PHYSICS

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT
NILANJANA MISHRA
CLASS-XI-SC
ROLL NO.-15
2014-2015
KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA
IIM
JOKA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I deeply acknowledge my
sincere thanks to my physics
teacher
Miss Soumi Banerjee

for her guidance and advices

to complete my project
successfully as well as for
providing me all the facilities
to finish the project on
stipulated time.

CERTIFICATE

NAME : NILANJANA MISHRA

science

CLASS : XI

ROLL NO. : 15
INSTITUTION: KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA IIMC JOKA

This is certified to be the bonafide work of the

student in the PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT during the year 2014-2015 .

Certified by:
.

Miss. Soumi
Banerjee

CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
CERTIFICATE
THEORY
AIM
APPARATUS
PROCEDURE
OBSERVATION
RESULT
BIBLIOGRAPHY

THEORY
When light passes from one medium into an optically different medium
at an angle other than normal to the surface, it is "bent" or undergoes
a change in direction, media. This bending, or change in the direction
of the ray occurs only at the interface between the two materials. The
interaction of the light with the transparent material changes the
speed of light as it passes through the material. The relationship
between the speed of light in a vacuum c and the speed of light in the
material v is known as the index of refraction n.The index of refraction
is defined in the following equation:

n = c/v

(1)

Where c is the speed of the light in vacuum and v is the speed of the
light in medium. Equation (1) can be used to find a relationship
between the angle of the incident wave, still measured with respect to
the normal, and the angle of the light ray as it moves through this
second material, known as the angle of refraction. This new
relationship is known as Snell's Law, stated mathematically in the
following equation:

n1 sin(i)= n2 sin(r)

(2)

Where (i) is the angle of incident, (r) is the angle of refraction, n1 and
n2 are the indices of refraction of the first and the second medium,
respectively. If the incident medium is air n1 = 1, then

sin (i) = n2 sin (r)

n2= sin (i)/ sin (r)

(3)
(4)

AIM:Verification of Laws of Refraction of Light and

Determination of Refractive Index of the Glass.

APPARATUS :

A rectangular slab of glass,

a laser pointer
a few sheets of paper
a sharp pencil
a ruler
A Protector

Procedure
Place a flat sheet of paper on a flat surface.
Place or mount the laser pointer such that its ray is not only horizontal to the
sheet of paper, but also travels very close to its surface and leaves a streak
(line) of red light on the paper. Some adjustment and practice is crucial.
When an uninterrupted streak of light is present, place the rectangular or
square slab of glass on the flat paper such that the laser ray is incident on a
clear side it (as shown in the figure) and exits from the opposite side. With a
sharp pencil, draw four straight lines around the slab in order to register the
location of the slab on the paper.
The ray incident on side AA of the slab making angle i1 with NN does refract
and enters the slab through angle r1. See Fig. In glass, it travels to the
opposite side BB and becomes incident on the other side through angle i2 and
finally refracts back into air through angle r2. Mark two points on the incoming
ray and two dots on the outgoing ray (with the sharpened pencil) in order to
register their locations. Make sure to mark points 1 and 2 (points of incidence)
as well.

 Lift the slab and turn the laser off. On the paper, connect the marked points in
order to reproduce the laser ray trace.
Draw two NN (Normal) lines as seen in the figure at points marked 1 and 2.
Measure angles i1, r1, i2, and r2 by a protractor.
Use i1 and r1 and the Snells formula to find n, the refraction index of the glass
slab. Use i2 and r2 to find n again. Find the average of the two values you find
for n. Use this average as your measured value for n.
Determine the index of refraction through your observation