Experiment 404 is all about the index of refraction and was divided into

three parts. The initial and the secondary part of the experiment were done

individually. For Parts A and B we are tasked to find the index of refraction of

glass when light bends from glass into air and vice versa. We are given a paper

with a circle drawn in there that has x and y axis. As I follow the procedure given

in the manual I got the length of GH and FL. For part A the length of GH is 5.0cm

and FL is 3.3 cm. For part B the length of GH is 3.3cm and 5.0cm for FL. Using
𝐺𝐻 𝐹𝐿
these formulas: ng= (for part A) and ng= (for part B) I got the same result for
𝐹𝐿 𝐺𝐻

experimental value of index of refraction of glass for both parts which is 1.52 and

has 0% of error compared to its actual value. The last part is about finding the

critical angle for glass, the critical angle occurs when the angle of refraction is

equal to 90 degrees and cannot produce a refracted rays anymore. The actual value

of the critical angle is 41.14 degrees. After conducting the experiment we got the
𝑀𝑈
length of the line MU=5.4cm and EU=6.2cm. Using the formula: Ө= tan -1 we
𝐸𝑈

obtained 41.05 degrees as the value of critical angle which is 0.22% of error from

the actual value.

Based on the theory we cannot have a value of the index of refraction that is

less than 1. For the first two parts the actual value of the index of refraction of

glass is given to be 1.52 and my experiment shows no percent of error compared to

the actual value so my results were definitely agreed with the theory. For Part C, it

is stated than when n1>n2 then Ө1<Ө2 , where n1=1.00(air), n2=1.52(glass), Ө1=90

and Ө2 =41.14. Using the Snell’s law: 1.00 sin(90) = 1.52 sin(41.14) is equal to

1=1. Since the value of index of refraction of air is less than the value of index of

refraction of glass therefore the angle of refraction must be greater than the angle

of incidence, which is proven to our experiment.

For both the first and second part, the principle of refraction, which is the

change of direction of light due to its change of medium or most commonly known

as the bending of light. The second principle is that critical angle varies from

diverse types of material that is why it is important to know the value required of

critical angle of the material, to avoid errors in the computation.

The first principle was verified by the experiment that we individually done.

For the part A and B of the experiment, when you look at the pins from the top

view you will see that three pins are not in a straight line. But when you look

through the thickness of lower side of the glass you will observe that the pins were

aligned in a straight line and you will only see one pin because the other two is

hidden behind the 3rd pin. For the Part C the critical angle is the refracted ray lies

along the boundary, having an angle of refraction of 90-degrees. Therefore, we

could simply say that this is the corresponding angle before the angle of refraction

would be equal to 90⁰. This was verified true in the experiment by obtaining an

error of less than 5%.

To minimize the error for part A and B, I advice to have a trial and error first

using a scratch paper so that you will get the accurate values and be patient in

locating the 3rd pin . Also make sure that you are seeing only one pin when you

sight at the lower side of the glass plate in that way you can be sure that the pins

were aligned. For part C, just get the most horizontal position of the laser as

possible. In this experiment you need to be patient so that you’ll get an accurate

result.