PHYS375 Review
Exam will be in two parts:
written and in lab
Both parts will be open book and notes
Exam Details
• Written
– Four questions limited to the areas to be
discussed next
• Lab
– About four components you will have to measure
and document. You will not have to provide a
report but you lab notes should be clear evidence
you actually performed the experiment.
Theoretical Things to Know
1. Refraction at surfaces – Snell’s law;
2. Critical angles – qB (Brewter’s angle) and qC
(total internal reflection);
3. ABCD matrix method with thin lenses;
4. Optical path length;
5. Interference and/or diffraction (Fraunhofer)
from single and double slits;
6. Simple spectroscopic instruments – prism and
grating spectrometerDispersion (spreading) of
light by prisms and gratings;
Snell’s law
• Problems: 2-5, 2-7, 2-8 and 3-6
ABCD matrix
• Only focus on thin lenses and combinations.
• Must know matrix multiplication and the
meaning of various elements.
• Must be able to determine the cardinal points
• Example problems: 18-9, 18-11 and applied to
3-24.
Fraunhofer Diffraction
• Must know how to calculate the field from the
diffraction integral.
• Know what the diffraction patterns look like
for single and double slits, rectangular slit with
diffraction in two directions and circular slits.
• Must know the relationship between the size
of the aperture and the diffraction angle.
• Problems: 2 & 3 HW6, 11-9, 11-12
Interference
• Problems: 7-1, 7-6 would be good to know.
Optical Instruments
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Spectrometers with gratings and prisms
Gratings problems: 12-1 and 12-3 for example.
Prism problems: 3-7
Michelson interferometer problems: 8-3 and
8-5.
Lab Things to Know
• Should be familiar with all seven (including
the 0th lab).
• How to keep a record of what you have done.
I will be looking for evidence to convict you of
having done the lab.
– Saying “I aligned the laser” without providing any
detail of exactly how will garner very few, if any,
points!
– Provide a description of what was done with
sketches.
Lab (cont.)
• You will have several pieces of optics to
identify – e.g.,
– blocks of optical material for which you will have
to determine n,
– apertures for which you will have to determine
their size w/o measuring w/ microscope,
– Lenses for which you will have to determine f and
n, etc.
• You will be able to measure with techniques
you’ve learned this semester.