Determining the Accuracy of Light Refraction in the Detection of Sugar Particles in

Sugar-Water Solutions
The purpose of this research was to determine whether or not the refractive
indices of sugar-water solutions with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% sugar concentrations could
be accurately calculated with the use of light refraction in a hollow prism. This was done
because the results of the experiment could be applicable in the industrial world. The
light refraction in this experiment could be used in regards to the detection of
concentrations of particles in aqueous solutions. In the experiment, different
concentrations of cane sugar were added to distilled water, creating different densities of
sugar-water. Once the solutions were made, a laser was shone through a hollow prism
filled with the various sugar-water solutions to measure how much the light was bent by
the different sugar-water solutions. Once completed, percent errors were calculated for
each observed value based on the accepted refraction indices of the solutions used in the
experiment. All percent errors were below 5%; therefore, the collected data showed that
the method of experimentation was one that was accurate.