A complete optics bench that includes all the components required to do introductory optics experiments.
See the Product Description for this item's included accessories.
See the Buying Guide for this item's required, recommended, and additional accessories.
Product Summary
PASCO’s Basic Optics System is easy-to-use, affordable, and ruggedly designed. Large, 50 mm diameter optics components are mounted in protective holders that snap directly onto the aluminum track, allowing students to easily adjust components by snapping or sliding them along the track. Image and object distances for both lenses and mirrors can be measured quickly and accurately with the built-in metric tape. The Light Source doubles as a tabletop ray box for studies in reflection, refraction, color addition, and Snell’s Law. All of the components, with the exception of the track, fit in the included storage box.
Features
- Optics Track (1.2 m): Lens holders, mirrors, light source, and viewing screen snap into this rugged aluminum optics track. The metric tape makes position measurements easy. Optical alignment is always a snap.
- Light Source: Has a lighted crossed arrow target with metric scale for focusing images through lenses or using with the concave mirror. Acts as a point light source, 1, 3, or 5 parallel rays, or red-green-blue rays.
- Lenses: 4 - 50 mm diameter lenses with focal lengths of +100, +200, +250, -150 mm mounted in protective holders
- Concave/Convex Mirror: 50 mm diameter plastic mirror with reflective surface on both sides. Includes “half-screen” upon which the image is focused.
- Adjustable Lens Holder: Use your own lenses (from 19 mm to 75 mm in diameter) or choose from our lens sets.
- Ray Optics Kit: Concave/convex lenses, concave/convex/plane mirrors, acrylic rhomboid prism for spreading white light and refraction experiments, hollow lens for teaching the lensmaker’s equation. Storage tray functions as a water tank for the hollow lens.
- Ray Table: Two-piece construction allows the table to rotate for studying Snell’s Law or the Law of Reflection. Includes D-shaped acrylic lens.
- Viewing Screen: White plastic screen snaps into the optics bench - the position of the screen is visible on the bench scale.
- Experiment Manual: The experiment guide includes 17 ready-to-use optics experiments with teacher notes and sample data.
- Storage Box: Everything fits neatly into the protective storage box, with the exception of the 1.2 meter Optics Track.
Perform These Experiments
- Color Addition
- Prism
- Reflection
- Snell's Law
- Total Internal Reflection
- Convex and Concave Lenses
- Hollow Lens
- Lensmaker's Equation
- Apparent Depth
- Reversibility
- Dispersion
- Focal Length and Magnification of a Thin Lens
- Focal Length and Magnification of a Concave Mirror
- Virtual Images
- Telescopes and Microscopes
- Index of Refraction
- Shadows
What's Included
Buying Guide
| Recommended Accessories | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Lens Holder Set | OS-8522 | $20 |
| Adjustable Lens Holder | OS-8474 | $30 |
| Replacement Parts | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Spares Kit | OS-8510 | $106 |
| Basic Optics Light Source | OS-8470 | $98 |
| Basic Optics Geometric Lens Set | OS-8456 | $50 |
| Also Available | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Brewster’s Angle Accessory | OS-8170A | $459 |
| Eye Model Bracket | OS-8469 | $52 |
| Human Eye Model | OS-8477A | $199 |
| Adjustable Focal Length Lens | OS-8494 | $35 |
| Color Mixer | OS-8496 | $138 |
| Diffraction Optics Kit | OS-8531A | $339 |
| Accessory Lens Set | OS-8519 | $50 |
| Polarization Analyzer | OS-8533A | $229 |
| Aperture Accessories | OS-8524 | $85 |
| Polarizer Demonstrator | OS-9477A | $139 |
Experiment Library
Perform the following experiments and more with the Basic Optics System.
Visit PASCO's Experiment Library to view more activities.
Dispersion
Observe dispersion through an acrylic rhomboid and calculate the different indices or refraction for different colors of light.
Object and Image Distances Thin Lens
Determine the relationship between object distance and image distance for a thin convex lens. Use a light source, optics bench, lens, and viewing screen to measure object distance, image distance, and image size.
Light Intensity versus Distance
The relative light intensity versus distance from a point light source is plotted. As the Light Sensor is moved by hand, the string attached to the Light Sensor that passes over the Rotary Motion Sensor pulley to a hanging mass...
Light Intensity vs. Distance
The relative light intensity versus distance from a point light source is plotted and compared to theory.
Focal Length of a Concave Mirror
Use a light source, concave mirror, and half screen accessory on an optics bench to measure the focal length of the concave mirror.
Telescope and Microscope
The purpose of this activity is to construct a simple telescope and a simple microscope and to measure their magnifications. Biconvex (convergent) thin lenses of focal lengths +100 mm and +200 mm will be used as the primary and...
Support Documents
| Manuals | ||
|---|---|---|
| Basic Optics System Manual | English - 1.21 MB | |
| Accessory Lens Set Basic Optics Manual | English - 72.29 KB | |
| Adjustable Lens Holder Manual | English - 530.47 KB | |
| Basic Optics Geometric Lens Set Manual | English - 62.22 KB | |
| Basic Optics Light Source Manual | English - 539.83 KB | |
| Basic Optics Ray Table Manual | English - 322.49 KB | |
| Basic Optics Viewing Screen Manual | English - 39.56 KB | |
| Ray Optics Kit Manual | English - 36.62 KB | |
