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
The PASCO Basic Optics System is a comprehensive optics set that supports more than a dozen hands-on investigations right out of the box. A staple of university physics labs around the world, the Basic Optics System includes a suite of core optics equipment, such as a light source, optics bench, and lenses, as well as more advanced accessories that facilitate studies of both ray optics and geometric optics concepts. All the components, except for the bench, fit inside the included storage box.
Highlights
- Durable: Rigid aluminum optics bench and protective component holders ensure years of reliable use.
- Easy Alignment: Most of the components fit inside protective holders that snap directly onto the optics track, allowing students to make adjustments without re-aligning the system.
- Multi-Purpose: The 4-in-1 Light Source serves as a bright point source, an illuminated crossed-arrow object, a primary-color source, and a ray box with up to five parallel rays.
- Student-Friendly: The Optics Track is lined with built-in metric measuring tape that enables measurements to be made directly from the bench.
- Expandable: The system is based on our durable Optics Track, 1.2 m, which easily expands to support student studies of diffraction, atomic spectra, polarization, and more.
Features
- Optics Track, 1.2 m: Snap components onto the track for hassle-free alignment. The built-in metric measuring tape allows measurements to be made directly from the optics bench.
- Light Source: Use the included Light Source as a bright point source, an illuminated crossed-arrow object, a primary-color source, or a ray box with up to five parallel rays.
- Lenses: Investigate optics concepts using four 50 mm diameter ground glass lenses, with focal lengths of +100, +200, +250, and -150 mm. The lenses are mounted in protective holders with a tab indicator located at the center of each lens.
- Concave/Convex Mirror: Produce an image from this mounted 50 mm diameter concave mirror that focuses on the half-screen.
- Adjustable Lens Holder: Easily mount lenses using the Adjustable Lens Holder, which holds any circular lens between 20 and 75 mm in diameter.
- Ray Optics Kit: Explore ray optics with a variety of accessories, including concave/convex lenses, concave/convex/plane mirrors, an acrylic rhomboid prism for studying refraction, and a hollow lens for teaching the Lensmaker's equation. The transparent storage box doubles as a water tank for studies of air lenses in water.
- Ray Table: Rotate this two-piece Ray Table to investigate Snell’s law or the law of reflection. Includes D-shaped acrylic lens for studies of reversibility, internal reflection, and dispersion.
- Viewing Screen: Project images onto this white plastic screen for easy viewing. The screen’s position is read directly from the metric measuring tape that lines the optics bench.
- Experiment Manual: Explore 17 lab-ready optics experiments, complete with teacher notes and sample data.
- Storage Box: Everything fits neatly into the protective storage box, except for the 1.2 m 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
- 1x Optics Track, 1.2 m (OS-8508)
- 1x Basic Optics Light Source (OS-8470)
- 1x Accessory Lens Set (OS-8519)
- 1x Adjustable Lens Holder (OS-8474)
- 1x Ray Optics Kit (OS-8516A)
- 1x Basic Optics Viewing Screen (OS-8460)
- 1x Basic Optics Ray Table (OS-8465)
- 1x Concave/Convex Mirror (OS-8457)
- 1x Basic Optics Geometric Lens Set (OS-8456)
- 1x Storage Box
Buying Guide
| Recommended Accessories | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Lens Holder Set | OS-8522 | -- |
| Adjustable Lens Holder | OS-8474 | -- |
| Replacement Parts | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Spares Kit | OS-8510 | -- |
| Basic Optics Light Source | OS-8470 | -- |
| Basic Optics Geometric Lens Set | OS-8456 | -- |
| Also Available | P/N | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Brewster’s Angle Accessory | OS-8170A | -- |
| Eye Model Bracket | OS-8469 | -- |
| Human Eye Model | OS-8477A | -- |
| Adjustable Focal Length Lens | OS-8494 | -- |
| Color Mixer | OS-8496 | -- |
| Diffraction Optics Kit | OS-8531A | -- |
| Accessory Lens Set | OS-8519 | -- |
| Polarization Analyzer | OS-8533A | -- |
| Aperture Accessories | OS-8524 | -- |
| Polarizer Demonstrator | OS-9477A | -- |
Product Guides & Articles
Optics System Guide
Our expandable optics system provides everything you need to perform high-quality investigations in any physics lab. Introduce students to the fundamentals of optics with our comprehensive Basic Optics System; then build on the basics with a variety of optics accessories that support detailed studies of color, interference and diffraction, polarization, and more.
AP Physics 2 Lab Manual Overview
Authored by physics educators, the Advanced Physics 2 Lab Manual includes sixteen guided inquiry labs that cover AP Physics 2 topics such as fluid dynamics, optics, interference and diffraction, magnetic fields, electricity, RC Circuits, and Planck’s Constant.
Experiment Library Collections
Basic Optics
Experiments that can be performed using various accessories from the Basic Optics System.
View CollectionSupport 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 - 496.30 KB | |
| Basic Optics Viewing Screen Manual | English - 39.56 KB | |
| Concave Convex Mirror Manual | English - 125.97 KB | |
| Ray Optics Kit Manual | English - 36.62 KB | |
| Knowledge Base | ||
| Replacement bulb, power supply, and AC adapter for OS-8470 Basic Optics Light Source or OS-8517 Basic Optics Light Source | Jan 30th, 2023 | |
| Replacing missing or damaged feet on optics tracks. | Dec 14th, 2022 | |
