REFRACTION LAB

BY: Isaac Hamilton 2nd hour

Purpose:
The purpose of this experiment is to find the angle of refraction when light goes through different sized jars filled with water

Hypothesis:
I think that as the diameter of the jar decreases, the measurement of the angle of refraction increases. I think this because as the diameter of the jar gets smaller, the curve of the edge becomes sharper and because of that, the light will bend more.

Materials:

A light box One 9cm wide jar One 6.3cm wide jar One 5.4cm wide jar One 2.8cm wide jar

Procedure:
Fill each jar with water Turn on the light box Draw a straight line 5cm away from the front of the light box Place one of the jars so that the back of the jar is even with the line Use the protractor to measure the angle shown in the diagram Record the data Repeat the 4th, 5th and 6th steps for each jar

Data Tables
JAR DIAMETER 9cm 6.3cm 5.4cm 2.8cm ANGLE OF REFRACTION 20 37 33 51

Conclusion:
In conclusion, I discovered that, for the most part, the smaller diameter jar means a greater angle of refraction. Although there was one outlier, the angle of refraction steadily went up as the diameter of the jars decreased. I think this happened because as the diameter of the jar decreases the curve of the jar becomes sharper. I believe that the reason the light bends at all is because light goes through water slower than it goes through air.