Question

Find the refractive index of the water

Answer 1

Fill the beaker fully with water and place the object pin at the centre of the base.

Place the plane mirror across the top of the beaker with the reflective side facing                                                                                upwards and with the water touching the back of the mirror.

Stick the search pin into the cork on the retort stand.

Adjust the position of the search pin until its image in the plane mirror is in line with the image of the object pin in the water.

Adjust the height of the search pin until there is no parallax between the two images.

Measure : The distance from the object pin to the top of the water (real depth)

                The distance from the search pin to the top of the water (apparent depth)

Following the previous steps repeat the experiment 5 times using beakers of different depths.

Now use the formula: Refractive Index (n) = real depth / apparent depth, to find the refractive Index of water for each set of values.