EXPERIM ENT B5

AIM

To determine the angle of deviation of the glasS prism by plotting a

graph between angle of incidence
and angle of deviation [and hence to jind the ce
refractive index of the material of the prism1
APPARATUS AND MATERIAL REQUIRED
Drawing board, triangular glass prism, alpins, drawing
sheets and a
graph paper. pins/cellotape, protractor, a ruler, white paper
THEORY/WORKING FORMULAE
1. When ray of
a
light passes through a prism,
Angle of prism + Angle of deviation =Angle of incidence +
Angle of emergence
A+0 i+e =i+e- A
As 1increases, o first decreases, becomes
minimum and then increases. In the
deviatiorn , the ray of light passes symmetrically, i.e., position of minimum
2. The relation between and parallel to the base so
thati=e and r=r.
u 8, 11 is
sin
A+0

orebro Sin
2
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 Chapter 10 REFRACTION THROUGH A GLASS PRISM

DIAGRAMMS

Normal Normal
at Q at R

ob() (b)
Fig. 10.4 (a) Refraction of light through a prism (b) Variation of A with & fora glass prism.
PROCEDURE
1. Fix a sheet of white
paper on a drawing board with drawing pins/cellotape.
2. Usin8 a
sharp pencil, draw a long straight line XY in the middle and parallel to the length of the
paper.
3. Mark seven
points O,, O,,.O, at equal distances of 6 cm on the line XY.
4. Draw normals N,O,, N,0,, .
N,O, on the line XY.
5.Using a protractor, draw straight lines P,O, P,O,, . . , P,O, corresponding to the incident rays

making angles of incidence at 30°, 35°, 40°, 50°, 55° and 60° respectively with the normals.
6. By keeping a ruler along a line XY, place the prism along the ruler so that its refracting face AB lies
on the line XY with point O, in the middle of AB, as shown in Fig. 10.5. Draw the boundary of the
prism with a sharP pencil.

O
M
M

P
P
Fig. 10.5 Angle of deviations for different angles of incidence.

7. Fix two alpins P and P, vertically, more than 6 cm

apart, on the incident ray line P,O, such that pin
P is close to point O.

8. Close the left eye. Looking into the prism from the opposite
refracting face AC, position the right
eye in line with images of the feet of pins P and P2. Now fix pins P and P, in line with P and P, as
viewed through the prism. Eye should be kept at
some distance from the pins so that all the pins can
be seen in clear focus simultaneously, as shown in
Fig. 10.6. Distances P,P, and P, P should not be
less than 6 cm so as to locate the directions of the
incident ray and the emergent ray with an accuracy
A Eye
of the order of 1°. Fig. 10.6 How to trace the path of
a ray through a prism.
143
 LAB MANUAL PHYSICS-XII

pencil. Draw
Draw the line:
pin pricks with sharp
a
9. Remove the alpins and encircle their line
so that they meet point M. Drs joining Pz and D
Produce lines P,P, (forward) and P,P, (backward)
PP, and P,P, to indicate the directions
of incident ana emergent rays respectively
y. owheads On
incidernce 1= 21N and also the
ne
protractor, the angle of an
angle of
deviation
measure
10. Using a

= P,MS.
the prism at locations 0,, Og, Oj, O5
6 and O7, repeat the experimon for eriments
11, By placing 60°, respectively.
Measure the correspondinc
corresponding angles of
incidence 35°, 40°, 45°, 50, 55°and angle of
in each case and indicate the
of these angles in
values
the diagram. eviation
faces AB and AC.
A between the retractirng
12. Measure the angle of prism
in a tabular form.
13. Record all observations

OBSERVATIONS
A 60°
Angle of prism,
=

Table 10.1: Different values ofi and ô for a prism

S.No. Angle of incidence, Angle of deviation,

30
35
40

45
5 50
6. 55
7. 60

NOTE In order to get an accurate value of the angle of minimum deviation, more readings should be
taken in the lower region of the i-ô curve. For example, for the i-6 curve shown in Fig. 10.7, we need to take
more readings for values of i in the range 40°-50° say, at intervals of 2° and 3

GRAPH AND CALcU LATIONs 1US graph for a prism

Choosing suitable scales, plot a graph between i
and 8. Take angle of incidence i along X-axis
and angle of deviationð along Y-axis. Draw free
hand smooth curve passing through the
maximum number of plotted points.
Draw a tangent on the lowest point of the curve
parallel to the X-axis. Read the angle of
minimum deviation , on the Y-axis of the
graph.

Angle of minimum deviation, 0 38

Oo- Scale:
1l div. 1
=

X-axis:

Sin
A+ Omt Y-axis: l div. =0.2°

.. Refractive index, =
1020 30 40 50
Sin Angle ofincidence. (degreesS
l e of
angle
Fig. 10.7 Variation of angle of deviation with
incidence for a prism.

144
 Chapter 10 REFRACTION THROUGH A GLASS PRISM

RESULT
1. As the angle of incidence increases, the angle of deviation first decreases, reaches a minimum value
and then again increases, as is obvious from the i versus ò graph.
2. Angle of minimum
deviation, ,
3. Refractive index of the prism material, u=
PRECAUTIONS
1. An ink mark should be put on the prism to distinguish the refracting angle A from the other angles
and the same
angle of the
prism should be used throughout.
2neangle ot incidence should not be less than 30, as the ray may get
totally reflected inside the prismn
d rOr prism of side 2.5
4.
3 cm, the distance between any two pins should not be less than 6 cm.
or

Alpins should be fixed vertically and the pin pricks should be encircled immediately after they are
removed.
5. While fixing alpins,
the feet of pins (and not their heads) must be adjusted in the same straight line.
6. In order to locate the incident and emergent rays accurately, the pin
should be more than 6 cm.
separations PP2 and PP4
7. Indicate the path of the incident, the refracted and the
emergent rays by
arrowheads.
8. A smooth best
fitting curve should be drawn through the
plotted points.
SoURCES OF ERROR
1. Alpins may not be vertical
2. The feet of the
alpins may not be in a
straight line.
3. h e distances between the
pins may be small
4. Position of the prism might have disturbed during a
given set of observations.
5. Measurement of angles may not be accurate.