Handling Lab Errors and How to Write a Lab Report in Physics

Part 1 Measurement, Precision, and Uncertainty

Part 2 Using DataStudio@UNH
Part 3 How to Write Your Lab Report
Appendix I Choices for your Report Title
Appendix II Choices for your Report Abstract
Appendix III Raw, Theoretical, Calculated, Measured, or Empirical Data?
Appendix IV Graphs
Appendix V Some Common Lab Report Mistakes

Part 1 Measurement, Precision, and Uncertainty

Before you present any data you should understand the limits to the certainty of measurements, and how to
present these limits when you present your results.

Throughout our lives we encounter information (data, facts, results, opinions) and we subconscious assess the
credibility of the information. We make this assessment based on various subtle clues, such as the source, the
context, any caveats, and our prior knowledge.

When working scientifically we want to systematize this process and communicate our assessments. Many of
these subtle clues will be available to you in the lab as you make your measurements but can only be guessed
at by people reading your report.

I want you to be able to assess what reduces the certainty of your results and to write a value for your
uncertainty whenever you express your results in lab reports. This will typically take the form A = (some
number) +/- (some other number) (units). For example; y = 5.25 +/- 0.03m

Some Meanings
Variability
Variability describes the changes inherent in the thing being measured.
Further analysis of the data or repetitions of the measurements cannot reduce variability.

Uncertainty
The data collected does not exactly match that which was being measured.
This uncertainty can be reducible.

Total Uncertainty
Total uncertainty is the combination of both variability and uncertainty.

Systematic Errors
Systematic errors result from a repeatable malfunction of equipment or theory. If identified, systematic errors
can be corrected for.

An example would be a dial that had shifted. All results measured from the position of a needle against this dial
would be off. You could correct for this by adding or subtracting a constant value to all your results.

Random Errors
When a measurement is repeated, with all the settings being identical to those of the first measurement, the
results will still have some scatter. This scatter is a result of randomness in the process. The properties of
such random errors have been studied mathematically. We can perform statistical analysis on such data, and
repetition of the measurement can be used to improve the precision of the result.

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Accurate
‘Accurate’ corresponds to a low level of systematic error.

Precise
‘Precise’ corresponds to a low level of random error.

Accurate but not precise Precise but not accurate

What Should You Do?

Calibration
Calibration error is one key subset of systematic error. Calibration errors occur when a measuring device
reliably returns a value that is different from the 'real' value by a constant amount. For example, the meter
always reads 1.5 Volts more than the actual value. Other calibration errors occur when the sensitivity of the
device is off. For example, when a meter returns a value that is always 8% less than the 'real' value. A single
instrument may be suffering from a combination of both the above.

Estimate the Range of Your Results (70% rule)

Never give a single value as the result of a measurement. Always give a range, y =1.25 to 1.35s. This can
equally well be given as y = 1.3 +/- 0.05s.

The range that you quote should contain about 70% of your data, or you should expect an exact replication of the
measurement to have a 70% chance of being within your range.

The extremes of your range correspond to the statistical notion of the values one standard deviation above and
one standard deviation below the mean. The value 0.05s in a statement ‘y = 1.3 +/- 0.05s’ is our estimate of the
standard deviation of our results.

Calculate the Uncertainty in your Final Results Based on your Raw Measurements
Methods for calculating the precision of results based on data used in their generation are given below. The
following short cuts are often justified.

The Uncertainty in One Variable Dominates

If one variable has a large inaccuracy compared to all the others you are often justified in calculating the effect of its
inaccuracy on the results whilst ignoring all the effects of the other more accurate variables.

The Scatter About a Theoretical Line Shows the Uncertainty

Where you are confident that your data should exhibit some behavior that can be shown graphically, the scatter
of the results gives a strong indication of the inaccuracy of your results. This scatter can be represented by the
2 2
‘R ’ value and graph plotting programs can calculate the value for your data. The R values vary between zero
and one, values closer to one show that there is little scatter about a theoretical line.

The biggest warning to be aware of is that something can have very low scatter but not be accurate. Try
explaining to a policeman that you were traveling at exactly 78.5 miles per hour in a 65 miles per hour zone.
Your precision counts for nothing. Similarly experiments can give you very consistent but wrong results.
2
If you record your data as round numbers your R value may become useless, I have seen round numbers 1.0,
2
1.5, 2.0 etc chosen for variables which resulted in an R value of exactly 1.0. I was not impressed.

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Show Precision (Error Bars) on ALL your Graphs
When you plot a measured point on a graph you should communicate not only its central value but also some
indication of its spread. This can be done by plotting error bars in the x and y directions. The lengths of these
bars should have lengths that correspond to the standard deviations of the x and y variables.

Plotting Precision (Error Bars) on Just One Variable

Where One Variable is much less precise than the other, only plot the Bars on the least precise variable.

Significant Digits
Where you write numbers, write them with the correct number of significant digits. When you read numbers do
so knowing that the number of digits used implies the accuracy of the value. (Note; the ideal use of significant
digits, described below, is often not followed, particularly for round numbers and numbers from theory. For
example, a meter stick of length “1m” is presumably known to an accuracy better than +/-0.5m. Also, in an
equation “y = 2 x” , the 2 is presumably exact because it originated in some theory.)

Use of Significant Digits

Suppose that you measured an object to travel a distance of 4.814 meters in 23 seconds. The distance is
quoted to 4 significant digits yet the time is quoted to only 2 significant digits. Using a calculator to find the
speed from v = distance/time gives a display of 0.209304347 m/s.

Is this precision possible? No! You do not know the result beyond the precision of your least accurate value.
That is, your precision is limited to 2 significant digits. Therefore we take our calculator display and round up or
down to 2 significant digits.

The correct answer is v = 0.21 m/s (2 significant digits).

Do not mindlessly copy calculator results.

Rule for multiplication and division:

Quote your results to the number of significant digits of the least precise input.

Example: We measure a rectangle and find it is 12.1 cm on one side and 5.3 cm on the other. What is the area
2 2
of the rectangle? Area, A = (12.1) x (5.3) = 64.13 cm = 64 cm

Rule for addition and subtraction:

Quote your result to the last decimal place that you have a value for in each of the inputs.

Example: We measure the time between the first event and the second to be 100.0 seconds and the time
between the second and third events to be 15.947 seconds. The time between the first and third events is only
known to be 115.9 seconds.

Combining Experimental Uncertainties

If we measure a rectangle to have a length 31.0 cm ± 0.05 cm, and a width of 22.0 cm ± 0.05 cm, what is the
range of possible values for the area?

Smallest Possible Area is ( 31.0 – 0.05 ) ( 22.0 – 0.05 ) = ( 30.95 ) ( 21.95 ) = 679.3525
2
= 679 cm

Largest Possible Area is ( 31.0 + 0.05 ) ( 22.0 + 0.05 ) = ( 31.05 ) (22.05) = 684.6525
2
= 685 cm

We would usually express the result for the area as the average +/- half the difference, that is:
2
Area = 682 ± 3cm

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Percentage Uncertainties
The above approach rapidly becomes tedious. An easier way to combine uncertainties is to work with the
percentage uncertainties of all the factors in an expression. In our example Area = Length x Width, and we
can calculate the total percentage uncertainty in the Area as the sum of the percentage uncertainties of each
factor.

The percentage uncertainty in Length is (0.05 / 31.0) x 100 = 0.16 %

The percentage uncertainty in Width is (0.05 / 22.0) x 100 = 0.22 %

Thus the percentage uncertainty in Area is 0.16 + 0.22 = 0.38 %

We can now express the Area of the rectangle as Area = 682 ± 0.38 %
2 2 2
Now, 0.38% of 682 cm = 2.59 cm , which, because we are working to 3 significant digits we quote as 3cm .
2
Thus we quote the Area of the rectangle as Area = 682 ± 3cm (as before.)

Summary:
When combining experimental uncertainties, if two quantities are added or subtracted, the uncertainty in the
result is the sum of the uncertainties of the quantities.

If two quantities are multiplied or divided, the percentage uncertainty in the result is the sum of the percentage
uncertainties of the quantities.

Thus: if we measure two quantities a and b, and if they have respective uncertainties Δa and Δb,

the sum c=a+b has uncertainty Δc = Δa + Δb

the difference d=a–b has uncertainty Δd = Δa + Δb

the product f=ab has uncertainty Δf/f = Δa/a + Δb/b

the quotient g=a/b has uncertainty Δg/g = Δa/a + Δb/b

If there are more than two factors, you simply keep adding percentage uncertainties. For example, acceleration
is equal to distance divided by time squared. This counts as three factors: distance divided by time divided by
time, so when adding uncertainties, the percentage uncertainty in acceleration is equal to the percentage
uncertainty in distance plus twice the percentage uncertainty in time.

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Part 2 Using DataStudio @ UNH
Start running the DataStudio program, typically by double clicking on the desktop icon.
When presented with the “Welcome” page, click on the “Create Experiment” cartoon.

Connecting the Sensors

You should then be presented with the Experiment Setup window with a list of Sensors on the left and an image
of the interface on the right. Identify, or make an intelligent guess at, the name of the sensor you are going to
use. Double click on the name or icon of the sensor and notice that it appears as an icon connected to the
interface box. Make the connections in the real lab world that match the diagram image on the computer. If you
want to use more than one Sensor you can add the others now or later.

