Investigating a factor that affects the intensity of a light received from a source

“Radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or

particles through space or through a material medium.” (1) This can occur in a
variety of ways, each as ‘waves’ (also known as photons) which have a
different frquency and length, creating the electromagnetic radiation.
Photons are packets of energy. When absorbed my materials their energy has
Photon model shows how energy is spread out
a lasting effect. after being emitted from source. Image(2).

Light intensity is a measurement of how much light energy is transmitted to a

remote surface.

Factors Affecting Light Intensity:

 Distance between the light source and sensor: As the light energy spreads out away
from the source the area itcovers is greater, meaning the intensity of the light
(3)
decreases.
d=1 2d=1/4 3d=1/9 of
 The transparency of the transmission medium: any dust or gases in the air between intensity.

the source and the sensor could affect the intensity of light that reaches the sensor.
 The luminosity and size of source: the luminosity is the energy that a radiation sources emits every
second, the higher the luminosity, the greater the light intensity.
 Background light: When measuring the light intensity there is bound to be some background light
that interferes with the reading and will change it slightly.
 Colour of source: If the colour of the light is different then it means that the light will have a different
wavelength or amplitude. This would affect the intensity as a shorter wavelength (such as a violet
wave) would have a higher intensity.

My Chosen Factor

I have to chhosen to investigate how the distance between a source of light and a sensor will affect the
light intensity. This is because this experiment will give me clear results that will be easy to measure and
record and will also be simple to carry out.

Hypothesis and Prediction

I believe that the distance from the source of light to thesensor will have an affect on the intensity of light
because as the light gets further away it will spread out, distributing its rays evenly so that as it spreads out
over a larger surface area a sensor will get a less concentrated ray of light with a decreased intensity.

“The intensity of illumination is proportional to the inverse square of the distance from the light source.”
(4)
, for example, 3 times thedistance is 1/9 of the light intensty.

d=1 2d=1/4 3d=1/9 of

intensity.
 I predict that as the distance between the light source and the sensor increases, the light
intensity will decrease, shown on a graph such as this where the intensity starts high at a
short distance butthen as the distance increases the intensity decreases.

My prediction as a graph Preliminary Experiments:

Type of Light Meter:

Type Readings at: When measuring Light intensity I will use the lux meter
0.02m 0.2m 2m because it is the only one that uses a direct measurement
Lux Meter 350l 190l 10.6l of light intensity.
LDR 150Ω 890Ω 9500Ω
Photoorltai 0.5v 0.34v 0.7v
c

Type of Light Source:

Type Readings at: (l) When doing the experiment I will use a large filament
0.02m 0.2m 2m bulb as it will not flicker as the candle would so I can get
Small filament bulb 91.51 28.1 8.5 a clear reading; it has the largest range of light intensity
Large filament bulb 350 190 10.6
and it has the largest surface area to project from
LED 170 11.2 8.7
Candle 320 13.5 7.6

Voltage of Light Source:

Voltage (v) Intensity (l)

2 9.5 When I do the experiment I will keep my bulb on at 8v
4 18.7 because it provides a good range of measurements that
6 175 will not be as affected by background light as others and
8 740 it will not be too bright to look at.
10 1950
12 3230

Distance to Source:

Distance (cm) Intensity (l)

2 5600
When measuring the light intensity at different distances I
12 485
22 160 will use a range of 2-52cm. I will not use 0cm as being this
32 81.8 close to the bulb could damage the sensor. I will not use 62
42 56.9 cm as after 52cm the readings started to get affected by
52 42.8 background light as shown in the preliminary experiment.
62 40.1

Number of Repeats:

Repeat Number Intensity (l)

When doing these experiments I found that when
measuring the light intensity at the same voltage and
distance all the results were very similar and the data is
1 485
2 387
3 440
4 437
5 429
6 470

Colour of Light:

Colour Intensity (l) I will use white light when doing my experiment because
White 440 there will be no change in it if I move the filter making it
Red 138.3 more repeatable and the filter may be damaged by the
Blue 94.2 heat if held to the bulb for too long.
Green 514

Diagram of main
experiment

Equipment List

Equipment Precision Purpose Justification

Powerpack 1v To supply energy to the I used this as it is the easiest to set up and is
bulb the most reliable way of controlling the
voltage making it a fairer test
Wires n/a The carry energy from the These were used as they are the onyway of
power pack to the bulb getting the power from the power pack to the
bulb.
Large filament bulb n/a To supply light, the I used a large filament bulb as they provided
intensity of which will be the greatest light which will be the least
measured susceptible to background light interference.
And didn’t flicker or waver like the candle did.
Meter ruler 1mm To measure the distance I used a meter ruler as the next longest ruler is
between the light source 30cm but as some of my distances are over
and the sensor. that it is more practical to use a longer ruler to
place the sensor.
Lux meter 1 lux To measure the light This was used as it was the only method of
intensity of the light measuring the light intesity that
source actuallymeasured in a direct measurement of
light intensity.

Method
1. Set up equipment as shown in diagram, to reduce background light to make the results as accurate
as possible by turning off all lights and blacking out all windows
2. Place light sensor 2 cm away from the light source.
3. Read and record the light intensity.
4. Move the light sensor to 12cm away from the source, then read and record the intensity.
5. Carry on moving the light sensor 10cm away and recording the light intensity until it reaches 52cm
(including 52cm) as this is the last measurement.
6. Once the 6 light intensities have been measured repeat the whole experiment 3 times, if there are
any outliers found in the results discard them and redo that trial to get proper results. Calculate the
average for the three final results and record.

Control Variables

Background light: background light is the light that comes from the surrounds of the experiments, such
as light coming through the windows or from any other light sources. This can disrupt my experiment
as when the sensor gets further away from the source, it becomes more sensitive to background light
and is more likely to show results from background light than from the light source I am measuring. To
control this I will turn off all the lights in the lab and shut all blinds and black out any windows to
prevent as much background light as possible.

Voltage: as discussed in the description of preliminary experiment results, the voltage will be
controlled by using the power pack and always making sure it is on the same voltage (8v)

Light source: as different light sources will have different light intensities, I will make sure I use the
same bulb every time for my experiment, making sure my results are as accurate as possible.

Results table

Distance (m) Light Intensity (lux) 1/r2

1st trial 2nd trial 3rd trial Average
0.020 5100 6340 6170 5870 2500
0.120 475 572 635 560.6 69.40
0.220 192 182 207 193 20.60
0.320 110 104 112 108 9.76
0.420 601 66 73 67 5.66
0.520 47 47 55 49 3.69