PHYSICS COURSEWORK 960/4

TITILE: THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE POWER OF THE

LENS TO THE LENS MATERIAL AND THE RADIUS OF
CURVATURE
NAME: A.DARSHINII A/P A.SIVASANMUGAM
NO.KP: 001117-08-1014
ANGKA GILIRAN: MA7003/1501
ABSTRACT
› In this assignment, I was required to explore and identify the
relationship between the power of the lens to the lens material
and the radius of curvature. In this scientific study, the type of
material the lenses made by were identified along with the reason
why do people prefer lenses made of glass to that of plastics. It
can concluded that, lenses made of glasses are more powerful to
that of plastic. It is because lenses made of glasses have shorter
focal length. Apart from that glass lenses with small radius of
curvature are more powerful than the lenses made of plastics
with long radius of curvature.
1.0: INTRODUCTION
› 1.1: THEORY
• According to the Article Editors Of Encyclopaedia Britannica
1970, lens is an optic which made of a piece of glass or other
transparent substance that is used to form an image of an object by
focusing rays of light from the object. A lens is a piece of
transparent material, usually circular in shape, with two polished
surfaces, either or both of which is curved and may be either
convex (converging) or concave (diverging). 
1.2: LITERATURE REVIEW

• According to the article review by the on the Selection of

Materials for Eye Lenses 1986, it is stated that up until the
late 1970s, contact lenses were made from two materials.
Hard contact lenses were made of polymethyl methacrylate
(PMMA), while the soft contact lenses were made of a
hydrated polymer, hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), which
contained 37.8% water by weight. These lenses provided
clear vision and comfort, but there was a problem. These
lenses did not allow oxygen to reach the cornea. Because of
this, the cornea could change, adversely, in some contact lens
wearers.
1.3: PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Do different material of lenses have different power?

• Do lenses with different radius of curvature have

different power?
1.4: OBJECTIVE
• The objective of this experiment is to determine the relationship
of the power of the lens to the lens material.
• The objective of this experiment to determine the relationship of
the power of the lens to the radius of curvature.
2.0: METHODOLOGY
› In order to successfully conduct this project, all the facts,
information, and also statistics on the relationship of the power
of the lens to the lens material and the radius of curvature were
collected from the internet. I went through some websites in the
internet to find the results of the investigations and experiments
which shows the relationship of the power of the lens material
and the radius of curvature. StackExchange, OptiCampus, and
Lumen were the example of websites where I used to collect the
informations about the relationship. Conclusion about the
relationship was made from the studies.
3.0: DISCUSSION
› In the scientific study to find the relationship between the power of the lens to the
lens material shows that lens made of different materials have different power.
Glass lenses are heavy compare to plastic lenses which are light in weight. Glass
and plastic lenses with same radius will have different power. This is because
lenses made of glass have shorter focal length to that of plastics. Thus, this can
concluded that lenses made of glasses are more powerful compare to plastics.
› The radius of curvature of a surface is inversely proportional to its
surface power. This means that, as the radius of curvature increases,
the surface power decreases. The radius of curvature of glass lens is
smaller than the lens made of plastic. Thus, this can concluded that the
surface power of glass lens is higher than the lens made of plastic.
4.0: CONCLUSION
› As a conclusion, this scientific study allowed us to know the
relationship between the power of the lens to the lens material
and the radius of curvature. In this scientific study, it shows that
lenses made of glass are more powerful to that of plastic. This is
because lens made of glass has short focal length. Apart from
that, the studies between the power of the lens and the radius of
the curvature shows that the radius of curvature of a surface is
inversely proportional to its surface power. This means that, as
the radius of curvature increases, the surface power decreases.
›