Displaying Data
The lower part of the Left hand side of the main DataStudio window lists different ways of displaying data. You
may play around with these later but for an introduction let us use the “Graph” option. Double clicking on the
graph option opens a dialogue box where you can choose which of the measured variables you wish to have
displayed. In the case where the motion sensor is the only sensor connected, you can choose one from
amongst Position, Velocity, and Acceleration. If you have more Sensors connected you will be able to choose
from amongst more variables. If you have already collected data your choice will be complicated because there
will be a numbered Run below each variable. Select one variable or one Run by highlighting it and then clicking
on OK. A graph should appear. Assuming you have not collected any data this graph has labeled axes on a
graph paper background but no data points. If you have multiple Runs and chose to highlight a variable rather
than one Run of that variable you will have a complicated graph with all the runs shown on the same figure.
With the Graph window displayed you can add or remove data from different Runs by going to the ‘Data’ drop-
down at the top of the Graph window, or by going to the ‘Key’ in the insert box.

You can change the variables plotted against the axes by rolling the cursor over the axis label and clicking
when the list icon appears. The default y-axis variable is time, but once the graph window is open you can
change that setting.

You can have multiple graphs showing at the same time by repeating this procedure. You can also have graph
displays open at the same time as other displays such as the FFT. (The FFT is a graphical display which shows
the frequency content of your data, should that be of interest to you.)

Rescaling your Graph

If you roll your cursor over one of the axes on the graph you will see the cursor displayed as a hand. You may
then grab the axes and move them about, up-down and across. If you roll your cursor over one of the values on
the axes, then you will see the display change to a curly spring shape. At that point you may grab the value and
slide it along its axis. This expands or contracts the scale of the axis.

Changing the Settings for your Sensor

Each sensor has its own ‘Sensor Properties’ dialog box that can be accessed by double clicking on the name or
icon of the sensor in the Experiment Setup window. Calibration is very important in Physics and it is in this
Sensor Properties box that you will access the calibration. The other option we will turn to in many labs is the
Sample Rate or Trigger Rate setting.

Changing the Trigger or Sampling Rate

Double click the Sensor name or icon in the Experiment Setup window. Search the tabs until you see either
Trigger or Sample Rate. For the Motion Sensor the Trigger Rate is shown on the ‘Motion Sensor’ tab page. Try
changing the Trigger Rate. Notice that the Max Distance changes once your rate exceeds 15 Triggers per
second, but that the clicking sound is unchanged. Leave the Trigger Rate high, perhaps at 50 and click on OK
and then on Start to measure a new Run. You will now notice that you are recording data at a very much higher
rate. The higher rates are important for fast events.

Exporting Data to Excel

Amongst the data ‘Displays’ on the left hand side of the main DataStudio window is the ‘Table’ option. Double
click this display option and select the data (Run or Variable) that you wish to display. You can export this data
by a highlighting a portion of the data and then using the cut and paste options on the main drop downs at the
top of the DataStudio and Excel windows. With no data cells highlighted the copy command will take all the data
which can then be pasted into Excel.

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Part3 How to Write Your Lab Report

What is a Lab Report?

The 'Lab Report', and the related 'Scientific Paper' are integral parts of the Scientific Process. They
communicate actions, observations and ideas to other scientists, they enable work to be evaluated, and they
document what happened. The report enables other scientists to recreate in their minds what occurred, and if
necessary, to physically reproduce the experiment.

The report is a structured document with three or more levels of detail. The Title is a very simple description of
the work done, in one sentence or less it labels the topic covered. More detail is given at the next level, the
abstract; this describes the work done in a few paragraphs. The remaining sections provide all the detail.

This structure helps with information retrieval. If you receive a large number of emails you make use of a similar
structure. You scan a list of very short statements showing sender and subject, and you identify those you want
to read. I may see “James Brown: Latest test data on sound.” If James is known to me then I may want to
review his data. When we email large amounts of data, we very often send the bulk of it as one or more
attachments. This allows the receiver to read the email and decide if the attachment is worth opening. Similarly
an abstract for a report allows a reader to decide if the whole report is worth reading. The three levels of detail,
title, abstract, and body, allow the reader to very quickly choose whether to commit more time to reviewing the
next level of detail. It does lead to some repetition, so you should expect the key ideas that make it into the title
to also occur in the abstract and the body, and important ideas that make it into the abstract to be repeated in
the main text.

Why such detailed reports?

Progress in science involves many individuals and groups spread out around the world. Ideas, calculations, and
measurements occurring at one place and time have to be understood later by other scientists at other
locations. This is achieved through careful descriptions of what occurred and clear presentations of data, it
involves the disclosure of the assumptions, models, and theories underlying the work, and it involves clear
statements of the conclusions reached and the evidence and reasoning that led to them.

Giving full details of the experiment and results allows for the rigorous examination by other scientists. This
“peer review” is performed explicitly as part of some publication processes and informally as the papers are
read. This is the method by which non-science and nonsense are kept out of the body of human knowledge.

Advice
Reports have to be well written; there should be very little ambiguity or room for misinterpretation. If the written
language is poor then the science is not being presented well. If the science is not presented well then the
grade for the work must be low. Develop good communication skills. This will be a valuable job skill ($$) and
will increase your Lab grade.

Make sure that you clearly understand the key ideas before you leave the lab. Express them verbally, or even
write them down before you leave, and then writing them up later will become easier.

Keep the roles of the title and abstract in mind when you are writing your lab report. Only allow key facts and
ideas into the abstract and title, put other detail within the body of the report.

Pictures can greatly simplify many explanations. Use figures. Diagrams and graphs are important ways of
clearly communicating physics. Label the diagrams and include informative titles. For example, "Figure 3.
Temperature vs. time." You can then refer to “Figure 3” in the text.

Present your equations well. An equation like, y = yo + vo*t + 1/2a*t^2 is unacceptable. Either write equations
by hand or use an equation editor. Use standard mathematical expressions; do not develop your own private
hybrid language using bits of meaning from different sources. Make all your mathematical statements using
equations; that means, presenting two different but equivalent expressions on either side of an equals sign. And
for ease of reading with understanding, keep the equals signs lined up directly below each other.

DO NOT COMMIT PLAGIARISM. That is, do not pass off other people's work as your own. If you feel that you
need to closely follow someone else's ideas, then give them credit and give a reference to a publication where
the ideas can be found. You may make direct quotations, or lift diagrams from elsewhere, but you will learn
more and receive more credit if you write your own material and draw your own diagrams.

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Lab Report Structure

TITLE One or two lines identifying the main topics.

ABSTRACT One or two paragraphs giving more detail than the title.
Include key results and conclusions, and mention the experimental and/or theoretical methods used.

INTRODUCTION This longer section is the meat of the report and should be an interesting narrative. It
should build a clear picture of what happened. State what you did, what you saw, how you reasoned and what
you concluded. This section should start from scratch; you should introduce all aspects of the lab as you need
them. Introduce objects and ideas before you refer to them. Whenever you write “the …” check and see that
you have already introduced the “…” to your reader.

It is OK to repeat in the introduction words and phrases that appear in the title or abstract.

Sketches or diagrams showing the arrangement of apparatus are almost always included early in the
introduction.

As you describe a procedure, you might use an example with actual values.

You should do everything that makes your report easier to understand.

Optional sections
Some material is so specific that it detracts from the description you are giving in the
introduction. Examples might be lengthy calculations, detailed procedures, piles of data, or
theoretical descriptions. The flow of the introduction can be maintained by writing separate
sections for this material. These sections often have labels like; EXPERIMENTAL METHOD,
THEORY, RESULTS, DATA, PROCEEDURES, etc.
.

DISCUSSION-CONCLUSION This section should be a few paragraphs long and should draw the reader's
attention to the most important results and findings. You should present the conclusions you reach and the
reasoning behind them, describe the implications of your research, highlight difficulties you encountered,
describe things you would do differently next time, and develop ideas for and follow-on research. Your results
must be accompanied by an estimate of their accuracy.

THE END

Your measured results should be presented at least twice, once in tables and once on graphs. Both the written
results and the graphs should include estimates of the accuracy, and don't forget the units. Somewhere in the
report, in the 'discussion-conclusion', or in the ‘introduction’, ‘experimental method’ or ‘results’ sections you
should explain the sources of your inaccuracy. You should link the inaccuracy in any calculated results to
directly measured values, and you should explain why your most significant sources of inaccuracy are as large
as they are.

Reporting is a dry accounting of what happened. As you write your report, keep in mind:

I DID
I SAW
I CONCLUDED

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Appendix I Choices for your Report Title
Compare the following titles offered for the same lab report.

Capacitance

Capacitance
Title: Capacitance

Lab 5: Capacitance
Lab 5 Capacitance, Time Constant, and Resistance

Title: Capacitors / Resistors and There Proportionality to the Time Constant

The Relationship between Capacitance, Resistance and the Time Constant, τ

Examining Relationships Between Resistance, Capacitance, and the Time Constant

The Measurement of the Time Constant and the Relationship between the Time Constant and Resistance, and
the Capacitance as Demonstrated by Experimentation

Title: The study of capacitance by measuring the time constant, varying the resistance and capacitor, and
determining the relationship of the time constant to the resistance and capacitor.

While there is no one true title for any report, there are some parts that should be stressed and other parts that
while true are best ignored.

• The titles in the above list that only have one informative word ‘capacitance’ should be avoided, they
are too short.
• The longest in this list are too long.
• You are discouraged from using ‘Lab 5’ in the title because it emphasizes a bureaucratic element in
your life, rather than the physics. However, there is nothing inherently wrong with giving the sequence
number and some instructors may wish you to include it.

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Appendix II Choices for your Report Abstract
What Values do I Quote in the Abstract?
Of the values that you measure or derive from measurements, some are specific to the equipment that you
used while others are valid for a wide range of experiments. Only the latter is of interest beyond the particulars
of the equipment that we used. You must make judgments between what is of general interest (keep them in
the Abstract) and items that are mere details; they should be reported in the body of the report but not in the
Abstract.

