Gulf Asian English School LLC

P. O. Box 3406, SHARJAH

Name:

Subject: Class
 Gulf Asian English School, LLC
P O Box 3406, SHARJAH

CERTIFICATE
Department of physics

This is to certify that of GAES

Class Division has completed the Project Work

under my supervision for the academic year 2024-2025.

Seal Teacher in charge

(physics Dept )

Date:
Year : 2024-2025(CBSE)

Date: (External Examiner)

INVESTIGATORY PROJECT ON
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special

thanks of gratitude to my physics
teacher “Mrs.DEEPTHI.N.S” for
her available guidance and
support in completing my project.

I would also like to extend my

gratitude to the Principal Mam
“Dr. Nasreen Banu” for
providing me with all the
facilities that was required.
 INDEX
INTRODUCTION
AIM
APPARATUS
THEORY
PROCEDURE
DIAGRAM
OBSERVATION AND CALCULATION
PRECAUTIONS
SOURCES OF
ERROR:
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION
REFRACTION OF LIGHT
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a

medium where its speed is different. The refraction of

light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow

medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the

boundary between the two media. The amount of

bending depends on the indices of refraction of the two

media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.

Refraction is responsible for image formation by lenses

and the eye. As the speed of light is reduced in the slower

medium, the wavelength is shortened proportionately.

The frequency is unchanged; it is a characteristic of the

source of the light and unaffected by medium changes.

AIM
To find the refractive index of a) water, b) gilcerine using

a plane mirror, and an equiconvex lens made of glass

and an adjustable object needle.

APPARATUS

A convex lens, a plane mirror, clean transparent liquid in

a beaker, water, an optical needle, an iron stand with

base and clamp arrangement,half metre scale etc.

THEORY:
The theory behind liquid lens is based on the

properties of one or more liquids to create

magnifications within a small amount of space.The

focus of a liquid lens is controlled by the surface of

the liquid .Water normally forms a bubble shape

when adhered to materials such as glass.

This desirable property makes water a very

suitable candidate for the production of liquid lens.

Essentially the liquid must be transparent so as to

study its effects. To generate a liquid lens , a liquid

is sandwiched between two pieces of a clear plastic

or a glass. Oil (necessarily transparent) can also be

chosen to be used as a fluid in a liquid lens system.

The surface profiles of the liquid determines the

focal length of liquid lens system and how the

liquid lens focuses light rays.

In optics, refractive index or index of refraction ‘n’

of a substance (optical medium) is a dimensionless

number that describes how light or any radiation

propagates through that medium. It is defined as

n = c/v

where’ c’ is the speed of light in vacuum and ‘v’ is the

speed of light in a substance.

If f1 and f2 be the focal length of glass convex lens and

liquid lens and F be the focal length of their combination

then,

𝑓2 𝐹𝑓1
= 𝑓1−𝐹

Liquid lens formed is a plano concave lens with R1= R

(radius of curvature of convex lens surface), R2 =∞

PROCEDURE
(A) FOR FOCAL LENGTH OF CONVEX LENS

 Take any one convex lens and find its rough

focal length.

 Take a plane mirror and place it on the

horizontal base of the iron stand.

 Place the convex lens on the plane mirror.

 Screw tight the optical needle in the clamp of

the stand and hold it horizontally above the lens

at distance equal to its rough focal length.

  Bring the tip of the needle at the vertical

principal axis of the lens, so that tip of the

needle appears touching the tip of its image.

 Move the needle up and down and remove

parallax between tips of the needle and its

image.

 Measure distance between tip and upper

surface of the lens by using a plumb line and

half metre scale.

 Also measure distance between tip and the

surface of its plane mirror.

(b) For focal length of the combination

 Take a few drops of transparent liquid on the

plane mirror and put the convex lens over it

with its same face above as before (A plano

concave
 liquid lens is formed between plane mirror and

convex lens).

 Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8.

 Record your observations as given below.

EXPERIMENT
OBSERVATIONS
1.Rough focal length of convex lens =10 cm.

Table for distance of needle tip from lens and

mirror

Arrangement Distance of needle tip Focal

From From Mean length
𝒙 =
lens plane 𝒙𝟏+𝒙𝟐 (cm)
𝟐

𝒙𝟏(cm)
surface mirror

𝒙𝟐(cm)
cm

Without f1=
any liquid

(a)water F=

(b)Glycerine F=

CALCULATIONS

(a) Water

= 𝑓
1 1
= 1−
1 𝐹 1
�

𝐹
-�
2 1 2 𝐹
�
�

𝑓2 =
𝑅
𝑛=1+
2
�

𝑛=1+

n=
 (b) Glycerine
�
= 𝑓 � 1
1 1
= 1−
𝐹
�1 𝐹
-�
2 1 2 𝐹

𝑓2 =

𝑛=1+𝑅
𝑓2

𝑛=1+

𝑛=

PRECAUTIONS
• The parallax must be removed tip to tip properly.

• The lens and plane mirror should be cleaned thoroughly.

• The liquid taken should be essentially transparent.

• Only a few drops of liquid should be taken so as not to

thicken the layer.

SOURCES OF ERROR:
1.Liquid may not be quite transparent

2.The parallax may not be fully removed.

CONCLUSION
The experiment described in this project is an effective

and simple method of measuring the refractive index of

any liquid (transparent) using a convex lens and plane

mirror.

If we keep the mirror behind a lens and put an object at

the focus point of the lens above it, the image of the

object will form at the same focus point where the object

is. If it is an extended object, its image will be inverted

and the size of image is same as that of the object.

This property has enabled the efficient use of liquid lens

to find the refractive index of a fluid by this method. If a

liquid is sandwiched between the lens and the mirror, the

focal length of liquid lens can be calculated knowing the

focal length of the combination.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1) http://www.physicspages.com/2014/09/16/
2) http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/127037/c
an-you-explain-fermats-principle-to-me
3) http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase

4) www.wikipedia.com