PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

ON

To find the refractive indices of (a) water (b) oil (transparent)

using a plane mirror, an equiconvex lens (made from a glass of
known refractive index) and an adjustable object needle

NAME : SIDDARTH C
CLASS : XII
ROLL NUMBER :

SSCE 2024-2025
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that, SIDDARTH C of class XII has successfully

completed the project on the to find the refractive indices of (a) water (b) oil
(transparent) using a plane mirror, an equiconvex lens (made from a glass of
known refractive index) and an adjustable object needle under the guidance
of Mr. P. BALAJI in partial fulfillment of physics practical Examination
conducted by SSCE, CBSE, New Delhi for the academic year 2024-2025

Signature of Teacher in charge Signature of Internal Examiner

Signature of Principal Signature of External Examiner

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the accomplishment of this project successfully, many people have

bestowed upon me their blessings and heart pledged support. So, I am
utilizing this opportunity to thank all the people who have been concerned
with my project.

Primarily I would like to thank God Almighty for giving me the strength,
knowledge, and good health to complete this project successfully.

Then I would like to thank the Principal of Velammal Vidhyashram for the
continuous support and our Physics teacher whose wholehearted guidance
helped me to complete the project. The suggestions and instructions given
by them served as a major contribution to the completion of this project.

Then I would like to thank my parents and friends who have given me their
valuable suggestions and guidance that have been instrumental in the
completion of this project.

Signature of the student

(SIDDARTH C)
 TABLE OF CONTENT

S.No. TOPICS
1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Materials Required
4. Theory
5. Observation
6. Calculation
7. Result
8. Precautions
9. Sources of Error
10. Bibliography
 Introduction

In optics, the refractive index (a.k.a. refraction index) of an optical medium is a

dimensionless number that indicates 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 angles of incidence and refraction,
respectively, of a ray crossing the interface between two media with refractive
indices n1 and n2.
 Objective

To find the refractive index of water, oil using a plane mirror and an equiconvex
lens and an adjustable object needle.

Materials Required

● Convex lens

● Plane mirror

● Water

● Oil

● Clamp stand

● An Optical needle

● Plumb line

● Knitting needle

● Half meter scale

● Glass slab

● Spherometer
 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 a planoconcave lens with R1= R (radius of curvature

of convex lens surface), R2 =∞

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.

Fig: Focal length of glass convex lens and liquid lens combination
 Procedure

For focal length of convex lens

1. Take any one convex lens and find its rough focal length.

2. Take a plane mirror and place it on the horizontal base of the iron stand

3. Place the convex lens on the plane mirror.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Move the needle up and down and remove parallax between tips of the
needle and its image.

7. Measure distance between tip and upper surface of the lens by using a plumb
line and half metre scale.

8. Also measure distance between tip and the surface of its plane mirror.

For focal length of the combination

1. 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 piano concave
liquid lens is formed between plane mirror and convex lens).

2. Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8.

3. Record your observations as given below.

For radius of curvature of convex lens surface:

1. Determine the pitch and the least count of the spherometer.

2. Remove the convex lens and dry incompletely. Put the spherometer on
this lens surface.

3. All the three legs of the spherometer should be placed symmetrically on

the lens and adjust the central screw tip to touch the surface of the lens.

4. Remove the spherometer from the surface of the lens and place on the
plane mirror surface and record the reading.

5. Repeat the steps 10 and 11 three times.

6. 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 = 1 cm

Least count of the spherometer = 0.01 cm
Distance between the legs:
(1) AB = 3 cm
(2) BC = 3 cm
(3) CA = 3 cm
 Calculation

Mean distance between two legs

Mean of h
= (0.555+0.6)/2 =0.5775 cm

To find the radius of the curvature of the convex lens:

R = l2 /6h + h/2 = 2.8861 cm

Measurement of refractive index of water and oil

1)with water between the convex lens and the plane mirror:

2) With oil between the convex lens and plane mirror

 Results

The refractive index of water is µ1 = 1.0831

The refractive index of oil is µ2 = 1.2886

Precautions

1.The plane mirror should be clean and fully shining surface.

2.The liquid taken should be transparent.

3.The parallax should be removed tip to tip.

4.The eye should be at a distance about 30 cm from the needle while removing
the parallax.

5.Only few drops of liquid should be taken so that its layer should be thick.

6.The legs of the spherometer should be vertical.

7.The centre leg of the spherometer should turn in one direction only.
 Sources of error

1.Liquid may not be quite transparent.

2.The parallax may not be fully removed.

3.The spherometer legs should be placed symmetrical on the surface of the

convex lens.

4.The tip of the central screw should not just touch the surface of lens or mirror.
 Bibliography

- NCERT Class 12 Physics Textbook.

- Sumita Arora's Class 12 Physics Book.

- https://www.google.com/

- https://gemini.google.com/app

- https://www.wikipedia.org/