Don’t Make References From the Abstract

Many readers of Abstracts do not have the body of the report available to them, so write Abstracts so that they
can be read alone. Thus references to “figure 5” should be avoided as they can lead to direct frustration.
Instead put in words the key observations you are drawing from your “figure 5”.

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Appendix III Raw, Theoretical, Calculated, Measured, or Empirical Data?
Raw Data is the data that you record directly off your instruments.

Theoretical Data is created according to a theory that you are using and is in no way derived from the
measurements taken in your lab.

Measured data includes both raw data and data that is made by performing simple calculation on raw data. For
example, if you measured the diameter of circular copper wire as your raw data, you could use simple algebra
to find the area of the wire. This could still be referred to as measured data. And you could make a statement
2
such as we measured the area to be …. m . This is an example of fairly direct measurement.

Calculated data refers to values where a substantial amount of theory has been used along with raw data to
produce a result. This would be an example of indirect measurement.

Empirical data refers to directly or fairly directly measured data. Thus raw and measured data are empirical,
they both exist fairly independently of any theory

You should make it apparent which type of data you are quoting.

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Appendix IV Graphs
The art of graphing is to present the data in such a way that the importance of the data is immediately apparent,
it should jump off the page, and it should not be misleading! Spot the errors in presentation on this graph.

Spot the improvements in this graph.

Graph 1. Position vs Time

16

14
Position (meters)

12

10
y = 0.67x + 3.95
R² = 0.91
8

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Time (seconds)

Your graphs should include lines representing an average about which the data are scattered.
DO NOT JOIN THE DOTS.

Include vertical and/or horizontal bars to show the total uncertainty of your data.

Size is important for both graphs and pictures. Make them large enough to be easily read.
Overall size should be at least a half page.

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Appendix V Some Common Lab Report Mistakes
Awkward explaining. If you interrupt the flow of your prose to explain the meaning of a term, then you have
probably got the sequence wrong. Try to explain each term at some point before you first use it.

Fluff and avoidance. If you find yourself avoiding an issue, or smothering it in grandiose language, or techno-
babble, it usually means that you don’t understand it. Consult a book, friend, colleague, or teacher.

Human error. This is usually used incorrectly. "Human error" should be restricted to circumstances like when
a switch was turned on rather than off. There are cases where a human being is part of the experiment, like
when using a stop watch, here we refer to the inaccuracy introduced by the human response time. Our errors
we should correct, but our inaccuracy is part of our experiment.

Writing the decimal point. Make sure that when you write the decimal point you make it obvious enough. I
recommend that you write a number before every decimal point, such as using '0.1' rather than '.1'.

Big and Small. In everyday language we use ‘big’ and ‘small’ with little or no ambiguity. “The elephant was
big.” No problem. In Physics we deal with the world at all scales. 'Big' and 'small' lose their anthropocentric
meaning, they become relative terms. A 2.00 mm length of metal wire is small compared to a lab bench but big
compared to integrated circuit components. Try to avoid using 'big' and 'small'.

This might…, this can… Say what you did. Don't speculate.

The actual value. Experiments are often designed to yield a measured value of a quantity that is accurately
known. It is incorrect to refer to a more accurately measured value as the ‘actual’ value. If you quote a value
from somewhere, then reference the source and don't call it the actual value.

Precision. The precision of your measurement should be estimated from the range of values that are
consistent with your measurement. Any value from 3.8m to 3.9m might be true for the length of my car, so my
precision is +/- 5cm.

Accuracy/precision is not the difference between your measured value and a value quoted in some book.

Capitalization. In Physics the meaning of an uppercase symbol can be totally different from and sometimes
unrelated to the lower case symbol. For example, G is the universal gravitational constant with a value of 6.67
x 10-11 N.m2/kg2, whereas g (9.81 N/kg) is the strength of the gravitational field at the Earth's surface.

Proved In everyday life we often talk of proving things, and we have different assumptions about what forms a
proof. Mathematical and logical proofs are logical and absolute. There is no logical or absolute proof in
science.

We have only doubt and knowledge. Experiment often convinces us that ideas are not true and then we want
to present strong conclusions without referring to proof. You might try variations on the following; “The data in
graph 2 supports the accepted value for the speed of light, (c = 3.0 x 108 m/s).” Or more positively, "The
hypothesis, that the speed of light was 150 m/s, is disproved."

The student …, The instructor … In physics there is an assumption that it does not matter who performs an
experiment. Drop references to who did what.

I learned …, I enjoyed …, This lab taught me … Physics instructors are pleased to receive feedback on
student experiences. However, the Lab report is not the place for it.

Cryptography, obfuscation, occultism, and fallaciousness. The communication of ideas in Physics is

difficult enough without aggrandizement. Make your statements short, and to the point.

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1. Electrostatic Force
Introduction
Coulomb (Charles Augustin) worked in Paris from 1776 until the revolution in 1789 and invented his torsion
balance in about 1784. John Michell, in England, also invented a torsion balance, used later by Henry
Cavendish (1731-1810) to measure the density of the earth. The inventions seem to have been independent of
each other, the English probably preceding the French. (Notes from Great Experiments in Physics, Edited by
Morris H Shamos, Henry Holt and Co. 1960). This fine balance allowed Coulomb to experiment on the strength
of the electrostatic force between charged objects.

His observations and measurements led Coulomb to describe the electrostatic force, Fe, as inversely
proportional to the square of separation distance. We write this today in equation form as;

𝟏 𝒒𝟏 𝒒𝟐
𝑭𝒆 = Eq 1
𝟒𝝅𝜺𝟎 𝒓𝟐

If we simplify this by considering the special case where q1 = q2 is kept constant. Thus we can write;

𝟏
𝑭𝒆 ∝ Eq 2
𝒓𝟐
Let us make the assumption that electrostatic force is proportional to some power of distance, but that we do
not know the value of that power, which we can label as ‘a.’

𝑭𝒆 ∝ 𝒓𝒂 Eq 3

Measuring a is our goal.

Suppose that we, like Coulomb, turn the top of the wire to apply a torque to a rotating assembly that holds one
of the charged spheres. If the force that this torque produces on the ball, Fτ , exactly counteracts the
electrostatic force, Fe, then the ball will experience no net force, and will rest at the same position that it was at
when there was no electrostatic force and no torque produced force.

On a torsion wire the torque produced force, F , is proportional to the angle θ through which the top of the
τ τ

torsion wire was turned.

𝑭𝒆 ∝ 𝜽𝝉 Eq 4

We can therefore combine these relationships to write;

𝜽𝝉 ∝ 𝒓𝒂 Eq 5

In this lab you will measure pairs of θ and r and use them to determine the value of 'a.'
τ

Key Learning Objectives

Underlying physics:
• Closer charges experience more force, and the quantitative relationship between F and r.
Lab and analysis skills:
• Ability to establish a power law from data.

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Note on Equipment
The torsion balance is a very delicate piece of equipment, capable of very fine measurements. You will have to
take great care to achieve useful results. You will have to respect other users too. Notice how a gentle breeze,
from a passing neighbor is enough to completely disrupt your experiment.

The constant charge is provided by a high Voltage supply. We will be using 6,000 Volts, the mains is at 120
Volts, you must avoid all possibility of getting shocked.

Safety warnings for high Voltages

Do not use High Voltages when you are alone. Wear rubber soled shoes. Work with one hand only; keep the
other hand in your pocket or behind your back. Be aware of all conducting objects, such as metal tables that are
in your vicinity. Make sure that people in the room with you are aware that you are working with high voltages.
Use appropriate equipment, for example the leads in the lab have different lengths of sheathed handles, the
longer sheathed handles the safer for high voltage. Do not use leads with exposed metal on any parts other
than the necessary exposed ends.

Method
Set up the Torsion Balance
The torsion balance employs the restoring torque in a taught vertical wire to provide a force that balances the
force to be measured. Other experimental research has established that the amount of torque is proportional to
the angle that the top of the wire is rotated through. Look for your vertical torsion wire.

Your balance should have a graphite painted Ping-Pong ball and counter weight assembly mounted half way up
the torsion wire. Make sure that the ball and counter weight rotate easily in a horizontal plane and that the
aluminum counterweight passes between the magnets of the electromagnetic damper.

The torsion applied by the wire to the assembly is adjusted by rotating the dial mounted at the top of the wire.
With no electrostatic force applied to the ball adjust the angular dial on the top of the apparatus until the ball
assembly rests with the mark on the counterweight aligned to the fixed mark.

Record the angle θ for this zero applied force situation, that is, zero charge condition.
0

Notice how the second graphite painted Ping-Pong ball can be positioned at different distances from the first
ball. Position the balls so that they are touching. Determine the appropriate “separation distance” for the balls
while they are touching, and calibrate your equipment.

Using the High Voltage Power Supply

Use this high Voltage with caution.

Turn the High Voltage Adjust know fully counterclockwise.

Make sure the ON/OFF switch is OFF and that there is no lead running from the supply.

Plug in the 120 V mains supply.

Plug in one High Voltage lead to the right most of the three sockets below the High Voltage Adjust knob and a
second to the left most socket. Do not use electrical wires that are not High Voltage leads.

Hold the leads in safe positions, that is, away from all people and conducting materials.

Turn the on/off switch to ON. Hold one lead to the metal of the power supply case and turn up the Voltage to 6
kilo Volts.

Charging the Balls

Separate the balls, perhaps to 20cm, and touch first one then the other with the lead.

Measurements
Keep the Voltage applied to the separate balls fixed and hence keep a constant value of q throughout the
experiment.

