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Experimental Procedure

Laser Pointer Safety


Adult supervision recommended. Even low-power lasers can cause permanent eye damage.
Please carefully review and follow the Laser Safety Guide.

Making the Prism from Microscope Slides


Note: If you are using a pre-made hollow prism, skip ahead to "Measuring the Index of Refraction of a
Liquid".
1. The goal is to make an equilateral prism that can hold liquid. It will be constructed from
microscope slides and epoxy. See Figure 6, for an overview of how to do this. Each step is
detailed in the procedure that follows.

Figure 6. Steps for making a hollow glass prism (equilateral triangle) from microscope slides. The steps
are explained below. (Edmiston, 1999)
2. Put a piece of black electrical tape across the face of the microscope slide, as shown above
(Figure 6a). The tape should hang over the edge by about 1-2 centimeters (cm).
3. Score the other side of the microscope slide with a diamond scribe or glass cutter into three equal
pieces, as shown above (Figure 6a). Use a straightedge to guide the diamond scribe. The two
scribe lines should be one inch apart and perpendicular to the long edge of the slide. (If desired,
before scribing you can mark the positions for the scribe lines with marker. The marker can later
be cleaned off with a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a paper towel.)
4. Now you will break the glass along the scribe lines. Hold the slide on either side of the first scribe
line and bend the glass toward the taped side. Bend just enough to break the glass. Repeat for
the second scribe line (Figure 6b).

5. Now bend the glass away from the tape, allowing the tape to stretch (Figure 6c). Continue
bending until the triangle closes.
6. Place the prism on a flat surface to align the bottom edges. Use the overhanging tape to secure
the prism in this configuration (Figure 6d).
7. Adjust the edges of each face so they align correctly. At each apex of the prism, the inside edges
should be in contact along their entire vertical length.
8. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for mixing the epoxy cement (usually you mix equal
amounts from each of two tubes). Use a toothpick to apply epoxy to the inside corners and along
the inside seams between the faces of the prism to glue the three faces together (Figure 6e). The
seams need to be water-tight, but keep the epoxy in the seams and away from the faces of the
prism. Keep the bottom surface flat and allow the epoxy to set. Remove the tape once the epoxy
is dry.
9. When the epoxy in the seams has set firmly, mix up fresh epoxy and use a toothpick to apply it to
the bottom edge of the prism. Glue the prism to a second microscope slide as shown (Figure 6f).
The bottom edge needs to be water-tight, but keep the epoxy away from the faces of the prism.
10. Allow the epoxy to set overnight. Your prism is ready for use.

Measuring the Index of Refraction of a Liquid


Note: Do this project in an area where you can put a table close to a flat wall or window, and where taping
paper to the wall or window is allowed.
1. Figure 7, is a diagram of the setup you will use for measuring the index of refraction of a liquid.
This is what the setup would look like if you were looking down on it from above. (Note that the
diagram is not to scale.)

Figure 7. Diagram of setup for measuring the index of refraction of a liquid using a laser pointer and a
hollow triangular prism (not to scale; based on the diagram in Nierer, 2002).
2. Lay the laser pointer on a table. The laser pointer should be set up so its beam (dotted red line in
Figure 7) is perpendicular to a nearby wall.

3. Lay a piece of paper in front of the laser pointer. Tape it securely to the table. The paper will be
used to mark where the laser beam enters and exits the prism.
4. Place the prism on top of the paper, a few centimeters in front of the laser pointer. One of the
prism's triangular faces should be resting on the paper, as shown in Figure 8. Using a pencil,
trace around the prism's base. If you move the prism, always return it to this location before
rotating it, if needed, as explained in step 12.
5. Adjust the height of the laser pointer with pieces of cardboard until the laser's beam hits about
halfway up the side of the prism. See Figures 8 and 9.

Figure 8. Photograph showing experimental setup for measuring the index of refraction of a liquid. The
prism is a few centimeters in front of the laser pointer. The laser pointer is pointing perpendicular to a
nearby wall.

Figure 9. Adjust the height of the laser pointer with pieces of cardboard. The beam of the laser should hit
the prism about halfway up the prism's side.
6. Tape the cardboard to the table, and then tape the laser pointer to the cardboard. Make sure that
neither the cardboard nor the laser pointer can move. If the laser pointer's position changes, your
measurements will not be accurate.

a. Troubleshooting Tip: If you have two or more sheets of cardboard stacked together, you
may need to tape the pieces of cardboard together so that they do not slip.
7. Tape a big piece of paper to the wall in front of the laser pointer. You will use this paper to mark
where the laser beam hits the wall.
8. To measure the angle of minimum deviation, md, which you will use to calculate the index of
refraction of the liquids that you test, you need to mark several points and measure the distances
between some of these points. Figure 10, is a more detailed view of the prism and wall. It shows
all the points you need to mark in order to measure the angle of minimum deviation, md. The
procedure below explains how to mark these points and determine the angle of minimum
deviation, md.

