Physics Lab Practical

Student Name: Wan Ahmad Imran Izzat Bin Wan Zain

Teacher Name: Mr. Yong Foo Seng

Aim: To determine the wavelength, of He~Ne laser.

Apparatus: He~Ne laser, 100 lines/mm diffraction grating,

300 lines/mm diffraction

grating, 600 lines/mm diffraction grating, 1200 lines/mm diffraction grating, meter ruler,
retort stand with clamp, cellophane tape, wooden block and a large sheet of white paper.
Variable
1
d , where d is the distance between two slits of diffraction

a) Independent

b) Dependent

grating.
sin

:
, where is the angular position.

c) Constant

: Source of laser light.

Procedure:
1. The large sheet of white paper is pasted on to the wall that acts as a screen facing the
laser light with cellophane tape. The paper needed to be straightened and put on flat
surface.
2. Clamped the He~Ne laser with the retort stand and keep it perpendicular to the screen.
At the same time, two wooden blocks are clamped to another retort stand to hold the
diffraction grating in still position.

3. Make sure to adjust the position of the diffraction grating parallel to the screen.
4. Measure and adjust using the meter rule to make sure that the distance between the
diffraction grating and the screen, L is always 0.5 meter.
5. A wooden block is placed at the base of both retort stands to make sure that the
apparatus do not sway or move during experiment. Prevent any excessive movement
when conducting the experiment.

6. The setup of the apparatus is shown as below:

7. Put the 100 lines/mm diffraction grating in front of the laser.

8. When experiment needed to be done, switch off all the lamps inside the laboratory
and switch on the power supply of the laser after connecting it to the plug.
9. The distance between the central maxima and the first order maxima is measured with
meter ruler that is the fringe separation,
is measured separately as

y1

and

y . Since there is 2 first order maxima, it

y2

and the average can be obtained. The

measurements are done by taking the distance from the edge of each dot.

10. Then, the fringe separation and the distance between two slits are recorded.
11. Repeat procedure 7 to 10 using 300 lines/mm diffraction grating, 600 lines/mm
diffraction grating and 1200 lines/mm diffraction grating.
12. After that, draw the situation of the experiment such as below to calculate the angle
between the light path of central maxima and first order maxima.

From this diagram, formula to find the angle, are formed as below:
tan =

=tan

y
L

y
L

Since L is 0.5 m as mentioned earlier, the angle, can be found.

=tan 1

y
0.5

The angle, is put back into formula dsin=m .

13. The results is recorded and tabulated.
14. Graph is tabulated.

Safety and ethics:

There were several safety and ethics that must be followed by the student in the lab
and when experiment was conducted. First of all, the location of the safety equipment such as
fire extinguisher and first aid kit needed to be known by the student.
Besides, protective clothing must be worn at all times in laboratory. As examples,
goggles and enclosed footwear with flat soles to protect from any potential injury. Other than
that, tie back long hair and wear loose cloth which makes it easier to move during the
experiment. The hands need to be kept dry to reduce the chances of being electrocuted when
handling electrical appliances. Power supply needed to be closed when not in used to prevent
electrical wastage. Every student in the group needs to play their role when conducting
experiment.
The working space must be clean and the apparatus is put at its original place after the
experiment finish.
Expected Data and Tables:
Table: 1/d for numbers of slits of the diffraction grating

Number of slits on

1
( 106 m1 )
d

Size of slits,

diffraction gratings
d=

1
number of lines per mm
(106 m)

100

10.0

1.00

300

3.33

3.00

600

1.67

6.00

1200

0.833

12.00

Table : sin for every

1
( 106 m1 )
d

1
d

Fringe separations, y ( cm)

y1

y2

y average =

y 1+ y 2
2

1.00
3.00
6.00
12.0

Graph of sin against the size of slits,

sin

1
d

sin

Inverse of Size of the slits,

1
( 105 m1 )
d

When the graph is plotted, the equation

y=mx +c

can be seen. Note that, m is the

graph gradient and the c is the graph y-intercept. However, the graph is supposed to have a
straight line and passes through its origin. Hence, its c is zero. So, the equation for this
experiment is

y=mx . At the same time, the formula for diffraction grating is

dsin=m . This equation can also be derived as

y=mx

and

sin =m

sin =m

1
d . Then, compare

1
sin , gradient(m) is m
d . From that, y is

and x is

1
d .

Discussion
A. Analysis of procedure:
a. Strength:
There are a lot of strengths in this experiment that can be found. One of its strength is
the large sheet of white paper is pasted on to the wall to act as a screen. The white paper is
needed to be straightened and put on the flat surface. By straightening and putting it on flat
surface, the speckle of the light ray can be reduced. This is due to the reflection of the laser
light that have less stray beam which causes less interference as the light reflected.

Besides, the He~Ne laser are put at position perpendicular to the screen to make sure
that the order maxima that appears on the screen will have evenly distributed distance
between the central maxima and the order maxima. Other than that, two wooden blocks that
was clamped is used to hold the diffraction grating in its position that is parallel to the screen.
The reason behind this positioning is to obtain even distance between the central maxima and
the order maxima.
The meter ruler is used to measure the distance between the diffraction grating and the
screen, L that it is always 0.5 meter. The usage of meter ruler is useful due to its length which
makes it easier to reach the screen and it is also easier to put it perpendicular to the screen.
A wooden block is placed at the base of both retort stands to make sure that the laser
and the diffraction grating do not sway. It is also advisable to prevent or reduce any excessive
movement when conducting the experiment that may unnecessary vibration. These are done
to make sure that the fringe separation can be measured with accurately.
Furthermore, the all the lamps in the laboratory needed to be switch off to make sure
that the experiment site is dark. This was done to enable the dots on the screen to be more
observable and makes measurement easier. On top of that, the 2 first order maxima is
measured separately as

y1

and

y2

and the average can be obtained. This will help

to achieve more reliable readings on fringe separation.

b. Weakness
There are many weaknesses that can be found on this experiment. First of all, the
distance between the central maxima and the first order maxima is measured with the meter
ruler. The measurements are done by taking the distance from the edge of each dot as shown
as below:

This measurement is not really good as it may give extra distance which may affect
the overall data.
B. Analysis of error:
There are certain errors that may be possible to occur when conducting the
experiment. The first source of systematic error is the use of meter ruler in determining
distance between the diffraction grating and the screen, L that it is always 0.5 meter. Variation
of eye level may occur here which may causes the measurement of L recorded is different
from its actual measurement. This without a doubt will affect the accuracy of the
experiments.
Besides, systematic error also could happen as the position of the diffraction grating
may not be parallel to the screen. At the same time, the position of the laser also may not be
exactly perpendicular to the screen. This will causes systematic error which may affect the
data accuracy.

Moreover, the measurements are done by taking the distance from the edge of each
dot as shown as below:

This measurement is not really good as it may give extra distance. This is considers as
random error which may affect the precision of the data obtained from the experiment.
Other than that, there are some diffraction grating that was given in the experiment
that has minor scratches and fractures. The laser light that was passes through this diffraction
grating will become scatter when observed on the screen. This will give some difficulty in
determining the central maxima and the order maxima which causes difficulty in measuring
the fringes separation, y . This error is considers as random error.