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Charge the balls and set them at a particular distance apart, 6 cm. Use a protractor to estimate how far the ball
has repelled, θR. Adjust the dial on the top of the apparatus to realign the mark on the counter weight to the
benchmark. Record the angle on the dial, θD.

You have your first set of separation distance and angle measurements. But which angle(s) are useful?
Discuss which of these angles, if either, you expect to be proportional to a power of the separation distance.

Discuss sources of error in this experiment. Determine a means to minimize these errors. (Note: you should do
this in every experiment before you proceed, whether or not the instructions explicitly ask!)

Note: from here forward, only record the angle(s) that are useful.

Double the distance: Repeat the charging and measuring process, but double the separation distance. Note
by what factor the force changes.

Estimate range: At the doubled distance, repeat your process of charging, measuring, and discharging about
10 times. Use this to estimate the range in your data (which will eventually be useful in determining error bars).

Gather more data: Repeat for a large sample of possible separation distances.

Discuss sources of error.

Analysis
Comparing plots
Plot a graph of θ vs. r (recall that this means θ goes on the y- axis).
τ τ

Print a single copy of your plot, and by hand fit the data.

Use Excel to take the natural log of θ and r. Plot a graph of ln θ vs. ln r.
τ

Print a single copy of your plot, and by hand fit the data.

Decide which plot is easier to fit.

Finding ‘a’
Equation 3 states that the angle is proportional to an unknown power of the separation distance. Notice that the
raw data directly plots this relationship, including the unknown power, and guess the power from your plot (is
this easy/practical/doable?).

Equation 5 can be rewritten: 𝜽𝝉 = 𝑪𝒓𝒂 Eq 6

The transformed relationship corresponds to taking the natural log of both sides of equation 6:

𝒍𝒏𝜽 = 𝒂  𝒍𝒏𝒓   +  𝒍𝒏𝑪 Eq 7

Compare this to    𝒚     =  𝒎  𝒙           +    𝒃 , the equation of a straight line. Eq 8

Decide if your ln ln plot follows the expected relationship.

Decide which plot is more useful for determining the unknown constant ‘a.’ As a group, determine a method for
finding ‘a’ and carry out your method. Make sure to clean up the graph, adding labels, etc.

Important Details
Somewhere in your lab report, the following issues should be addressed:

1.) why use a ln ln plot instead of plotting the raw data? That is, why is ln ln better in this case?

2.) why is the value of ‘a’ important? What information does it tell us about electricity, magnetism, or optics?
You should compare to the Coulomb force equation, but avoid saying you have “proved” anything and avoid
comparing to the “actual value”!
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 a
3.) Equation 3, θ = C r is not a fundamental equation in physics. Explain the origin of this equation.
τ

NOTE: the answers to these questions should not be tacked onto the end of your report, but should be
addressed within the flow of your report. They should not be numbered and separately addressed, but
smoothly integrated into your write-up.

Other Thoughts
The model we use is of two point charges, yet the balls are not points and have conductive surfaces. What
effects would you expect if the model included the size and conductivity of the ball. Warning: calculating the
effect exactly would be extremely difficult.

Additional Test
Does the time that the high voltage lead is in contact with the ball surface change the results? If you have
performed the practical part of the experiment with time to spare, then please test this.

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2. Equipotential Surfaces and Electric Fields

Introduction
In this lab you will use an indirect process create a diagram of an electric field that you will have produced
between two arrays of charge. You will also evaluate the strength of the electric field at different positions.

You will create an electric field in a region that includes a somewhat conducting sheet. On that sheet you will
locate positions of equal potential, that is positions of equal voltage. By drawing lines through these points you
will plot equipotential lines. And because the electric field is everywhere perpendicular to the local
equipotential lines you will sketch the shape of the electric field you created. You will then measure the strength
of the electric field at a couple of locations.

An analogy.
The shape of a landscape is often shown on maps by the use of contours. These contours are lines of equal
elevation, usually measured from sea level. These contours can equally validly be referred to as lines of equal
gravitational potential, equipotential lines. From the maps you can see regions of higher elevation, hills, and
regions of lower elevation, valleys. You can also see the slope of the land, the slope is always perpendicular to
the contours, down hill means going from a higher potential to a lower potential.

Where the equipotentials are close together there is a rapid loss of elevation with horizontal distance, what we
call a steep slope. Wide spread lines represent shallow slopes. If you imagine a rainstorm over the hillsides
you could see a sheet of water everywhere rolling downhill, nowhere running along a contour, always running
perpendicular to the equipotentials.

Steep
slope

High
Shallow slope

Low

Figure 1 A contour map of a hill, the closed loops represent lines of constant elevation

Electric charges move in a similar way to water on a hill. Electric charge moves in response to electric fields,
they move from higher electric potential to lower electric potential. The electrostatic force on a charge can be
related to the electric field through the relation, E = F/q. You should associate the ‘Steep slope’ of the diagram
with a ‘Strong field’ and therefore a large electrostatic force on the charge at that location.

Method
Set up
Our lab uses a graphite sheet that has some charge that is free to move about. While we measure the
properties of the electric field in the graphite sheet we record our information by pressing through the sheet onto
a carbon paper that in turn presses on and marks a sheet of regular paper. To set up the apparatus you should
form a sandwich with regular paper on the bottom, carbon paper carbon side down in the middle, and graphite
paper graphite side up at the top.

Place this paper sandwich on the board, graphite paper on top and use the magnetic strips (like long white
fridge magnets) to hold the paper in place.

Place the metal terminals in contact with the graphite paper. If you want to look at the field between two
rectangular conductors then place the metal rectangles under the metal terminals.

Connect the low voltage power supply across the two terminals; you can set the voltage up to 12V. By
supplying charge to the two metal terminals you have established your electric field.

Connect two wires to your voltmeter. These wires are now your probes.
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Plot a map of equipotentials
Place one of the voltmeter’s probes at some point on the paper. Consider this probe to be the fixed probe.
With the fixed probe in one location move the other ‘explorer’ probe to different positions on the paper. You
should notice that the needle on the voltmeter is moving. By trial and error locate a position on the paper for
which the voltmeter reads zero. Push firmly down with the explorer probe to mark this position with the carbon
paper. Move the explorer to find another location with a zero voltage reading, mark this too. Keep marking
zero voltage reading points until you have enough. (Enough to clearly establish the shape of this equal voltage,
equipotential line.) Move the explorer probe to one of the terminals and record the potential difference (voltage)
between the terminal and the equipotential line where your fixed probe is.

With points for one line established, move the fixed probe to a new location and repeat the exploration process
to mark points for another equipotential line. Repeat to find many equipotential lines, recording the voltage of
each line from one terminal.

Mark the locations of the terminals by pushing through the carbon paper.

With many lines and the terminal locations and shapes marked you may remove the papers from the board.
You should be rewarded with an attractive set of points that clearly show a curvy pattern. Recognize which
points belong to a set of equal potential points and draw an equipotential line through these points. Repeat this
to form equipotential lines for each set of equipotential points. Label each line with its voltage. You now have a
‘contour’ diagram of the electric field. These are not your electric field lines but are related to them.

Sketch the Electric Field

Use the property that the electric field is always perpendicular to the equipotentials to sketch electric field lines.
You will be judging this by eye and your lines while very meaningful will not be exact. Look over your sketch
o
and try to find any place where your electric field lines cross an equipotential at an angle other than 90 ? If you
find such a place, your electric field line is wrongly drawn, erase it and redraw it. You now have a diagram of
your electric field.
Establish the values of E, the electric field at various points.
Select two of the electric field lines you have drawn. Choose one that is close to or along the line of symmetry
connecting the centers of the electrodes, and one that is as far out to one side as possible.

For each of these lines measure the total voltage from one end of the line to the other and the total length along
the line. For the curved line you will have to use a flexible ruler or the edge of a piece of paper to measure the
distance along the curved path.

For each of these lines calculate the average Electric field strength along the line. To calculate the strength of
the electric field, E, use the expression, E = - ΔV/Δs, where Δs is a distance along the electric field line. You
should be able to establish that the average field strength along one line is larger than that along the other.
Notice that the units Volts per meter are the same as Newtons per Coulomb.

Use the voltages and distances on your diagram to identify regions of strong electric field and regions of weaker
field. You do not have to redraw your diagram, but realize that you could redraw them in such a way that the
density of the electric field lines represented the strength of the electric field.

Electric Field for Different Geometries - If time permits

Repeat the entire procedure above with the different geometry terminals.

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3. Voltage, Current, and Resistors

Introduction
In this experiment we will be examining the electric current through and the voltage drop across resistors.

Electric current (I) is the rate at which electric charge passes through some place or object. The SI unit for
current is the Amp (A), and One Amp = One Coulomb per Second.

The voltage drop (V) is the difference in the voltage between one place and another, in this lab, between the
two ends of a resistor. The voltage drop is the same thing as the difference in electric potential. The SI unit
for voltage or electric potential is the Volt (V), and One Volt = One Joule per Coulomb.

Ohm’s Law
Georg Simon Ohm (1787 – 1854) discovered in 1826 that many objects have electric currents that are
proportional to the Voltages across them. This relationship is simple, practical and is used very often and in
various situations. However, there are many situations where the current is not proportional to voltage. With
Ohm’s law we employ a strange, rather circular, logic; Ohm’s law is one of our rules of Physics, but it only holds
for some objects, so we refer to these objects as Ohmic and then apply Ohm’s law.

‘The current through is proportional to the voltage across an object’ is expressed by the equation:

V = I R (Ohm’s law)

In this equation, R is the resistance of the object and the SI unit for resistance is the Ohm, which is written with
the symbol Ω, capital Omega.

