PHYSICS LAB REPORT 6 – RIPPLE TANK

SCHOOL:
NICE

VENUE:
Lab (SNS)

SUBMITTED BY:
Group No # A5

 Haider Khan
 Hussain Ahmed
 Aadam Baluch
 Muhammad Usman
 Musa Mughal

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Wave reflection
Abstract:
This experiment was performed to understand the reflection of a plane wave through barriers
each having a different shape such as

 a long straight barrier

 a curved barrier
This experiment shows us the behavior of plane waves under reflection i.e. bouncing back
from the surface through an angle.

Theory:
Reflection is the change in direction of a wave front at an interface between two different
media. A ray is a line that indicates the direction of motion of a plane wave. Wave fronts are
perpendicular to the ray. When any wave, including light, hits a surface that is opaque, the
light will mostly reflect off that surface. The law of reflection tells us how it bounces off that
surface. It tells us that the incident angle is equal to the reflected angle. The angle of incidence
is the angle between incident ray and the normal. The angle of reflection is the angle between
reflected ray and the normal. This experiment will verify this law via waves generated in a
ripple tank.

Percentage Error:
𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆−𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆
Percentage Error = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆

Conclusion & Discussion:

 The radius of curvature is almost equal to the twice of the focal distance
 The small difference in the measurement arises due to human error.

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Wave Refraction
Abstract:
We performed this experiment in order to know the behavior of light waves as they pass from
one medium to another medium using the ripple tank and light source. It happens as their
wave speeds are different.

Theory:
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where its speed is different. The
refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray
toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. As the speed of light is reduced
in the slower medium, the wavelength is shortened proportionally, although the frequency is
unchanged.

Percentage Error:
𝑴𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆−𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆
Percentage Error = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎%
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆

Conclusion & Discussion:

 The values of n1 and n2 are almost same.
 Small error may arise due to personal error.
 The refraction occurs due to the difference of depths due to the presence of a surface.