Investigatory project on

physics
A project submitted in practical in fulfillment of Physics
Practical Examination
SSCE-2023-24
CLASS-XII
EFFECT OF INTENSITY OF LIGHT ON LDR

CENTRAL PUBLIC SR. SEC. SCHOOL, UDAIPUR

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:
DR. JITENDRA JAIN SAKSHAM LODHA

ACKNOWLEDGEMEN
T
As a student of Class XII Science it was pleasant duty to do a
project in Physics as a part of the course curriculum prescribed
by the Central Board of Secondary Education New Delhi. In its
compliance I chose to work on the project:
EFFECT OF INTENSITY OF LIGHT ON LDR
I received generous help from several persons in the completion
of this project. At the onset 1 am deeply indebted to our
Respected Principal Mrs. Poonam Rathore for providing me
excellent facilities without which it would not have been
possible for me to complete this project.
It is my pleasure to express a deep sense of gratitude and
veneration to our subject teacher Dr. Jitendra Jain Sir for
suggesting this to me to complete it to the best of my ability.
I am also thankful to my parents for their care, support and
inspirations at every step in the completion of this project.

XII SCIENCE
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that SAKSHAM LODHA of standard XII
Science of Central Public Sr. Sec. School, Udaipur carried out
the project on
EFFECT OF INTENSITY OF LIGHT ON LDR
Above project under my personal guidance and supervision.

All the work related to this study was done by the candidate
and his approach to the subject was sincere & scientific.

PRINCIPLE:
(MRS POONAM RATHORE)

INTERNAL EXAMINER: EXTERNAL

EXAMINER:
(Dr. JITENDRA JAIN)

INDEX

1. Introduction
2. Acknowledgement
3. Certificate
4. Index
5. What is LDR?
6. Theory
7. Apparatus required
8. Procedure followed
9. Observation
10. Conclusions
11. Precautions

WHAT IS LDR?
A photoresistor or light -dependent resistor (LDR) is a light-
controlled variable resistor. The resistance of a photoresistor
decreases with increasing incident light intensity; in other
words, it exhibits Photoconductivity.

A photoresistor can be applied in light-sensitive detector

circuits, and light and dark activated switching circuits. These
resistors use pure semiconductors like silicon or germanium.
When the light falls on the LDR, then the electrons get
excited by the incident photons and move from the valence
band to the conduction band and therefore the number of
charge carriers increases. In other words, the conductivity
goes up.

Distinction needs to be made here between photocells and

LDRs. In a photocell, when it is excited by light (photons),
electricity is generated. Unlike photocells, LDRs, do not
generate electricity but only change their conductivity.

THEORY
A light dependent resistor works on the principle of photo conductivity.
Photo conductivity is an electro-optical phenomenon in which the track
material's conductivity is increased when
light is absorbed by the material. Modern light dependent resistors are
made of materials such as lead sulphide, lead selenide, indium
antimonide and most commonly cadmium sulphide
(CdS) and cadmium selenide.

When light falls ie. when the photons fall on the material, the electrons
in the valence band of the semiconductor material are excited to the
conduction band.
These photons in the incident light should have
energy greater than the band gap of the semiconductor
material to make the electrons jump from the valence band to the
conduction band. Hence when light having enough energy strikes on the
device, more and more electrons are excited to the conduction band
which results in large number of charge carriers.

The result of this process is more and more current starts flowing
through the device when the circuit is closed and hence it is said that the
resistance of the device has been decreased. This is the most common
working principle of LDR

This can be clearly seen from the graph. The resistance of the LDR falls
rapidly with the increasing intensity of the incident light.
The converse is also true when light intensity is reduced or cut off.
Apparatus required
The project consists of the following apparatus:

1. Light source (white, ultra-violet and laser)

2. LDR
3. Switching circuit
4. Relay
5. Buzzer
6. Batteries
7. Housing for the above

Procedure followed
An empty cardboard box was used to mimic a house. An opening was cut on
the box to present a door. Behind the door, a light source is placed and in the
line of vision of the light source, an LDR is also placed.
A circuit is connected to the LDR which switches on a relay when the light
beam is intercepted. A schematic diagram of the set-up is shown below:

As seen in the above diagram, a light source is positioned behind the door
on the right hand side and an LDR is placed in the same line of vision at the
opposite end of the door.
When the light beam falls on the LDR, it lowers the resistance of the -same
and this activates the switching transistor circuit. The transistor circuit
(described later) is connected to a relay which is in turn connected to an
external buzzer.

The relay is a special type of switch which is driven by its magnetic coil.
The relay has two positions. In de- energized condition, position-1 will be
active and in energized condition, position -2 will be active.
When the circuit is powered, the relay goes to position -1
to which the buzzer is connected. Thus, the buzzer will
start ringing

But when the light source is switched on, the resistance of LDR falls and
this drives the transistor circuit and the relay gets energized. This puts the
relay switch in position -2, which cuts off the buzzer. In this condition,
whenever the light beam is intercepted by an opaque object, the LDR stops
receiving the incident light and its resistance becomes high. This de -
energizes the relay and puts it to position-1 and the buzzer starts ringing.
Thus, to summarize, we can say that the as long as the light source is on and
the LDR is illuminated, the buzzer will not ring. But the moment, the light
source is interrupted, the buzzer will start ringing.
We can Imagine the interruption of the light beam to be caused by an
intruder and hence this arrangement can automatically detect any intruder by
turning on the buzzer.

The buzzer is just one of the devices we have connected

to the relay. As such we can connect many devices to the relay such as
sirens, flashing lights or even an automatic dialer to the nearest police
station. This intruder alarm can be easily set up in houses, banks, schools
etc.

The same circuit can be rewired to reverse the effect of

light. Viz. we can make the buzzer ring whenever, light is present and
interestingly this set up can be used as a morning alarm.
 Observation
In the set up described, the following observations were made
by (a) varying the nature of light source, (b) varying the
translucency of the interceptor object.

Table of observations

S.No Type of light Source Material of Interceptor Result

1. White light Opaque Buzzer Rings

Transparent Buzzer does

not ring.
2. Near ultra - violet Opaque Buzzer Rings

Transparent Buzzer does

not ring.
3. Low intensity red laser Opaque Buzzer Rings

Transparent Buzzer does

not ring.
 conclusion
Based on the observation above, it can be concluded that the
LDR based electronic switch can be successfully deployed for
the following applications:

1. Intruder detection / burglar's alarm for home uses.

2. Anti-theft alarm for Banks and offices.
3. People Counter at Auditoriums
4. Vehicle counter at traffic check posts.
 Precautions
The project uses certain devices that can be harmful to humans and
animals if proper caution and care are not observed.

1. Laser diode: Although we have used a low intensity laser, this can
be harmful if aimed accidently at the eyes or if the reflected beam
is seen through naked eye. It is suggested to wear protective sun-
glasses while assembling / positioning the light source.
2. Ultraviolet LED: UV LED with wavelengths between 315 and
400 m , which emits the least energetic and harmful type of UV
light. However, prolonged exposure should be avoided which can
damage the skin and eyes.
3. Buzzer: This device emits high frequency audio sounds that can
damage the ears when put close to the ears or heard for prolonged
period.
4. The LDR: Should a need arise to destroy the project; care should
be taken to dispose off the LDR properly as it contains harmful
chemicals that can damage the environment.