Experiment 112: Thin Lenses

Analysis

In the previous experiment, we have discussed about how mirrors

reflect light. We also discussed the three types of mirror namely, Plain,

Concave and Convex each having their own characteristics in reflecting

images. Speaking of images, we also tackled the difference between a real

and a virtual image, wherein real images are formed when the light rays

from the object intersect each other after reflection and are formed inverted

and can be projected on to a screen, while a “virtual” image is formed

when the light rays from the object don’t intersect each other after

reflection and are always erect and cannot be projected on a screen.

 Moving on to the current experiment, we will now discuss about

lenses and on how they interact with light rays and the images that it

forms. Lenses play an important part on the discovery of various things we

know today. Some examples are the telescopes and microscopes which use

lenses to magnify things from a finite or infinite distance. Without lenses,

the said examples will not be possible. Prior to this experiment, we

conducted a research regarding spherical mirrors. Today, we have

performed a similar research which was named Experiment No. 112: Thin

Lenses. In this experiment, the formation of images by concave and convex

lenses will be explored. The application of the thin lens equation and the

magnification equations to single and compound lens systems will be

investigated.
 To begin, let us know the real denotation of a lens. Lenses are

common optical devices constructed of transparent material e.g. glass or

plastic, which refract light in such a way that an image of the source of

light is formed. Normally, one or both sides of the lens has a spherical

curvature. When parallel light from a source impinges on a converging

lens, the parallel rays are refracted so that all the light comes together at a

focal point. The distance between the lens and the focal point is called the

focal length of the lens. An imaginary line parallel to the light rays and

through the center of the lens is called the principal axis. Another basic

type of lens is the diverging lens. With a diverging lens, parallel rays are

spread out by the lens. The focus of a diverging lenses is on the same side

of the lens as the impinging parallel rays.

In optics, a thin lens is a lens with a thickness (distance along the

optical axis between the two surfaces of the lens) that is negligible

compared to the radii of curvature of the lens surfaces. Lenses whose

thickness is not negligible are sometimes called thick lenses. The thin lens

approximation ignores optical effects due to the thickness of lenses and

simplifies ray tracing calculations. It is often combined with the paraxial

approximation in techniques such as ray transfer matrix analysis. A lens is

merely a carefully ground or molded piece of transparent material that

refracts light rays in such way as to form an image. Lenses can be thought

of as a series of tiny refracting prisms, each of which refracts light to

produce their own image. When these prisms act together, they produce a

bright image focused at a point.

In this experiment, we were tasked of doing two main objectives in

this experiment: 1To determine the focal length of a converging lenses

using the thin lens equation and 2

To compute the image magnification

using image height and object height and image distance and object

distance.

EQUATIONS AND THEORIES

The thin-lens equation relates the distance of the object from the lens,

do, and the distance of the image from the lens, di, to the focal length of the

lens, f.

The thin lens equation is:

1 1 1
= + Equation 1
f s s'

The magnification equation is:

 image height hi
M= = Equation 2
object height ho

The magnification M is also the ration of the image distance and object

distance:

s'
M= s Equation 3

TWO TYPES OF LENS

FIG. 1. Two types of Lens

There are a variety of types of lenses. Lenses differ from one another

in terms of their shape and the materials from which they are made. Our

focus will be upon lenses that are symmetrical across their horizontal axis -

known as the principal axis. In this unit, we will categorize lenses as

converging lenses and diverging lenses. A converging lens is a lens that

converges rays of light that are traveling parallel to its principal axis.

Converging lenses can be identified by their shape; they are relatively thick

across their middle and thin at their upper and lower edges. A diverging

lens is a lens that diverges rays of light that are traveling parallel to its

principal axis. Diverging lenses can also be identified by their shape; they

are relatively thin across their middle and thick at their upper and lower

edges.

The Figure 1 shown above describes the difference between a

converging prism or lens and a diverging prism or lens. We can see that

once lights that came from different places hit a converging lens, the result

is that the lights converge with one another and distribute themselves

away from one another. On the other hand, when rays of light that comes

from a single source hit a diverging prism, the result will be a scattering of

light rays all over the place.

 FIG. 2. Double convex lens and Double concave lens

A double convex lens is symmetrical across both its horizontal and

vertical axis. Each of the lens' two faces can be thought of as originally

being part of a sphere. The fact that a double convex lens is thicker across

its middle is an indicator that it will converge rays of light that travel

parallel to its principal axis. A double convex lens is a converging lens. A

double concave lens is also symmetrical across both its horizontal and

vertical axis. The two faces of a double concave lens can be thought of as

originally being part of a sphere. The fact that a double concave lens is

thinner across its middle is an indicator that it will diverge rays of light

that travel parallel to its principal axis. A double concave lens is a

diverging lens.

