Refraction and the Speed of Light

Overview

Objectives/Goals The purpose of my project is to find out how fast light travels through different mediums. Methods/Materials Materials 5 Sheets of Paper; Pen; Ruler; Printer; Printable Radian Protractors; Scientific Calculator; Laser Pointer; 5 Square Plastic Containers; 200mL of Distilled Water ;200mL of Cooking Oil; 200mL of Dish Soap; 200mL of Surface Cleaner. Procedure 1. Print out five radian protractors. 2. Fill the plastic container with 200mL of the test medium. 3. Fold a printed protractor in half. 4. Put a test medium on the center of the protractor. 5. Using the pen, make a dot about 4 centimeters from the fold on the paper of the protractor. 6. Put the laser down, and aim it at the dot. Aim the laser so it goes over the dot and enters the test medium at the fold on the protractor. 7. Using the pen, mark where the laser enters and exits the test medium. 8. Using the protractor, measure the angle of incidence and the angle of angle of refraction. 9. Use Snell's law to calculate the speed of light in the air and in the test material. 10. Repeat steps 2-8 with the different test mediums. Results Test | Density | Speed of Light | Weight | Angle of Medium | (g/ml) | in Medium (m/s) | in Grams | Refraction Control | 0 | 287,422,723 | 0 | 0.85 Surface Cleaner | 0.8230 | 304,410,967 | 164.6 | 0.92 Distilled Water | 0.8535 | 308,964,122 | 170.7 | 0.94 Cooking Oil | 0.8775 | 302,076,996 | 175.5 | 0.91 Dishwashing Liquid | 0.9170 | 306,706,675 | 183.4 | 0.93 Conclusions/Discussion

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Physics & Astronomy · Entry J1707

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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