Grade 10 Academic Science – Optics
Light through Lens and Mirrors
Laboratory 1
Materials
 Ray Box with screen
 Converging Lens
 Plane Mirror
 Ruler or Straight Edge
 1 Thick Plastic Yellow Filter
 Pencil
Methods
1. Adjust the Ray Box to have three
rays
2. Place a thick plastic yellow filter
along the path of the rays. It may be
necessary to tip the filter forward
slightly
3. Explain the yellow transmitted rays and the pairs of yellow and white reflected rays
4. What is the effect of changing the Angle of Incidence?
Laboratory 2
Materials
 Ray Box with screen
 Converging Lens
 Plane Mirror
 Ruler or Straight Edge
 Pencil
Methods
1. Adjust the Ray Box to have three rays
2. Place a converging lens on the ray
path
3. Find the distance f
4. Place a plane mirror directly behind
the lens.
5. Measure the distance d from the lens
to the point of convergence
6. How does f compare to d?
Laboratory 3
Materials
 Ray Box with screen
 2 Prisms
 2 Plane Mirrors
 Ruler or Straight Edge
 2 Ray Box Screens and supports
 1 White viewing screen
 Pencil
Methods
Experiment 3
1. Adjust the Ray Box to produce a parallel
beam as shown
2. Place two prisms to intercept the beam
as shown
3. Place two plane mirrors to direct the spectra to converge on the white viewing screen
4. Place a single slotted screen across the spectra as shown to allow only the red wavelength of
one spectrum to pass and the blue wavelength from the other spectrum to pass.
5. Slowly move the white viewing screen back-and-forth through the point of convergence
Laboratory 4
Materials
 Ray Box with screen
 Converging Lens
 Plane Mirror
 Ruler or Straight Edge
 1 White viewing screen
 Pencil
Methods
1. Adjust the Ray Box to produce three
rays
2. Place a prism to intercept and refract
the rays
3. Place a converging lens as shown to
intercept the spectra of colour
4. Move the white viewing screen back-and-forth in the overlapping spectra to find a point where a
single, sharp spectrum is produced
5. For a brighter spectrum, adjust the Ray Box to produce a single wide beam and repeat the
experiment
Laboratory 5 – Addition of Colours
Materials
 Ray Box with screen
 Converging Lens
 Coloured Filters
 Ruler or Straight Edge
 1 White viewing screen
 Pencil
Methods
1. Remove the screen from the front of the Ray Box to produce a single, broad beam
2. Insert small slips of filter material over the five slots in the screen to produce separate yellow and
blue rays
3. Place a converging lens in the path of the rays
4. Move the white viewing screen through the focal point (i.e., where rays converge). White light
should be produced at the focal point.
5. Explain
6. How could you produce purple?
7. What is the outcome of using amber and blue?