Introduction
You may have noticed that a light source appears to be brighter when you are close to it and dimmer when you are farther away. This is because the amount of the light that enters your eye increases as you move closer to the light source.
There are several ways to measure the brightness of light. In this experiment, you will use a Light Sensor to measure the illumination detected by the sensor in lux. You will observe how illumination varies with distance and compare the results to a mathematical model.
Objectives
Determine the mathematical relationship between illumination and distance from a light source.
Sensors and Equipment
This experiment features the following sensors and equipment. Additional equipment may be required.
Correlations
Teaching to an educational standard? This experiment supports the standards below.
- International Baccalaureate (IB)/Physics
- 4.3 Wave characteristics
Ready to Experiment?
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Purchase the Lab Book
This experiment is #29 of Physics with Vernier. The experiment in the book includes student instructions as well as instructor information for set up, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data.