Thus we might measure 6V across a resistor whilst simultaneously measuring the current of 40mA. We can
conclude that the resistor has a resistance of R = 150Ω. If we changed the voltage across the resistor to 2V
we would find that the current through it becomes 13mA.

“Ohmic” devices, known as ‘resistors’

When we buy a 2kΩ resistor we expect it to have a resistance of 2kΩ over a large range of voltage. Objects
that have a constant value of resistance are “Ohmic” and often simply referred to as resistors.

Experiment
Is This Object Ohmic?
You will have several objects, probably resistors, wired on a board.

How can you determine whether an object is Ohmic?

Big Hint; compare Ohm’s law with the standard equation of a straight line of slope m and y-intercept of c.

V = R I (Ohm’s law)
y = m x + c (Straight line)

Setting up the Circuit

Connect the circuit shown in the circuit diagram (Figure 1), this is the same circuit that is shown in the sketch
(Figure 2).
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 Ask the laboratory teacher to check your wiring before plugging in the power supply.

Follow good practice for turning on equipment.

Make sure that the power supply is turned off before plugging in to the mains supply.

Make sure the voltage and current level knobs on the power supply are turned down before turning on
the power supply.

Make sure that all leads from the power supply are connected to appropriate places. That is, ensure
that there is no hazardous electrical path from your power supply.

P.S.

A B

Figure 1, Circuit diagram

V
B
A

Figure  2,    Drawing  of  the  circuit  and  equipment  

Proceedure
Measure and record a simultaneous pair of readings for current, I, on the ammeter and voltage, V.

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Estimate how accurate your measurements are and record the accuracy with your measurements.

Change the output voltage from the power supply and record the new current and voltage values.

Continue until you have a useful set of pairs of values, use a range of current from 0 to 200mA.

Put your results into Excel and plot a graph of V vs. I. You should have a graph similar to Figure 3.

Do you have an Ohmic resistor?

What is it’s resistance in Ohms?

Replace the resistor you are testing with a second resistor from the same board.
Repeat the above to find the resistance of this second resistor.

Replace the second resistor with the two resistors you tested wired in series, see Figure 4 and comments.
Repeat the above to find the resistance of the series combination.

Replace the series combination with the same two resistors wired in parallel, see Figure 5 and comments.
Repeat the above to find the resistance of the parallel combination.

Replace the parallel combination with the flashlight light bulb.

Repeat the above to show V vs I for the light bulb, increase the voltage until the bulb glows brightly.

Can you describe your light bulb as an Ohmic device?

Is it Ohmic for any range of values?

Voltage vs Current for Device 1

35

Trendline Equation: y = 0.2123x

30

25

20
Voltage (V)

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Current (mA)

Figure 3, Typical Graph

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 A B

Figure 4, Resistors combined in series.

When circuit components are connected in series the current traveling through one element is the same as the
current traveling through the other. This occurs when there are no junctions between the elements, thus the
charges moving through the first component have no where to go but through the second.

If we think of a stretch of highway between two consecutive junctions, all the cars passing under one bridge
have to pass under each bridge on this stretch of highway. Going under the bridges like this is an example of a
series combination.

A B

Figure 5, Two resistors combined in parallel.

When circuits components are arranged in parallel the current arriving at one point becomes divided, some of
the current goes through each of the elements before recombining at the second junction.

Let us think of a set of tollbooths across a highway. The traffic traveling along the highway arrives at the plaza,
then divides (different cars going through different booths) and then recombines as it leaves. This is an
example of a parallel combination.

Figure 5 shows two resistors combined in parallel, the current arriving at A divides, passes through the resistors
and recombines before leaving at B. Note, the same potential difference exists across both the resistors.

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Analysis
Use your graphs to find the values of resistance for the two individual resistors you used and the values of
resistance for the series and parallel combinations.

Use your graphs to estimate the accuracy of your resistance values.

When two resistors are combined in series the resistance of the combination, Rseries is the sum of the values of
resistance of the two component resistors.

That is, Rseries = R1 + R2

Do your measured values support this?

When two resistors are combined in parallel the resistance of the combination is found as Rparallel

where: (Rparallel )-1 = (R1 )-1 + (R2 )-1

Do your measured values support this?

Not all objects with resistance are Ohmic.

Do your measured values support this?

Supplementary Procedures
Replace the laboratory ammeter and voltmeter by other current, voltage, and resistance measuring devices.
This is to give you familiarization with other meters that are available.

Use a signal generator instead of the DC power supply to continuously vary the applied voltage. Use the x-y
option on an oscilloscope to observe the trace of the voltage across a known Ohmic resistor and the voltage
across some unknown device. The voltage across the known Ohmic resistor will be proportional to the current
flowing and the trace will automatically draw the I vs. V plot for the unknown device.

Produce I vs. V ‘characteristic’ plots for non-linear circuit elements such as diodes.

Show that elements containing inductance and capacitance have frequency dependant characteristics.

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4. Wheatstone Bridge

Introduction
The Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit characterized by a set of four resistors and a galvanometer
arranged in the pattern shown in Figure 1.

A B
G  

Figure 1. The characteristic arrangement of a Wheatstone Bridge.

In use the combination of resistors is selected so that no current flows through the galvanometer, G. Thus the
current entering the top two resistors at the left-hand junction is identical to the current at the right-hand junction
arriving from the top two resistors.

Question; If no current flows through the galvanometer, what can you say about the potentials at
the two points in the circuit that it is connected to?

Answer;

Hint; we used this idea in lab 1.

Ohm’s Law
Ohm’s law relates the current through a resistor to the potential difference across it (Voltage). We are working
within the region where all our resistors are Ohmic, thus we will make use of their constant resistance values, R.

Look at Figure 1. and notice that the top and bottom points are at the same voltage and that the left hand end of
both the left hand resistors are at a common potential, the potential of A.

Question; What can we say about the potential difference, or Voltage, across the two left hand
resistors?

Question; What knowledge, derived from the galvanometer reading, have you used in reaching
this answer?

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Our Wheatstone Bridge Circuit
Figures 2. shows the circuit that you will use. Notice two complications.

1) The top two resistors are in fact two parts of a single wire. It is our positioning of the connection to the
galvanometer that determines where one resistor ends and the other begins.

2) During the experiment we will be changing the value of the bottom left resistor. We achieve this by using a
set of known resistors. R3 is shown as a variable resistor.

R1 R2

i1

i2
G  

R3 R4

Goal
Use the Wheatstone bridge with the wire of unknown resistance to find the resistance value of an object R4.
All you know are the various values of R3 you choose, and the position on the wire that yields a zero reading on
the galvanometer.

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Theory
You should have noted in your analysis on page 1 that the voltage across R1 equals the voltage across R3.
From Ohm's law we can express this as;
i1 R1 = i 2 R3 (Equation 1)

By a similar argument ; i1 R2 = i 2 R4 (Equation 2)

Dividing these equations yeilds; R1 R3

= (Equation 3)
R2 R4
From equation 3, we see that any one resistance value can be found from knowledge of the other three.

Note; we can find an unknown resistance with even less information. If R3 is known, all we need to know in
order to calculate R4 is the ratio of R1 to R2.

Because we are using a uniform wire, (where resistance is proportional to length), the ratio of R1 to R2 is also
the ratio of L1 to L2, where L1 and L2 are the lengths of R1 and R2 respectively.

Thus we can write; R3 = R4 L1 (Equation 4)

L2

Compare equation 4 with the y = m (x) + b

equation of a straight line.

Procedure 1
Set up the circuit with the slide wire, a decade box, and an unknown resistor for R4.

Measure data and plot a graph of R3 vs L1/L2 .

Use the slope of the line to find R4.

Procedure 2
Replace R4 with a coil of wire, a slinky will do nicely.

Find the resistance of the slinky along its length.

Find the resistivity of the slinky. See the boxed note on resistivity.

Resistivity
Resistance is a property of an object. We can talk of an object saying, "This piece of copper has a
resistance of 5Ω." However, we can also talk of a property of copper itself, what we call a material
property. To say "The resistivity of copper is …. Ωm." is to talk of a property of all copper.

Resistivity, ρ, is related to the resistance, R of an object of uniform cross section by the equation,

ρ = R (A/L),

where A is the area of prism and L is its length.

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 5. Capacitance
What is Capacitance?
Imagine a pressurized gas tank, perhaps an air tank used by a scuba diver. To describe its capacity to hold gas, we might
construct a measure that is the amount of air for a given pressure. Perhaps Capacitance = mass of air / pressure of tank. A
larger tank could hold more air at a given pressure, and a tank (therefore fixed capacitance) can hold more air if the
pressure is increased.

Question; What is electrical capacitance?

Answer; Capacitance is the ratio of

Capacitance has units of

Charging a Capacitor
If we apply a voltage across two isolated items, we force a certain amount of charge to sit on the items. A 'capacitor' is
designed to accept significant amounts of charge when a voltage is applied to its two terminals. And the amount of charge
is determined by the size of the voltage and the size of the capacitor. A larger capacitor (larger capacitance, C) holds more
charge than a smaller capacitor, assuming the applied voltage is the same. A larger voltage will put more charge onto a
capacitor.

If an isolated capacitor has been charged and the charging device removed, the charge remains on the capacitor, positive
charge on one part and negative charge on the other. The voltage across the two parts remains at the level of the applied
voltage. With no path for the charge to travel, the capacitor remains charged. - +

Discharging a Capacitor
If we provide a path for charge to flow from one side
of a capacitor to the other, we will allow the capacitor
to discharge. A circuit for discharging a capacitor
is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Circuit diagram for discharging a
capacitor
Uses for Capacitors
Capacitors can be used to store charge. Cardiac resuscitation units use capacitors to store charge which is then released
suddenly to jolt the heart back into regular rhythm.

