NAME PERIOD DATE
7. FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVERGING LENS
STRUCTURED
Driving Question | Objective
What is the focal length of the converging lens provided by your instructor? Use the principles of refraction and the
thin lens equation to experimentally determine the focal length of a converging lens.
Materials and Equipment
PASCO Optics Track1 or PASCO Dynamics Track PASCO Basic Optics Viewing Screen4
with Optics Carriages2 PASCO Adjustable Lens Holder5
PASCO Basic Optics Light Source3 Converging lens with unknown focal length
1 2 3 4
www.pasco.com/ap28 www.pasco.com/ap29 www.pasco.com/ap26 www.pasco.com/ap31
PASCO Optics Track PASCO Dynamics Track PASCO Basic Optics Light PASCO Basic Optics
Optics Carriages Source Viewing Screen
5
www.pasco.com/ap30
PASCO Adjustable
Lens Holder
Background
Parallel light rays entering a converging (double-convex) lens change
direction as the rays are refracted at both the front (incident) and back
(emergent) surfaces of the lens. If we assume that the path of the light
entering the lens is perpendicular to the plane of the lens, the final
refracted angle of the ray as it leaves the lens will direct it to a
focal point P along the optical axis. The distance from the lens to P is
known as the focal length f of the lens.
This behavior is a result of refraction, the geometric properties of the
lens shape, and angles at which the incoming light rays strike the surface of the lens. Given the shape of the lens, its
focal length can be quantified using a complex formula involving the curvature at each lens surface, the thickness of
the lens, and the index of refraction for both air and the lens material. However, if we assume that the thickness of
the lens is very small, the equation simplifies to a form involving only the distance between the lens and the object
and the lens and the image produced by the lens.
This form is called the thin lens equation:
1 1 1
f so s i (1)
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7. FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVERGING LENS / STRUCTURED
Where f is the lens focal length, so is the
distance from the lens to an object, and si is
the distance from the lens to the point at
which the image of the object is in focus.
RELEVANT EQUATIONS
1 1 1
f so s i (1)
Procedure
SET UP
1. Lay the optics track flat on your lab table and mount the light source to it so that the “screen zero” (see the
bottom of the light source for the screen zero indicator) is aligned with the 6-cm mark on the track. Make sure
the crossed-arrow image on the light source points down the length of the track.
2. Mount the lens in the center of the holder using the three adjustable arms, and then
mount the holder on the track so that the lens is aligned with the 30-cm mark.
3. Mount the viewing screen to the track on the opposite side of the lens as the light
source, with the front of the screen facing the lens.
4. Plug in the light source to turn it on.
COLLECT DATA
5. Slide the viewing screen up and down the length of the optics track until the image of
the crossed-arrow target is in focus on the screen.
NOTE: The image may not be in perfect focus; however, the image location is where the image is best focused.
You may need to slide the screen back and forth through the image location until you can determine where the
image is the most sharply focused.
6. Using the graduated scale on the optics track, determine the object distance so and the image distance si. Record
these values in Table 1 in the Data Analysis section below.
NOTE: Object distance is measured from the position of the lens to the front of the light source, and image
distance is measured from the position of the lens to the front of the viewing screen.
7. Slide the lens holder 10 cm farther down the track, away from the light source. (Do not change the light source
position.)
8. Slide the viewing screen up and down the length of the optics track until the image of the crossed-arrow target
is again in focus on the screen.
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7. FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVERGING LENS / STRUCTURED
9. Record the new object distance and image distance next to Trial 2 in Table 1.
10. Repeat the data collection steps three more times, increasing the distance between the lens holder and the light
source by 10 cm in each trial. Record the object distance and corresponding image distance for each trial into
Table 1.
Data Analysis
Table 1: Object distance and corresponding image distance using a converging lens
Object Distance so Image Distance si 1/so 1/si
Trial
(m) (m) (m−1) (m−1)
1
2
3
4
5
1. Calculate the inverse of each object distance and image distance value in Table 1. Record your results in the 1/so
and 1/si columns of the table.
2. Plot a graph of 1/so versus 1/si in the blank Graph 1 axes below. Be sure to label both axes with the correct scale
and units.
Graph 1: Inverse object distance versus inverse image distance using a converging lens
3. Draw a line of best fit through your data in Graph 1. Determine and record the equation of the line here:
Best fit line equation:
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7. FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVERGING LENS / STRUCTURED
4. Use the y-intercept from the best fit line to determine an experimental value for the
focal length f of your lens:
1
y -in t er cept
f
Focal Length f (m):
Analysis Questions
1. What is your experimental value for the focal length of your lens? How did you determine this value from your
data?
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2. What are factors that might have caused error in your measured value of the focal length? Explain how each
factor you list could have been avoided or minimized.
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3. Ask your teacher for the actual value of the focal length of your lens. Calculate the percent error between your
experimental value and the actual value.
Act ua l E xperim ent a l
P er cen t er ror 100
Act ua l
4. What do you predict happens to the image distance from a converging lens as the object distance approaches the
focal length of the lens? Justify your answer: use mathematical reasoning or data from your experiment, or both,
to support your answer.
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7. FOCAL LENGTH OF A CONVERGING LENS / STRUCTURED
Synthesis Questions
1. An object sits in front of a converging lens 27.2 cm away from it. If the image of the object is formed 68.3 cm
on the opposite side of the lens, what is the focal length of the lens?
2. A camera uses a 10.5 cm focal-length converging lens to focus the image of a person onto a piece of camera
exposure film. If the person is 2.15 m away from the lens, how far away must the film be from the lens to focus
the image on the film? Explain how the focus on a camera might work.
3. Imagine you were given a converging lens and a meter stick and sent outside on a sunny day. In a few
sentences, describe a method to measure, as accurately as possible, the focal length of the lens using only the
lens, a meter stick, and your outside surroundings. Explain your reasoning.
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