Figure 10. Detail diagram showing how to measure the angle of minimum deviation (not to scale; based
on the diagram in Nierer, 2002).
9. When the prism is empty (filled only with air), placing it in the laser's path should not divert the
beam. Turn the laser on, and mark the spot where the beam hits the paper taped to the wall.
Mark this as point b (point b in Figure 10).
a. Troubleshooting Tip: Before testing a new solution, turn on the laser and shine it through
an empty prism to make sure that the laser beam still hits point b. If the laser beam no
longer hits point b, your measurements will not be accurate. Adjust the laser's position, if
necessary, until the undiverted beam hits point b.

10. With the prism empty, mark where the beam enters the prism on the paper the prism is sitting on
(point d in Figure 10). Label it point d.
11. With the prism still empty, mark where the laser beam exits the prism on the paper the prism is
sitting (point e in Figure 10). Label it point e.
12. Turn off the laser. Fill the prism with plain water. If you moved the prism to fill it with water, return
it to the outline you made on the piece of paper. Turn the laser back on.
13. Rotate the prism so that the path of the refracted beam within the prism (solid blue line
from d to f in Figure 10) is parallel with the base of the prism, the side of the prism that has no
laser beam hitting it.
a. Troubleshooting Tip: A pinch of non-dairy creamer in the liquid can help you see the
beam within the prism, and should not have a significant effect on the index of refraction
of the liquid. Or, if you do not have non-dairy creamer, take a straight edge and line it up
with the laser beam's entrance and exit points (as seen when looking at the prism from a
top view). Rotate the prism until the straightedge connecting those two points is parallel
to the side of the prism that the laser beam does not hit.
14. When the prism is rotated correctly (as described in step 13), mark the position where the
emerging beam hits the paper taped to the wall (point a in Figure 10). Label it point a.
15. On the paper on the table, mark the point where the beam emerges from the prism (point f in
Figure 10). Label it point f.
16. Now you can move the prism aside. Leave the papers taped in place.
17. Use a ruler to draw a line from point d to point e. This marks the path of the undiverted beam.
18. Next, extend a line from point a (on the wall) through point f (on the table). To do this, stretch a
string from point a so that it passes over point f. Mark the point where the string crosses the line
between d and e. This is point c.
19. Measure the distance between points a and b, and record it in your lab notebook. This is
distance x (see Figure 10).
20. Measure the distance between points b and c, and record it in your lab notebook. This is
distance L (see Figure 10).
21. The distances you have measured define the angle of minimum deviation, md. The ratio x/L is
the tangent of the angle of minimum deviation, md. To calculate the angle, use your calculator
(or ecalc.com) to find the arctangent of x/L. (The arctangent of x/L means "the angle whose
tangent is equal tox/L.") Record the angle and its units (radians or degrees) in your lab notebook.
22. Now that you have the angle of minimum deviation, you can use Equation 5, to calculate the
index of refraction, n, of the liquid in the prism.
Equation 5:
n = 2.00056 sin[0.5(md + 60)]

n = index of refraction of solution (unitless, since it is a ratio)


md = angle of minimum deviation (degrees)

23. Check that your setup is working correctly by measuring the index of refraction of plain water
using steps 9 through 22 of this procedure. You should get an index of refraction of about 1.334.

Standard Sugar Solutions for Comparison


1. You will make three sugar water solutions, using the amounts of sugar and water shown in Table
1. Use the gram scale to weigh out the appropriate amount of sugar.
a. Troubleshooting Tip: Using warm water will help the sugar dissolve more quickly.

Desired concentration
(% mass/volume)

Amount Sugar (g)

Amount Water (mL)

10

10

90

20

20

80

30

30

70

Table 1. Amounts of Sugar and Water for Standard Sugar Solutions


2. Mix each of the solutions in Table 1 in a graduated cylinder or liquid measuring cup with metric
units, using a stirring rod to dissolve the sugar. Once the solutions are made and the sugar is
completely dissolved, set aside the 20% and 30 % solution and fill the prism with as much of the
10% sugar solution as possible.
3. Measure the index of refraction of the 10% sugar solution (following the steps in the "Measuring
the Index of Refraction of a Liquid" section of the procedure, above). Repeat your measurements
4 more times for the 10% sugar solution, for a total of 5 replicates. Average your results.
4. Empty the prism and rinse it with plain water. Then repeat step 3 using 20% and then 30% sugar
solutions.
5. Now measure the index of refraction of a solution with unknown sugar concentration (e.g., a clear
soft drink or fruit juice). If you measure a carbonated beverage, make sure that there are no
bubbles in the path of the laser (gently dislodge them from the side of the glass, if necessary).
6. With the index of refraction of the unknown solution, combined with the data you have from your
known sugar solutions, you should be able to estimate the sugar concentration of the unknown
solution.