Capacitors are used to create time dependency in electrical circuits. We will look at the discharge of capacitors with time
in this lab. This time dependency is used in oscillating circuits, like those that are used to tune radios.

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Equation for the Voltage Across a Discharging Capacitor
A quick measurement of the voltage across a capacitor as it discharges will yield a plot of V vs. t that looks exponential.
You will not know that it is exponential as plots of 1/x, 1/x2 , and other functions can look very similar to exponential
decay.

If we make the assumption that it is exponential decay then we can write the following tentative formula for the curve

V ( t ) = Vo e-t/τ (Equation 1)

Where, V (t) is the voltage as a function of time,

Vo is the voltage at some initial time, t = 0,
t is time, and
τ is a characteristic length scale for the decay called the time constant.

This equation describes exponential decay; you should test whether this is the appropriate model for discharging
capacitors, more on this later.

Sketch two exponential decay curves on this one set of axes.

Have both curves start at Vo but have one curve decay more rapidly than the other.

Vo

Question; Which curve represents decay with a larger value of τ ?

Question; Many curves may appear similar to exponential decays,

(parts of parabolas, sections of higher order polynomials),
suggest a way of discriminating between them.

Question; What is the value of V(t) at the time when t = τ ?

Express your answer in terms of Vo.

V(t=τ) = Vo

Set up
Set up the circuit as shown in figure 2. Use a 100kΩ resistor and a 47µF capacitor.
Display the Pasco Voltage Sensor using the ‘Graph' option.
1.5V Switch
To Pasco
Voltage
Sensor

R Figure 2. The RC circuit

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Part 1. Measurement of the Time Constant (τ ), two methods.
Method 1. Measurement of time on a V vs. t plot.
Click on the ‘Start’ button and monitor the voltage as you temporarily close the switch (connect the positive side of the
battery to the capacitor, and then break the connection).

You should see the voltage jump to about 1.5V and then decay back towards zero over many seconds.

Record a voltage vs. time plot and print out a region that is sufficiently long that it shows a decay from some V o to V =
0.37 Vo. That is, a region that includes a drop of at least 63%.

Measure the value of time constant, τ, directly from this graph as the time taken to drop from any chosen V0 to 37% of that
chosen value.

My Measured value of τ is +/-

Value Accuracy Units

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Method 2. Measurement of slope on a ln (V) vs. t plot.

By taking the natural log of equation 1., it is possible to see that ln (V) should be proportional to time.

Question; What equation do you get when you take the ln of equation 1.?
Recall; ln (AxB) = ln A + ln B and ln ex = x

ln (V) =

Question; The slope of the ln (V) vs. time graph should equal the physical property:

There are two ways that we can use our lab software to plot the data on a ln (V) vs. time graph.

Way 1. You can display your Voltage and time values using the ‘Table’ option in the Displays list in DataStudio,
these data can be cut and pasted to Excel where you can use the ‘=’ (function) possibilities in Excel to calculate ln
(V).

Way 2. Within DataStudio you can click on the calculator icon in the graph window, and reply OK, that yes you
do want to create a calculation on Voltage.

Within the Calculator dialog box, with the ‘x’ high lighted, click on the ‘Scientific’ dropdown arrow and
choose ln(x). Your definition should now read y=ln(x) and below in the ‘Variables:’ area you should see
‘x=Voltage, ChA’. (Assuming that you have the voltage coming in on Channel A.)

As you record new data and display y=ln(x) on the so-called ‘y-axis’ you will produce a graph of ln(V)
vs. time.

Whichever way you plot it, your ln (V) vs. time graph should exhibit a downwards sloping straight line for those regions
where the capacitor is discharging. Use a curve-fitting program to calculate the value of the slope and use that value to
calculate the value of τ.

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Part 2. Relationship Between Time Constant τ, Resistance, R, and
Capacitance, C.
2.1 The relationship between τ and C
Replace the capacitor in your circuits and use the slope of the ln (V) vs. t graphs to find values of τ for various values of C
for a fixed R. Extra values of C can be obtained by combining capacitors in series or parallel. You might complete a table
like this; Table 1 Data for R = 100kΩ
C (F) Slope m (s-1) τ (s)

Plot a graph of C vs τ ; what do you learn from your graph that tells
you about the relation of C and τ?

2.2 The relationship between τ and R

Use a similar technique with a fixed C to show the relationship between τ and R.

2.3 Express τ in terms of R and C

Hint: What is the value of RxC for the 100kΩ resistor and 47µF capacitor?

Hint: Are the units of RC in seconds?

Appendix I Resistor Color Code

Black 0 0 x1 Fourth Band indicates accuracy.

Brown 1 1 x 10 Gold +/- 5%
Red 2 2 x 100 Silver +/- 10%
Orange 3 3 x 1000 No forth band +/- 20%
Yellow 4 4 x 10,000
Green 5 5 x 100,000
Blue 6 6 x 1,000,000
Violet 7 7 x 10,000,000
Gray 8 8 x 100,000,000
White 9 9
-4 2
Instructor note: the numeric values of RC between 10 and 10 should produce useful decays.

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 6. Magnetic Fields & the Magnetometer
Introduction
We know that the Earth has a Magnetic Field and that Magnetic Fields are associated with electric currents. In this
experiment you will visualize and then draw one particular Magnetic Field, that due to a solenoid, and then compare the
influence of a known field with the Earth’s Field to calculate the strength of the Earth’s Magnetic Field as it exists here in
the lab today.

Part I
Set up the circuit shown in Figure 1 below and run an electric current of about 500mA through the solenoid. The solenoid
is a conducting wire that is wound in a series of loops like a coiled spring. The magnetic fields of each wire combine to
produce a magnetic field runs along the length of the coil and is similar in shape to the field of a bar magnet and to the field
of the Earth.

Figure 1. The Current Carrying Solenoid

Use a compass and iron filings sprinkled on a sheet of paper to visualize the field due to a current in a solenoid. Record the
shape of the field using field lines. Be sure to include the direction associated with the lines.

Part II
In this, the main part of the experiment, you will determine the strength of the Earth’s magnetic field in the lab. You will
be using a magnetometer that consists of a horizontal compass at the center of a vertical coil of wire. The compass shows
the direction of the net Magnetic Field and the net field is the vector sum of the Earth’s field and the field due to the current
in the coil. By considering the angle of the compass we can judge the strength of the Earth’s field relative to the coil’s
field. We can calculate the strength of the coil’s field.

Theory
The Earth can be modeled as a sphere containing a bar magnet or solenoid, the field spreading out from the north end of the
magnet, curving around in space and reentering the Earth before running through the magnet from it’s south end to it’s
north end. See Figure 2.

Figure 2. The Earth with its Magnetic Field

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We are familiar with the magnetic field in our anthropocentric, Flat-Earth, thinking where we ignore the vertical
component and only consider the horizontal component of the field. This component allows us to use a compass to
identify directions along the surface of the Earth. Asked to point North we point horizontally in a direction towards
Canada.

Most compasses are only free to rotate about the vertical axis however, an inclination compass has freedom to point in any
direction and shows that the magnetic field here in the Northern Hemisphere points down into the ground. Let us call the
angle made with the horizontal the angle of inclination, Ι.

If we draw the local magnetic field on horizontal and vertical axes, those of us in the Northern Hemisphere will have a
diagram like Figure 3.

Vertical component (usually ignored)

B Bv = B sin I

Horizontal component
Bh = B cos I

Figure 3 The Earth’s Magnetic Field (Northern Hemisphere)

The angle of inclination, Ι, is easily measured with an inclination compass. We will use this angle to calculate B, the
strength of the Earth’s magnetic field from Bh, the horizontal component of the Earth’s magnetic field, which we will
measure. The Strength of the Earth’s magnetic field, B, can be found from Bh through the relation;

Bh
B= Equation 1
cos I

Bh is found by comparison with a known magnetic field. We use a current in a circular coil of wire to create our known
magnetic field. The strength of the field at the center of such a coil can be calculated through the Biot-Savart Law. For a
coil of N loops, of radius R, carrying a current i, the strength of the magnetic field, Bcoil, is given by;

µ 0Ni
B coil = Equation 2
2R

Procedure

Orientate the magnetometer so that when there is zero current the compass points in the plane of the coils, Figure 4a.

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 N N BTotal
Bh

Bcoil

Figure 4a. Magnetometer, Current Off Figure 4b. Magnetometer, Current On

Connect the coils to a DC power supply and pass a current through the coils. The compass will now point in a different
direction due to the combination of the two fields. Figure 4b. shows the compass needle pointing at an angle. The size of
this angle depends on the size of Bcoil and therefore on the current and number of turns of our coil, i and N. Let us define
the angle θ to be the angle from the position of the compass when no current flows to the position being measured.

B coil
From Figure 4b. we can write that, tan θ = , Equation 3
Bh

µ 0Ni
and hence Bh = Equation 4
2R tan θ

2RBh
or Ni = tan θ Equation 5
µ0

Record data for Ni and θ. Enter this in an Excel spreadsheet and create a column of tan θ. Use the N = 5, 10, and 15
settings on the magnetometer and a range of current values to produce about ten values of Ni.

Plot a graph of Ni vs. tan θ.

Is the shape of the graph what you would expect from Equation 5?

Use the slope of your graph and Equation 5 to calculate the value of Bh. (µ0 = 4π x 10-7 in SI units).

