LR DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL
PHYSICS
PROJECT
TOPIC:-TO FIND THE REFRACTIVE INDICES
OF WATER,OIL BY USING A PLANE
MIRROR,AN EQUICONVEX LENS AND AN
ADJUSTABLE OBJECT NEEDLE
NAME:-DIBYALOK PATTANAIK
CLASS:-XII
ROLL NO:
SUBMITTED TO:-BHAGYASHREE SAHOO
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr.Dibyalok Pattanaik,
student of L.R. DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL, has
completed his project on the topic ‘To find the
refractive indices of water, oil using a plane
mirror, an equiconvex and an adjustable object
needle’ as prescribed by Mr Bhagyashree Sahoo
during the academic year 2024-2025 as per the
guidelines given by AISSC Examintion
conducted by the central board of secondary
education(CBSE).
External Signature Internal Signature Principal
Signature
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
‘The satisfaction Euphoria that accompanies the succesSful completion of
any work would be incomplete unless we mention the name of the person,
who made it possible, whose constant guidance and encouragement
served as a beckon of light and crowned our efforts with success’. I
consider it a privilege to express through the pages of this report ,a few
words of gratitude and respect to those who guided and inspired in the
completion of this project.
My sincere thanks to Mrs.Bhagyashree Sahoo who constantly encouraged
me and showed the right path from day first till the completion of my
project and all the other faculty members for guiding me throughout the
project.
However, I accept the sole responsibility for any possible errors of
omission and would be extremely grateful to the readers of this project
report if they bring such mistakes to my notice.
DIBYALOK PATTANAIK
ROLL NO:
INDEX
• INTRODUCTION
• AIM/OBJECTIVE
• DIAGRAM
• THEORY
• PROCEDURE
• OBSERVATION
• CALCULATION
• RESULTS/CONCLUSION
• PRECAUTIONS
• SOURCES OF ERROR
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index)
of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that
gives the indication of the light bending ability of that
medium.
The refractive index determines how much the path of
light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material.
This is described by Snell's law of
refraction, n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2, where θ1 and θ2 are
the angle of incidence and angle of refraction,
respectively, of a ray crossing the interface between
two media with refractive indices n1 and n2. The
refractive indices also determine the amount of light
that is reflected when reaching the interface, as well as
the critical angle for total internal reflection, their
The refractive index may vary with wavelength. This causes
white light to split into constituent colours when refracted.
This is called dispersion. This effect can be observed
in prisms and rainbows, and as chromatic aberration in
lenses. Light propagation in absorbing materials can be
described using a complex-valued refractive index.
The imaginary part then handles the attenuation, while
the real part accounts for refraction. For most materials the
refractive index changes with wavelength by several
percentage across the visible spectrum. Consequently,
refractive indices for materials reported using a single value
for n must specify the wavelength used in the measurement.
The concept of refractive index applies across the
full electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays to radio waves. It
can also be applied to wave phenomena such as sound. In
this case, the speed of sound is used instead of that of light,
and a reference medium other than vacuum must be chosen.
For lenses (such as eye glasses), a lens made from a high
AIM
To find the refractive index of water, oil using a plane
mirror, an equiconvex lens and an adjustable object
needle.
APPARATUS
• Convex Lens
• Plane Mirror
• Water
• Oil
• Clamp Stand
• An Optical Needle
• Plumb Line
• Knitting Needle
• Half Meter Scale
• Glass Slab
• Spherometer
DIAGRAM
THEORY
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,
+
Liquid lens formed is planoconcave lens with R1=R(radius of
curvature of convex lens surface),R2 =∞ then by using lens formula
=(n-1)[]
=(n-1 )[ ]
=(n-1)[ 0 ]
Where,
n=Refractive Index of the liquid
R= The radius of the curvature of the convex
lens
The radius of the lower surface of the convex lens is
given by:
=
Here, ‘l’ is the average distance between the legs of
the spherometer and ‘h’ is the difference in the
reading of the spherometer when placed first on the
convex lens and then on plane mirror.
PROCEDURE
a) For focal length of convex lens:
• Take any one convex lens and measure 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 the distance between tip and upper surface of the
lens by using a plumb line and half meter scale. Let it be x1.
Remove the convex lens and measure the distance between
needle tip and the surface of its plane mirror. Let it be x2.
• Repeat and record all the observations
b) For focal length of the combination:
• Put few drops of water on the plane mirror and put the convex lens over
it with its same face above as before. (A planoconcave liquid lens is
formed between the plane mirror and convex lens.)
• Repeat steps iii, iv, v to determine the equivalent focal length focal
length of the combination.
• Record your observations as givens below.
• Record the steps vi, vii, viii for other transparent liquid ‘OIL’.
c) For radius of curvature of the convex lens surface:
• Determine the pitch and the least count of the spherometer.
• Remove the convex lens and dry incompletely. Put the spherometer on
this lens surface.
• All the three legs of the spherometer should be placed symmetrically on
the lens and adjust the central screw tip to touch the surafce of the lens.
• Remove the spherometer from the surface of the lens and place on the
plane mirror surface and record the reading.
• Repeat the steps xii, xiii three times.
• Obtain the impressions of the three legs of the spherometer on a paper
and mark them and their average distance.
OBSERVATION
Pitch of the spherometer = 1cm
Least count of the spherometer = 0.01cm
Distance between the legs:
(1)AB = 3cm
(2)BC = 3cm
(3)CA = 3cm
TABLE FOR CALCULATION OF ‘h’
To measure the focal length ‘f’ of convex lens:
CALCULATION
Mean distance between two legs:
Mean of h:
= 0.5775cm
To find the radius of curvature of the convex lens:
Measurement of refractive index of water and oil
1. With water between the convex lens and the plane mirror:
µ1
2. With oil between the convex lens and plane mirror:
µ2
RESULT:
The refractive index of water is µ1 = 1.0831
The refractive index of oil is µ2 = 1.2886
PRECAUTIONS
• The plane mirror should be clean and fully
shining surface.
• The liquid taken should be transparent.
• The parallax should be removed tip to tip.
• The eye should be at a distance about 30cm
from the needle while removing the parallax.
• Only few drops of liquid should be taken so
that its layer should be thick.
• The legs of the spherometer should be
vertical.
• The centre leg of the spherometer should turn
in one direction only.
SOURCES OF ERROR
• Liquid may not be quite
transparent.
• The parallax may not be fully
removed.
• The spherometer legs should be
placed symmetrical on the surface
of the convex lens.
• The tip of the central screw should
not just touch the surface of lens or
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• NCERT Physics Text Book
• NCERT Physics Lab Manual
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.slideshare.net
• www.google.com
• www.sciencejournals.com
DIBYALOK PATTANAIK
ROLL NO-