Troubleshooting
For troubleshooting tips, please read our FAQ: Measuring Sugar Content of a Liquid with a Laser Pointer.

Materials and Equipment

Hollow prism; like this one from Amazon.com. or, you can make your own, following the directions
in the Procedure
To make your own hollow prism, you will need:
o 1" x 3" glass microscope slides (4)

o Diamond scribe or glass cutter


o Ruler (with metric units)
o Electrical tape
o Epoxy glue (either 5-minute or 30-minute epoxy)
o Toothpicks
Laser pointer
Cardboard (a few small pieces; the flaps from a cardboard box work well)
Masking tape
Tape measure
Paper, 8.5 inches by 11 inches
Pencil
Piece of string (~ 4 feet)
Sugar
Water
Graduated cylinder (100 mL) or liquid measuring cup with metric units (1)
Stirrer (tall enough to reach bottom of graduated cylinder or liquid measuring cup)
Gram scale, such as the Fast Weigh MS-500-BLK Digital Pocket Scale, 500 by 0.1 G, available
from Amazon.com
Calculator with trigonometric functions (sine, arctangent), like ecalc.com.

Introduction
You may have seen an odd "bending" effect when you put a straw (or pencil) in a glass of water: the
straw appears to bend at the boundary between the air and the water. Compare the two images in Figure
1 and see if you notice anything different between them.

Figure 1. These two images illustrate refraction by liquids. One glass contains plain water, and the other
contains sugar-water. Which glass has which liquid? (Wood, 2003) (Images Robin Wood, 2003, used
with permission.)

The straws in Figure 1, above, seem to bend because of a phenomenon called refraction, the bending of
a wave as it passes from one material into another. Waves travel at different speeds through different
mediums (such as air and water), and this speed difference makes the wave refract when it passes from
one material into another. As light waves travel from the water into the air, the wave refracts, which
makes the straws in Figure 1, above, look bent or broken.
Can you see the refraction is different in the two parts of Figure 1, above? This is because one glass is
filled with a denser solution than the other. The denser the medium, the slower the wave travels through
the medium. The speed at which a light wave travels through a medium is quantified in the index of
refraction, n, of that medium. It represents the ratio between the speed of light in a vacuum and the
speed of light in the medium of interest. For example, the index of refraction of air is 1.00028, so light
travels 1.00028 times faster in vacuum than it does in air.
The amount of refraction, or how much a light wave bends when it travels from one medium to another, is
related to the indices of refraction by a mathematical formula called Snell's Law. We will use Figure 2, to
understand Snell's Law. Figure 2 shows a ray of light (the red line in Figure 2) passing from air (white) to
water (blue). Snell's Law uses the angle of a light ray entering a material, called the angle of
incidence, 1, and the indices of refraction of the two materials (air and water, in this case) to calculate
how much the light ray will refract as it passes from one material into the other. "How much the light
refracts" is expressed mathematically as an angle called the angle of refraction, 2. Note that both the
angle of incidence and the angle of refraction are measured from a line perpendicular to the surface the
light interacts with. This line is called the surface normal, or simply, the normal (dashed gray line in Figure
2).

Figure 2. Illustration of Snell's Law. Snell's Law has four variables: the index of refraction of material
1, n1 (air, in this example), the index of refraction of material 2, n2 (water, in this example), the angle of
incidence, 1, and the angle of refraction, 2. If you know three of the four variables, you can use Snell's
Law to calculate the unknown variable.
In equation form, Snell's Law looks like this:
Equation 1:

Index of refraction of material 1 sin(angle of incidence)


=
Index of refraction of material 2 sin(angle of refraction)
n1 sin 1= n2 sin 2

n1 = index of refraction of material 1 (no units, since it is a ratio)


1 = angle of incidence (degrees or radians)
n2 = index of refraction of material 2 (no units, since it is a ratio)
2 = angle of refraction (degrees or radians)

Snell's Law tells us that the greater the difference between the indices of refraction of two materials, the
more the light bends. If dissolving sugar in water creates a solution with a higher density than water
alone, can you tell which glass in Figure 1, above, contains plain water and which one has sugar water?
If a light wave would travel through a prism filled with water, can you draw how the wave would be
refracted?
In this science project, you will use the physics of refraction to measure the sugar content of a clear liquid
solution (e.g. apple juice or a clear soda drink) using a laser pointer and a hollow prism. Figure 3, shows
a picture of the basic setup of the experiment.

Figure 3. A birds-eye view of the setup for measuring the index of refraction of a liquid using a laser
pointer and a hollow triangular prism.
When there is no liquid in the prism, the laser will seem to shine straight through to a wall. See Figure 4.
Refraction does happen as the laser beam crosses the prism walls, but the prism walls are so thin that we
cannot see the refraction.