SIGN CONVENTIONS:

FIG. 3. Geometry for the thin lens equation

 In the figure above, it is where ho is the object height and hi is the

image height. The magnification, m, is the ratio of these heights. Since the

triangle formed by the ray through the center of the lens and the object

distance and height is a similar triangle to the triangle formed by the ray

through the center of the lens and the image distance and height, the ratio

hi −d i
of = .
ho d o

The following sign conventions are used with the thin-lens and

magnification equations:

• f is positive (+) for a converging lens. f is negative (-) for a

diverging lens.

• do is positive (+) when the object is to the left of the lens (real

object). do is negative (-) for an object to the right of the lens (virtual object).

• di is positive (+) for an image formed to the right of the lens for a

real object. di is negative (-) for an image formed to the left of the lens for a

real object.
 • m is positive (+) for an image that is upright with respect to the

object. m is negative (-) for an image that is inverted with respect to the

object.

When more than one lens is used, the thin lens equation can be

applied to find the image location for the first lens. This location of the

image from the first lens is then used as the object for the second lens and a

second application of the thin lens equation. This process will be used in

the last part of the experiment to investigate a concave lens. For the

magnification equation for multiple lenses, the total magnification is the

product of the magnifications of the individual lenses.

MATERIALS

The table below presents the different materials and apparatuses

utilized in the performance of the experiment. These materials were

provided by the laboratory technicians. The materials used in the

experiment consist of one piece of converging lenses (+200 mm), one piece

of image screen, one piece of light source, and one piece of optic bench. It is

important to keep in mind that care should always be practiced when

handling laboratory equipments especially when conduction an

experiment.

TABLE 1. Materials Used for the Experiment

Converging Lens

Image Screen

Light Source

Optic Bench

PROCESS

The group carefully and strictly followed the instructions and

guidelines provided in the Mapua Laboratory Manual. The first thing that
was done in this experiment was connecting the adapter to the light source

to be able to produce light for the experiment. Then, the optical bench was

placed on the table to serve as the base for the other apparatuses.

Subsequent to this, the materials (light source, convex lens, and image

screen) were placed on the optical bench.

For an easier understanding of what we have done and performed in

the experiment, below is a list of the procedures that we followed:

1. Measure the height of the object and record this as ho. The object is

a light source (vertical arrow).

2. Place the light source at the 0-cm mark of the optics bench and the

screen at the 90-cm mark. Place the converging lens between the

light source and the screen.

3. Start with the lens closer to the light source and then move the

lens until a sharp image source on the screen until a sharp image

of the object is formed. This is position one of the lenses. Measure

the object distance and the image distance. Measure the image

height and record this as hi. Compute the focal length and the

magnification.
 4. Move the lens closer to the screen until another sharp (and

diminished) image is formed on the screen. Measure the object

distance and the image distance. Measure the image height and

record this as hi. Compute the focal length and the magnification.

5. Repeat procedures two (2) to four (4) for two more trials. Place the

screen at the 100-cm mark for trial two (2) and at the 110-cm mark

for trial three (3).

PART I

TABLE 2. Determination of Focal Length of a Converging Lens

Position of POSITION 1 POSITION 2

Image Screen s s’ f S s’ f

90 cm 28.5 cm 61.5 cm 19.48 61.5 cm 28.5 cm 19.48 cm

cm

100 cm 26.5 cm 73.5 cm 19.48 73.5 cm 26.5 cm 19.48 cm

cm

110 cm 25.5 cm 84.5 cm 19.59 84.5 cm 25.5 cm 19.59 cm

cm
 Average focal length 19.52 Average focal 19.52 cm

cm length

Percentage error 2.40 % Percentage error 2.40 %

As noticed in the second table, Table 2. Determination of Focal

Length of a Converging Lens, the group have used the first equation,

1 1 1
= + , or the thins lens equation. This equation was used to measure and
f s s'

compute the value of the focal length with the use of the values that we

have got during the experiment, resulting in a 2.40 % of discrepancy as we

compared two different values. We got a low difference percentage since

the image that we have seen on the image screen was sharp and obvious.

The image would be inverted if the mirror is beyond its focal point and the

image is upright it its less than its focal point. We also used equation (1) to

compute for the focal point.

The difference was just the image distance is greater than the object

distance. The same concept was used in this section on how we got the

focal point, the roles was just reversed. But in here we got a lower

percentage difference. The reciprocal of the sum of s and s ’ is equal to the

focal length of the concave mirror. Concave mirrors only produce a real

image if the object is located greater than the focal length of the mirror and

is also inverted. And if the object is located less than the focal length then it

produces a virtual image and it is upright.

