The Twists and Turns of Light

Overview

Objectives/Goals My goal was to learn whether the denstiy of a liquid medium would affect the way it refracts light. I thought that the density of a liquid medium would affect the way it refracts light because the closer the molecules are(denser), there will be more collisions. This means that light will have more molecules to bounce off of, causing light rays to bend. Methods/Materials First, make a small lighthouse with six slits out of construction paper and then, in the dark, one by one place each of the liquids (water, water with two teaspoons of salt, water with two teaspoons of glucose, club soda, syrup, Sprite, vinegar, Canola oil, and an empty cup) 3 inches away from the house, turn on the light, and record the distance between the focal point and cup. Results I did my experiment five times. Water had a distance of two inches between the focal point and the cup, water w/ salt-1.6in., water w/ glucose-1.7in., Club Soda-1.9in., syrup-.4in., Sprite-1.7in., vinegar-1.8in., every time. Except Canola oil had a .9 inch distance the second time, and a .8 inch distance the other four times. Conclusions/Discussion My hypothesis was correct. The density of a liquid medium would affect the way it reftacts light. In my experiment, I found that as I tested denser liquids, the refraction increased and the focal point came closer to the cup. So, as density increased, refration does, too. In this experiments, I learned that refraction is affected by the density of liquid medium. I also learned how the principal of refraction is used to correct human eyesight.

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Physics & Astronomy · Entry J1536

Resources

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