triangular prism resting on its triangular base. Using a pencil, draw the outline of the
prism.
3. Draw NEN normal to the face of the prism AB. Make an angle between 30° and 60° with the
normal.
4. On the line PE, fix two pins at a distance of 5cm from each other and mark these as P and Q.
5. Look for the images of the pins at P and Q through the other face of the prism AC.
6. Fix two pins at R and S such that they appear as a straight line as that of the P and Q when it
is viewed from the AC face of the prism.
7. Remove the pins and the prism.
8. At point F, make the points R and S meet by extending them.
9. PQE is the incident ray which is extended till it meets face AC. SRF is the emergent ray
which is extended backward to meet at point G.
10. Now mark the angle of incidence ∠i, angle of refraction ∠r and the angle of emergence ∠e
and the angle of deviation ∠D as shown in the experimental setup.
11. Repeat the experiment for more angles between 30° and 60°.

Observations

1. At surface AB, the light ray enters and bends towards the normal on refraction.
2. At surface AC, the light ray bends away from the normal as it travels from one medium
(glass) to the other (air).
3. The angle of deviation is observed. Here, the emergent ray bends at an angle from the
direction of the incident ray.

Conclusion

1. The incident ray bends towards the normal when it enters the prism and while leaving the
prism it bends away from the normal.
2. With the increase in the angle of incidence, the angle of deviation decreases. After attaining
the minimum value, it increases with an increase in the angle of incidence.

Precautions
 ● For drawing the boundary of the prism, a sharp pencil should be used.

● Soft board and pointed pins should be used.

● The distance between the pins should be 5cm or more.

● The pins should be fixed vertically and should be encircled when they are removed from the
board.
● The angle of incidence should be between 30° and 60°.

● The arrows drawn for incident ray, reflected ray and emergent ray should be proper.

● For viewing the co-linearity of all four pins and images, the head should be slightly tilted on
either side. While doing this it can appear as if all are moving together.

EXPERIMENT 04

Aim
To study the dependence of potential difference (V) across a resistor on the current (I) passing
through it and determine its resistance. Also, plot a graph between V and I.

Theory

What is Ohm’s law?

The potential difference V across the metallic wire is directly proportional to the current flowing
through it, provided its temperature is constant. This is known as Ohm’s law.
V∝I.
∴ V=IR, where R is the resistance, which is constant for a given metallic wire.

What are the factors affecting resistance?

Following are the factors affecting resistance:

● The nature of the resistor.

● With an increase in length, the resistance also increases. So resistance of a wire is directly
proportional to its length.
● With an increase in the cross-sectional area, the resistance decreases. So resistance is
inversely proportional to the cross-sectional area of the wire.

Materials Required
Following is the list of materials required for this experiment:

1. A battery
2. An insulated copper wire
3. A key
4. An ammeter
5. A voltmeter
6. A rheostat
7. A resistor
 8. A piece of sandpaper

Circuit Diagram

Procedure

1. Arrange the devices as shown in the circuit diagram.

2. Connect the devices with the connecting wires keeping the key open.
3. The positive terminal of the battery should be connected to the positive terminal of the
ammeter.
4. Before connecting the voltmeter in the circuit, check for +ve and -ve terminals.
5. Check for ammeter and voltmeter reading once the circuit is connected and also adjust the
slider of rheostat after inserting the key.
6. For current I and voltmeter V, record three different readings using a slider.
7. Record the observations in the observation table.
8. Using the formula R=V/I, calculate the resistance.
9. To plot the graph between V and I, take V on the x-axis and I on the y-axis.
10. For pure metals, resistance increases with an increase in temperature.

Observation Table

i) Least count of ammeter and voltmeter

Sl.no Ammeter (A) Voltmeter (V)

1 Range 0-5 A 0-5 V

2 Least count 0.1 A 0.1 V

3 Zero error (e) 0 0

4 Zero correction 0 0

ii) For the reading of ammeter and voltmeter

Sl.no Current in Potential difference in Resistance in ohms

Ampere (I) volts (V) R = V/I (Ω)
(ammeter (voltmeter reading)
reading)

1 0.8 0.4 volt R1= .4/.8=4/8=1/2=0.5Ω

2 1.6 0.8 volt R2= 0.8/1.6=8/16=1/2=0.5Ω

3 2.4 1.2 Volt R 3=

1.2/2.4=12/24=1/2=0.5Ω

Graph

Conclusions

1. For all the three readings, the R-value is the same and constant.
2. The ratio of potential difference V and current I is the resistance of a resistor.
3. With the help of the graph between V and I, Ohm’s law is verified as the plot is a straight
line.