For the first position, we placed the image screen on three different

distances (90 cm, 100 cm and 110 cm). For the object distance, we gathered

the values 28.5 cm, 25.5 cm and 25.5 cm, respectively. Second, for the image

distance, we got the digits 61.5 cm, 73.5 cm and 84.5 cm, subsequently.

Lastly, the focal length values were gathered as 19.48 cm, 19.48 cm and

19.59 cm. The computed average focal length was 19.52 cm and comparing

it to the actual value, we got a difference of 2.40 %.

Next for the second position, again, we placed the image screen on

three different distances (90 cm, 100 cm and 110 cm). For the object

distance, we gathered the values 61.5 cm, 73.5 cm and 84.5 cm, respectively.

Second, for the image distance, we got the digits 28.5 cm, 26.5 cm and 25.5

cm, subsequently. Lastly, the focal length values were gathered as 19.48

cm, 19.48 cm and 19.59 cm. The computed average focal length was 19.52

cm and comparing it to the actual value, we got a difference of 2.40 %.

 These values were interpreted and below are the items that I have

concluded with these computed answers:

1. The farther the position of the image screen, the nearer the object

must be placed.

2. Thus, the position of the image screen is inversely proportional to the

object distance.

3. The farther the position of the image screen, the farther the image

distance must be.

4. Therefore, the position of the image screen is directly proportional to

the image distance.

PART II

TABLE 3. Image Magnification

Magnification, M Percentage
Position of −s ' h1
M= M=
s h0 Difference
Image

Screen
90 cm -2.16 2.0 8.0 %
100 cm -2.77 2.6 6.5 %
POSITION 1 110 cm -3.31 3.2 3.4 %
90 cm -0.46 0.5 8.0 %
100 cm -0.36 0.4 10.0 %
POSITION 2 110 cm -0.30 0.3 0%
 Equation (2) it is the magnification equation which is used to

determine how large or small the object is magnified using s and s’. Same

as for equation (3) but using hr and h o to determine the magnification.

This equation is used on table 4 to compute for the magnification first

using distance and second for the height. On the magnification we

observed that if the magnification is more than one (1) the image is larger

and vice versa for less than one. If the magnification is more than one

than the image is larger if it is less than one, then it is smaller than the

original.

In this part of the experiment the changing heights of the projected

images will be used to calculate its magnification of the lens. There are two

ways on how magnification can be calculated: The first one is you need to

identify the ratio between the object distance and image distance and the

original image on the light on its light source. Since we are dealing on an

equation that is ratios, we can say the magnification of the lens is directly

proportional to the height if the projected image and the image distance

especially when the original height of an image is constant. The image is

enlarged whenever the magnification is greater than zero and is reduced

when the magnification is less than zero.

 After the performance of the experiment, we have gathered some

data needed for this research. For the magnification of the object’s distance,

we got the values of -2.16, -2.77, -3.31, -0.46, -0.36 and -0.30. In contrast, we

got the values for the magnification of the object’s height, and they are the

following 2.0, 2.6, 3.2, 0.5, 0.4 and 0.3.

Comparing these values with one another resulted in the percentage

difference of each and every value for magnification both for height and

distance. The percentage differences were gathered as: 8.0 %, 6.5 %, 3.4 %,

8.0 %, 10.00 % and 0 %.

CONCLUSION

In this experiment, we have learned that refraction is the blending of

light ray as it hits a material of different optical density. Transparent

materials like lenses can refract parallel ray of light and can produce an

image. Convex lens is used on our experiment which has middle-part

thicker. Focal length's relation to the object and the image is given by the

thin lens equation where focal length is the difference on product and sum

of the object and image distance from the lens. . There are two positions of

the lens where image formed is sharp, these positions are interchangeable

and are conjugate. The magnification of the lens is the ratio of the image

height and the object height and is also related to the distances of the object

and image from the lens. Furthermore, we were also able to determine the

focal length of the lens using different location of the object including an

infinity object and we were able to understand, with the help or out

instructor, the graphical method in getting the focal length of a lens.

In real-life applications, lenses play a very important role on the

discovery of various things we know today. Telescope and microscope use

lens to magnify things from afar or a very small particle. Without these

lenses, such things would not be possible.

 In conclusion, a medium bounded by two spherical refracting

surfaces is referred to a spherical lens. If the thickness of such a lens is very

small compared to object and image distances and to the radii of curvature

of the refracting surfaces, then the lens is referred to as a thin spherical

lens. In general, a lens may have non spherical refracting surfaces.

However, most lenses employed in optical systems have spherical

refracting surfaces. Therefore, we will simply use term 'lens' to imply a

spherical lens. Different types of lenses are there. The line joining the

centers of curvature of the spherical refracting surfaces is referred to as the

axis of the lens. Different lenses have different applications. These lenses

are used in our contact lens, telescope, microscope even in our eye.