Figure 4. When the prism is empty, the laser beam (red line) travels straight through the prism to the wall.
(Not to scale.)
But, when the prism is filled with liquid, the laser is refracted twice, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. When the prism is filled with liquid, the laser beam entering the prism (red line) refracts, forming
the refracted ray (blue line). The laser beam refracts a second time as it exits the prism as the emergent
ray (orange line). As shown in the inset, the angle of minimum deviation, md is the angle between the
incident laser beam and the emergent ray exiting the prism. (Not to scale).
Using the setup shown in Figures 3, 4, and 5, you will make measurements that allow you to calculate
the angle of minimum deviation, md. The angle of minimum deviation is the smallest possible angle
between the incident ray (red line) and emergent ray (orange line), and it occurs when the light passing
through the prism (solid blue line) is parallel to the base of the prism, as shown in Figure 5, above.

From md, you can calculate the index of refraction using Equation 2, the index of refraction equation. You
can derive Equation 2 by applying Snell's Law twice (once for each time the light wave changes
mediums), and then using algebra, trigonometric identities, and the fact that the prism is equilateral.
Equation 2:
n = nair sin[0.5(md + p)] / sin(0.5p)

n = index of refraction of solution (no units, since it is a ratio)


nair = index of refraction of air (no units, since it is a ratio)
md = angle of minimum deviation (degrees or radians)
p = apex angle of prism (degrees or radians)

Equation 2, above, looks complicated at first, but it is actually not so bad. md is the angle of minimum
deviation, which you will measure (we will show you how in the Experimental Procedure). p is the apex
angle of the prism, or the angle between the sides of the prism. Since the prism is an equilateral triangle,
the apex angle is 60. In Equation 3, we have substituted 60 for p.
Equation 3:
n = nair sin[0.5(md + 60)] / sin(30)
In Equation 4, we have added the numerical value of the index of refraction of air (nair = 1.00028). The
sine of 30 is 0.5, and that is added in Equation 4.
Equation 4:
n = 1.00028 sin[0.5(md + 60)] / 0.5
Finally, we simplify the numerical terms to produce Equation 5, which is the one you will use.
Equation 5:
n = 2.00056 sin[0.5(md + 60)]

n = index of refraction of solution (unitless, since it is a ratio)


md = angle of minimum deviation (degrees)

To use equation 5, above, plug in your measured value for md, add 60, and multiply the result by 0.5.
Then take the sine of the result, and multiply by 2.00056, and you will have the desired index of
refraction.

Terms and Concepts

To do this project, you should do research that enables you to understand the following terms and
concepts:

Refraction
Index of refraction
Snell's Law
Angle of incidence
Angle of refraction
Density
Prism
Angle of minimum deviation

Questions

Do different wavelengths of light refract the same amount?


Why would you use a laser in this science project, instead of another source of light? Remember
that a laser has exactly one wavelength of light.

Bibliography
A simple summary of Snell's Law (the "plug in the numbers and calculate" version required for this
project):

Kaiser, P. (2005). "Snell's Law," The Joy of Visual Perception. Retrieved July 13, 2012,
from http://www.yorku.ca/eye/snell.htm.

A fairly comprehensive tutorial that builds an intuitive understanding of Snell's Law using high school-level
math:

Henderson, T. (2004). "The Mathematics of Refraction, Snell's Law," The Physics Classroom.
Retrieved July 13, 2012, fromhttp://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/refrn/U14L2b.cfm.

This reference discusses prisms and the angle of minimum deviation:

Nave, R. 2010. "Prisms," Hyperphysics. Retrieved August 293, 2012,


from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/geoopt/prism.html.

Abstract
Did you know that you can figure out how much sugar is in a liquid without ever tasting it? In this science
fair project, you will learn how to measure the concentration of sugar dissolved in a liquid by using a laser
pointer, a hollow prism, and some physics. You will discover how refraction, or the bending of light, is the
key to measuring the sugar content of a liquid with a laser pointer.

Objective

Determine the sugar concentration of a liquid you can see through, like water or fruit juice, by measuring
the solution's index of refraction.

Credits
Andrew Olson, Ph.D, Science Buddies.
Edited by Rose Leopold and Terik Daly, Science Buddies.
Information on making the hollow prism for this project came from:

Edmiston, M.D., 2001. "A Liquid Prism for Refractive Index Studies," Journal of Chemical
Education 78(11):1479-1480.

Cite This Page


MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff. "Measuring Sugar Content of a Liquid with a Laser Pointer" Science Buddies.
Science Buddies, 18 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014 <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/Phys_p028.shtml>

APA Style
Science Buddies Staff. (2014, October 18). Measuring Sugar Content of a Liquid with a Laser
Pointer. Retrieved November 4, 2014 from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/Phys_p028.shtml

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