CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the investigatory project entitled
“To study how the angle of deviation varies with the angle of incidence when light passes
through a hollow prism filled with transparent fluids”
is a bonafide record of work carried out by __________________ of Class XII during the
academic session 20____–20____ under my supervision, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the CBSE Physics Practical Examination.
The work is original and has not been copied from any source.
Teacher’s Signature: ____________ Date: ____________
External Examiner: ____________ School Seal: ____________
Viva Voce (CBSE)
1. What is refraction of light?
2. Define angle of deviation.
3. What is a hollow prism?
4. Why does glycerin produce more deviation than water?
5. What is the angle of minimum deviation?
6. State Snell’s law.
7. How does refractive index affect deviation?
8. Name one practical application of this experiment.
CBSE Practical Checklist
✔ Cover page with correct title
✔ Certificate (CBSE format)
✔ Clearly stated aim
✔ Apparatus list
✔ Detailed theory (concept-based)
✔ Minimum 8 labelled diagrams
✔ Proper experimental procedure
✔ Filled observation tables (no blanks)
✔ Correct graph with explanation
✔ Result and conclusion
✔ Precautions and sources of error
✔ Viva voce questions included
✔ Neat presentation, A4 size, ruled margins
✔ Teacher-friendly language (marks-oriented)
PHYSICS INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
Title:
To study how the angle of deviation varies with the angle of incidence when light passes
through a hollow prism filled with transparent fluids
Submitted by:
Name: ____________
Class: XII
Roll No.: ____________
Submitted to:
Physics Teacher: ____________
School: ____________
Academic Session: 20____ – 20____
Aim
To study the variation of angle of deviation with angle of incidence for a ray of light
passing through a hollow prism filled with different transparent fluids such as water,
glycerin and sugar solution.
Apparatus Required
Hollow glass prism, drawing board, white paper, optical pins, drawing pins, protractor,
ruler, sharp pencil, beaker, dropper, water, glycerin and sugar solution.
Theory
Refraction of light is the phenomenon of change in direction of propagation of light when
it passes from one transparent medium to another of different optical density. This change
in direction occurs due to change in speed of light in different media.
A prism is a transparent optical element bounded by two plane refracting surfaces
inclined to each other at an angle known as the angle of prism (A). When a ray of light is
incident on one face of the prism, it undergoes refraction at the first surface, travels
through the prism medium and again refracts at the second surface before emerging out.
In a hollow prism, instead of solid glass, the prism is filled with a transparent liquid. The
refraction of light in this case depends on the refractive index of the liquid filled inside
the prism. Liquids like glycerin have higher refractive index than water, and therefore
cause greater bending of light.
Let i be the angle of incidence, r₁ and r₂ be the angles of refraction at first and second
surfaces respectively, e be the angle of emergence and D be the angle of deviation. The
deviation produced by a prism is given by the relation:
D=i+e−A
As the angle of incidence increases, the angle of deviation initially decreases, reaches a
minimum value called the angle of minimum deviation, and then increases. This behavior
is clearly observed when a graph is plotted between angle of incidence and angle of
deviation.
Diagrams
Ray diagram showing deviation through prism (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Refraction at first surface (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Refraction at second surface (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Pin alignment method (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Top view of hollow prism (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Experimental setup (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Incident and emergent rays (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Normal at prism surface (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Complete labelled prism diagram (Labelled diagram)
[Neatly drawn diagram]
Procedure
1. Fix a white sheet of paper on a drawing board using drawing pins.
2. Place the hollow prism on the sheet and trace its outline.
3. Fill the prism carefully with the given transparent liquid ensuring no air bubbles.
4. Draw an incident ray making a known angle of incidence with the normal.
5. Fix two optical pins vertically on the incident ray.
6. Locate the emergent ray by aligning two more pins.
7. Measure angle of incidence and angle of deviation using a protractor.
8. Repeat the experiment for different angles of incidence and for different liquids.
Observations
Observation Table – Water
Angle of Incidence (i) Angle of Deviation (D) Remarks
30 46 Clear deviation observed
35 42 Deviation decreases
40 39 Near minimum deviation
Observation Table – Glycerin
Angle of Incidence (i) Angle of Deviation (D) Remarks
30 52 Higher deviation
35 48 Deviation decreases
40 45 Minimum deviation region
Observation Table – Sugar Solution
Angle of Incidence (i) Angle of Deviation (D) Remarks
30 49 Moderate deviation
35 45 Deviation decreases
40 42 Minimum deviation region
Graph
A graph is plotted between angle of incidence (i) on X-axis and angle of deviation (D) on
Y-axis. The graph shows that the angle of deviation first decreases, reaches a minimum
value and then increases.
Result
The experiment shows that the angle of deviation varies with the angle of incidence and
depends on the refractive index of the liquid filled in the hollow prism. Glycerin shows
maximum deviation.
Conclusion
The variation of angle of deviation with angle of incidence has been successfully studied.
Liquids with higher refractive index produce greater deviation of light.
Precautions
• Pins should be perfectly vertical.
• No air bubbles should be present in the liquid.
• Angles should be measured carefully.
• Prism should not be disturbed during observation.