Calculate the strength of the Earth’s Magnetic Field in the lab from your value of Bh.

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 7. Refraction

Introduction
When a beam of light passing through one medium encounters the interface between that medium and another, some of the
beam will be reflected and usually some of the beam will be transmitted. It is observed that the path of the transmitted
beam is “bent” away from the original direction of travel, a phenomenon known as refraction.

The amount of refraction depends on the indices of refraction of the two media. The index of refraction is a property of
each medium and is related to the speed of light in that medium.

Analogy
You are standing some distance from the edge of a swimming pool when you see an old person in distress in
the water at the far side of the pool. You immediately run to the near side of the pool, jump in, and swim over to
the old person.

Task 1. Sketch the path you might choose, assuming that you want to rescue the old person as soon as
possible.
Fig 1. shows the situation and the shortest route.

Figure 1. A drowning old person and you

Task 2. If you were an endangered leatherback turtle (that could only move slowly over the land) yet still wanted
to save the life of a human, what path would you take? Sketch it on Fig. 1. too.

Warning

Be very careful with laser light, laser light has physical properties that make it more damaging than light from
other sources. Always know where your laser is pointed and ensure that the beam and any reflections of the beam
end by arriving at non-reflective objects. The lasers in this lab can not burn your skin or clothes but our eyes are
light sensitive. Do not let a beam, or reflected beam go into anyone's eye.

One common source of danger is the jewelry including watches that we wear. If you accidentally put a reflective
object, like the glass front of a watch, into the beam you will create a reflected beam that can be damaging. All
beams must be safely terminated (absorbed by a non-reflective surface).

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Procedure One
Mount a semicircular prism with the middle of its diameter at the center of the angle-calibrated dish.
Align the laser to strike the flat interface going from air to glass (or plastic) at the center of the dish.

θt
θi
θr

Figure 2. A beam of light striking the flat face of the prism, going from air to plastic

Make a table of measurements of the angle of incidence, θ i, the angle of reflection, θ r, and the angle of refraction, θ t for
a range of angles of incidence from 0 to 90o. Measure angles from the normal to the surface, and observe the intensity of
the light of the reflected ray.

Use Excel to plot a graph of θ i, vs. θ r. Place error bars on your graph.

Question; Do your data support an assumption that θi, is proportional to θr?

Yes / No

Use Excel to plot a graph of θ i, vs. θ t. Place error bars on your graph.

Question; Do your data support an assumption that θi, is proportional to θt?

Yes / No

Procedure Two
Reverse the semicircular prism so that the laser strikes the flat interface going from glass (or plastic) to air.

Make a table of measurements of the angle of incidence, θi, and the angle of refraction, θt, for a range of angles of
incidence from 0 to 90o. Again measure angles from the normal to the surface. Observe the intensity of the reflected light
beam as you do this part.

Use Excel to plot a graph of θ i, vs. θ t. Place error bars on your graph.

Question; Does this data support an assumption that θi, is proportional to θt?

Yes / No

Further Analysis
Use Excel to plot a graph of sin θ i vs. sin θ t , use glass to air data. Place error bars on your graph.

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 Question; Do your data fall in a straight line, within the accuracy of your results?

Yes / No

Use the equation of the straight line, y = mx + b, to produce an empirical law relating the angle of incidence to the angle of
refraction.

My empirical law is;

Use your text book to identify the physical meaning of the constant m in the sin θi vs. sin θt graph. With your
empirical value of m, calculate the speed that light is traveling in your prism.

Question; The speed of light in air is 3.00 x 108 m/s, calculate the speed that the light
traveled in our prism.

value error units

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 8. Lenses and Lens Systems
Goals
• Familiarity with the meanings of the following optics terms: converging, magnification, object, image,
focus, object distance, image distance, and focal length.
• To be able to construct ray diagrams for a single lens and a two lens system for converging lenses
• To establish that 1/i + 1/p = 1/f
• To use the above equation to measure the focal length of a lens
• To be able to design and construct a two lens system to achieve a desired magnification

Terminology
i
p

Figure 1. Ray diagram showing the image formation by a “thin” converging lens.

With a “thin” lens the ray paths are based on the central plane of the lens, the pecked line in the diagram.
The intersection of the rays on the right is used to predict the location of the top of the image.

Object distance, p, is the distance between the lens and the object.
Image distance, i, is the distance between the lens and the image.
Focal point, F, is shown. This is where light from an infinitely distant object would be focused.
Focal length, f, is the distance from the lens to the focal point. Lens strengths are known by their focal lengths.

Notice that the size of the image is different from the size of the object and that the image is upside down.
Magnification, m, is the ratio of the image height to the object height and the value of m is negative if the image
is inverted. The in Figure 1, m = – 2.5.

Part I. Determining the Relationship Between p, i, and f (Object, Image, and Focal lengths)
• Setup the optical bench with a light source, just one lens, and a screen.
• Find positions of the equipment that give a clear sharp image on the screen.
• Measure the object and image distances, p and i, and record them in two columns in one row of a
spreadsheet that is set up like Table 1 below.
• Record data for other object and image lengths that also produce sharp images.
• Use the Excel functions to calculate a values for 1/i and 1/p.
• Graph 1/i vs. 1/p, with a best fit straight line and equation of the line.
• Derive an equation relating i, p, and f.
o To do this you will have to interpret the physical meaning of the y intercept.

Write your empirical equation that links i, p, and f.

Assume that the magnification can be expressed as: m = - i/p

Eliminate i in your equation and solve for p in terms f and m: p =

Eliminate p in your equation and solve for i in terms f and m: i =

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Table  1  
i  (m) p  (m) 1/i  (1/m)   1/p  (1/m)

Part 2. Determining the Focal Lengths of Two Lenses

Use your graph intercept from part 1 to find the focal length of your lens. f1 =

Repeat the process for another lens and find its focal length. f2 =

Part 3. Theory

Confirm that your equation from part 1 is equivalent to the thin lens equation: 1/f = 1/p + 1/i (1)

Assumption: magnification can be expressed as: m = - i/p (2)

Confirm that your equation for p in terms f and m is equivalent to: p = f (1 – 1/m) (3)

Confirm that your equation for i in terms f and m is equivalent to: i = - f (m – 1) (4)
Part 4. Design and Construction of a Two Lens System
Construct an optical system that uses your two lenses to produce an upright image one-sixth the size of the
original. Do this in two stages, the first lens producing a magnification of – 1/2 and the second a magnification
of -1/3. The final magnification is the product of the magnifications of all the stages, thus mtotal = (- 1/2 ) x (–
1/3 ) = + 1/6

Use the value of magnification, m = - ½ , of the first lens and equation 3 to calculate the first object distance, p1.
Then use equation 4 to find the image distance for the first lens. Temporarily locate the image using the
screen.

Calculate p2 using equation 3 again and place the second lens at a distance p2 from the image formed by the
first lens. Calculate the image distance for the second lens. Locate this image on the screen and check the sign
and size of the total magnification of the system.

F1
F2

p1 i2
i1 p2

Figure 2. Sketch of the two lens system.

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 9. Diffraction and the Spectrometer
Note This lab is performed by groups that move around the room from station to station. For example one
group may start with the sodium lamp and then circulate to the candle and then to the other light sources in
turn. There is only one knife edge slit and so the final part of the experiment should be performed as one class.

Introduction
Wave-Particle duality. There once was a great argument over the issue of whether light was a wave or a
particle. This argument was a good demonstration of how difficult it is for us humans to give up our belief, our
dream, our model of the world. Many physicists perceived the behavior of light being so similar to a particle that
they went beyond their observations and held that light was a particle, and therefore was not a wave. Others
held the converse, they believed that the wave like behavior of light made it sure that light was a wave not a
particle. With hindsight we can see that the foundations of both beliefs were correct, wave and particle
properties of light can both be demonstrated. However, we should not be so naïve as to assume that light
should fit into our preconceived models. Light is what it is, and our models are only valid where they reflect the
measurable behavior of light.

In today's lab we look at a property of light that is modeled by the wave nature of light.

Diffraction. You are familiar with some of the effects of diffraction. A wave that arrives at a blockage can in
part go around the block. A wave at the shore wraps around behind a rock. Sound waves wrap around objects
and spread out when they have passed a gap. If you put an opaque object in front of your eyes you can not
see yet if you put a sound absorbing object in front of your ear you can hear! This behavior of water waves and
sound waves is known as diffraction. We will look at the diffraction of light. The scale of these effects is very
much smaller than the effects with sound or waves, by about five orders of magnitude.

Diffraction Grating. A diffraction grating is a series of absorbent parallel lines on an otherwise transparent
object. Imagine you photographed a black comb against a white background and reduced the negative. Light
arriving at one side of our grating will find a series of barriers and a series of gaps. Light that passes any gap
spreads out. Light has a wavelength and when light from two sources arrives in phase (crest with crest) the
effect is the addition of the light from the two sources. When light arrives out of phase (crest on trough) there is
cancellation between the two sources. With the grating there are certain angles for which light leaving all the
sources (gaps) will arrive at a distant object in phase. We observe this by seeing that a single source of light
will produce images of itself at these distinct angles. The particular angles depend on the wavelength of the
light and the wavelength of light is something that we can observe as the spectral color of the image.

Observations.
Light traveling through a large number of parallel slits each a distance d apart will be diffracted to an angle θ,
given by;
n λ = d sin θ Equation 1

Where n is the order of the diffraction (we will be using n = 1), and λ is the wavelength of the light.

Observe this by putting a diffraction grating to one of your eyes and looking at light from a small light source,
DO NOT USE A LASER. Try this with some of the non-laser light sources in the lab. You should see one or
more images of the light source to the side of or above the source itself. These side images may be spread out,
looking like a section across a rainbow, or they may be of one particular color.