Precautions

1. Thick copper wires should be used as connecting wires and using sandpaper, their insulation
should be removed.
2. To avoid external resistance, the connections should be tight.
3. The connections should be as per the circuit diagram and should be approved by the teacher
before conducting the experiment.
4. The current should enter from the positive terminal and exit from the negative terminal of the
ammeter and it should be connected in series with the resistor.
5. Resistor and voltmeter should be connected in parallel.
6. The least count of ammeter and voltmeter should be recorded properly.
7. When there is no current flow, the pointers of ammeter and voltmeter should be at zero.
8. To avoid unnecessary heating in the circuit, the current should be passed for a short time.

EXPERIMENT -5
Aim
Tracing 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 -
Refraction of light refers to the bending of a light ray as it moves from one medium to another.

The laws of refraction are as follows:

○ The incident ray, the refracted ray, and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the
same plane.
○ According to Snell's law, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the
angle of refraction remains constant.
○ sini/sinr = constant

Lateral displacement :
Lateral displacement is the shift in the path of a light ray perpendicular to the direction of
propagation as it emerges from the refracting medium.

Materials Required
● A drawing board
● 4-6 drawing pins
● A sheet of white paper
● A rectangular glass slab
● A protractor
● A ruler
● A pencil
● Thumb pins

Procedure
● Secure a sheet of white paper onto a soft drawing board using thumb pins.
● Place the glass slab at the center of the paper and outline its boundary with a sharp
pencil.
● Label the rectangular outline as ABCD.
● Mark a point E on side AB and draw a normal EN to it.
● Draw an angle of 30° with EN using a protractor. Place pins at points P and Q on the
drawn ray, maintaining a distance of about 4-5 cm between them.
● Position the glass slab back on the outline ABCD.
● Looking through the glass slab from side CD, fix pins at points R and S such that pins P,
Q, R, and S appear to be in a straight line.
● Draw small circles around the pins P, Q, R and S and remove the pins.
● Remove the glass slab.
● Join points R and S and extend the line to meet CD at point F. Draw a perpendicular N’M’
to CD at point F.
● Join points E and F using a pencil.
● Measure the angles formed at AB and CD. These are the incident angle, refracted angle,
and emergent angle.
● Extend ray PQ in a dotted line parallel to ray FRS to obtain the lateral displacement.
● Measure the lateral displacement.
● Repeat the procedure for angles of incidence of 45° and 60°.

Ray Diagram
Observation Table
Serial No. Angle of incidence Angle of refraction Angle of emergence i–e

i = PEN r = MEF e = SFM’ PEN – SFM’

1 30 ° 28 ° 30 ° 0°

2 45 ° 43 ° 44.8 ° 0.2 °

3 60 ° 56 ° 59.8 ° 0.2 °

Due to possible human error, the value of i – e may not be precisely zero.

Conclusion
 ● The angle of incidence and the angle of emergence are almost identical.
● Since light is moving from a rarer to denser optical medium, the angle of refraction will
be less than the angle of incidence.
● The lateral displacement remains the same for different angles of incidence.
● The light ray bends towards the normal when it moves from an optically rarer to an
optically denser medium.

Precautions
● The rectangular glass slab used should have smooth surfaces.
● The drawing board should be soft enough to easily fix the pins.
● The angle of incidence should be between 30° and 60°.
● All pins should be aligned in a straight line.
● Maintain a gap of about 5 cm between the pins P and Q or the pins R and S.
● Use a sharp pencil to draw thin lines.
● The protractor used should be of good quality.
● The protractor should be correctly placed for accurate measurements.
● Perpendiculars should be drawn with care.

Sources of Error
● The glass slab should not contain any air bubbles.
● The protractor should provide accurate measurements.