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Measuring the wavelength of light
Place the diffraction grating with your eye behind it at one end of a meter stick and align the stick with one light
source. Place a second meter stick at the far end of the first and perpendicular to it. Have a friend move a
pencil along the second stick until it is aligned with the side image of the light source. The arrangement is
shown in Fig 1.

Figure 1. The arrangement of rulers, light source, diffraction grating and pencil

Part I Measuring the wavelengths of light from various non laser sources.
Measure the distance from the pencil to the end of the first stick. Use that measurement and the length of the
meter stick to find the angle θ in equation 1, and hence the wavelength of the light you were looking at.

Use this technique to measure the wavelengths of the strong spectral lines in the Hydrogen lamp and the strong
yellow light in the Sodium lamp.

You will have to calculate d from the number of lines per mm that is stamped onto the side of the diffraction
grating.

Part II Measuring the wavelength of the laser light

Adapt the technique of part I to measure the wavelength of the laser light. You must ensure that no-one
looks into the beam or any reflections of the beam. To measure the wavelength you should project the
diffracted light on to a wall and measure the angle θ using trigonometry.

You will need this wavelength for the next part of the experiment.

Part III Measuring the width of one of your hairs

a. Set the width of a pair of Vernier caliper blades to the thickness of one human hair. You should be able
to draw your hair through the slit feeling some resistance because the slit is just touching your hair.
Read the Vernier scale as your first measurement of the hair thickness.

b. Without changing the blade spacing, shine your laser beam at the slit and notice the pattern that the
emerging light makes on a screen. Assume that this diffraction pattern has minima (dark bands) at
angles α given by equation 2 when a is the slit width, λ the wavelength of the laser, and m an integer.

mλ = a sin α Equation 2

Plot a graph of mλ vs. sin α using your measured value of λ. Use the slope of this line to find a, which is the
width of the slit, which is the thickness of your hair. (Caution, the integer m in the equation is not the slope m in
the y = mx + b equation.)

c. Compare your answers from a. and b. and argue carefully for the accuracy/precision of each.

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 10. Michelson Interferometer
Theory
The electric and magnetic fields of the light wave obey the superposition principal in the same way that ripples
on a pond do. If a crest and crest arrive at one point at one time then they add together or interfere
constructively, we see this as brighter light. If a crest and a trough coincide we see a reduction in light intensity.

We use laser light that is bright and highly coherent. We can think of this light as all being in phase, with crests
on crests, and troughs on troughs, as it travels along in the beam. If we split the beam, take each half through a
different path, and then recombine it, we may have both halves returning in phase, however, we may not.

The Michelson interferometer uses a half silvered mirror to split the beam, half the light travels through the
mirror and half is reflected. Both of these beams travel to regular mirrors and back to the half silvered mirror
where they are recombined. Study figure 1, and trace on it the path of the light from the laser, have one finger
o
travel straight through the mirror and another reflect down at 90 . Reflect both those beams in the two mirrors
and trace their paths through the half silvered mirror to the viewing screen.

To Screen

M2 Movable
Mirror

Light from
Laser

M1 Fixed Mirror

Figure 1. Michelson Interferometer, Essential Components

Notice that one of the regular mirrors, M1, is fixed and that the other, M2, is movable. If M2 is moved to the right,
the paths to M2 and back are increased in length. Thus, if the two beams happened to have recombined crest
on crest before your moved the mirror then they would not as you start to move one mirror, this would produce
a decrease in intensity. If you continue to move the mirror the intensity will cycle through successive maxima
and minima. One complete cycle corresponds to a movement of the mirror of one half wavelength. The ‘half’
occurs because the beam travels the extra distance twice, once out to the mirror and once back from the mirror.

The relationship between distance, d, moved by the mirror and the wavelength of light, λ, is
m λ = 2 d, (Equation 1)
where m is the number of cycles of intensity.

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Warnings
Safety First
Lasers can cause eye damage. Never look into a laser beam. When using a laser make sure that you
know where the beam will go before you turn it on or move anything in its path. A smooth object can
produce one or more reflected beams. Ensure that the paths of all possible beams are safe, that is that
they terminate on things that are not eyeballs.

Damage to Equipment
-7
Physical optics is based on distances on the order of the wavelength of light, 10 m. That means that a
thumbprint or scratch is a large object that can significantly affect present and future experiments.
So avoid touching all optical surfaces and do not attempt to clean them.

Part I. Align the Interferometer (This is a major part of the lab and a test of your lab skills)

Look at your interferometer and compare it to the diagram Figure 2. Rotate the equipment or the diagram until
they have the same orientation and you can clearly see the representations and names of the various parts.

Light to Screen

Light from
Laser

Micromete
r Screw

Adjustment Screws

Figure 2. Michelson Interferometer, Lab. Version

Align the laser and interferometer so that the laser beam reflects on the movable mirror and retraces its path.

To do this; Rotate the beam splitter (half-silvered mirror) out of the light path.
Aim the laser beam at the movable mirror, and find the reflected beam.
Re-orientate the interferometer so that the reflected beam is seen on the front face of the laser
close if not on the laser aperture.
o
Rotate the beam splitter back into the path until it makes an angle of about 45 with the beam. Look for two
sets of dots on the viewing screen. Adjust the beam splitter to put the two sets of dots as close as possible.
Use the adjustment screws on the fixed mirror for fine adjustments and superimpose the two bright dots.

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hjhfggg
Place your lens holder and lens in the beam between laser and interferometer. Adjust the position of the lens until
the beam, now spread out, strikes the beam splitter. You should see a pattern resembling a thumb print on the
viewing screen. These may be broad and centered on the screen (ideal) or they may be narrow and centered off
the screen (usual). In the latter case use the fine adjustment screws on the fixed mirror to center the pattern. If you
lose the pattern altogether then remove the lens and realign the two dots.

Good Bad

Figure 3. Possible interference fringe patterns

Part II. Determination of the Wavelength of Light from a HeNe Laser

Notes on accuracy
The particular Michelson Interferometers that we are using have micrometer screws that are marked off with
-6
divisions representing one micrometer, 10 m, of mirror movement. You can see that the screw pushes on a
lever arm that in turn pulls a mylar strip attached to the mirror. This mechanism allows small distances moved
by the screw to be turned into even smaller mirror movements. This coupling is most accurate when the
lever arm is nearly parallel to the side of the interferometer.

Changing the direction of rotation of the micrometer introduces some backlash due to small but very real
amounts of slack in the system. Your measurements will be most accurate when you rotate the
micrometer to its initial position and continue to its final position all with rotation in the same direction.

Procedure
Watch the bull’s eye pattern as you rotate the micrometer screw from a noted zero position. Count until the
bull’s eye pattern has cycled through at least 20 cycles and end with the pattern at a similar point in its cycle to
the starting pattern. You may find it easiest to count the cycles if you have a reference mark on the viewing
screen one or two fringes out from the center. You can then count the number of fringes that pass the mark
and use the location of the nearest fringe to monitor how far through the cycle the fringes have gone.

One complete cycle of the bull’s eye pattern corresponds to the phase between the light from the two paths
changing by 2π which is indistinguishable from its original phase. This in turn corresponds to the mirror being
moved by one half wavelength.

Record both the number of fringes and the distance traveled. (One division on the micrometer corresponds to
-6
one micron, 10 m, of mirror movement).

Calculate the wavelength of the laser light and estimate the accuracy of your result.

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Part III. Measuring the Refractive Index of Air, nair
Introduce the vacuum cell to the light path between the beam splitter and the fixed mirror. The banana plug on
the cell locates into a socket on the interferometer base. Rotate the cell and use your observations of the fringe
pattern to align the end plates perpendicular to the beam.

Start with the pressure inside the cell equilibrated to the air pressure in the lab. In an Excel spreadsheet, record
values of gauge pressure, Pg, and the number of fringes, Δm, that pass your reference point as you pump air
from your cell.

As you remove air the refractive index of the region within the cell decreases from nair at atmospheric pressure
towards nvacume = no, which is 1 by definition.

As the refractive index decreases so the wavelength increases towards its limit λo, recall λ = λ 0/n.
If we decrease the pressure to a point where our fringe pattern has cycled once, that is, one fringe has passed
our reference mark, then exactly one fewer wavelengths fit into the light path that includes the cell. Because
the light travels out and back through the cell, the number of wavelengths that equals the length of our cell is
now reduced by one half.

Following this logic we can conclude that the change in refractive index, Δn, is given by - Δm λ o/2d, where d
is the length of the cell.

Analysis of the data

We will analyze our data by plotting a graph of Δn vs. P, where P is the absolute pressure in the cell.

On Excel produce a column of Δn values using, Δn = -Δm λ o/2d.

Produce another column of absolute pressure P. You may assume that the atmospheric pressure in the lab,
Pat, is 76cm Hg, and use P = Pat – Pg.

Your graph should look something like Figure 4. below. Calculate the slope of your graph.

Pressure P (cm Hg)

0 20 40 60 80 100
Change in Refractive Index

0
-0.00005
-0.0001
-0.00015
-0.0002
-0.00025
-0.0003

Figure 4. Change in refractive index within the cell vs. Absolute Pressure.

Calculating the refractive index of air

Use the slope of your graph and the fact that the refractive index of a complete vacuum is 1 to calculate the
refractive index of air at atmospheric pressure. Estimate your accuracy. Feel free to compare this value to the
established value given in a textbook but

DON'T TELL ME THAT YOUR ACCURACY IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO VALUES.

(In Physics we write the book!)

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