Schematic illustration of a magnifying glass.

Magnifying Measurement

How Does the Distance of an Object from a Lens Affect the Object's Magnification?

 

Materials

  • sheet of graph paper
  • magnifying lens
  • pencil

Try This

  1. Lay the sheet of graph paper on a table.
  2. Place the magnifying lens over the sheet.
  3. Count the number of squares you see through the magnifying lens. (You can mark them off with a pencil.)
  4. Move the magnifying lens up higher, toward your eyes, and count the squares again. What are the results this time?
Schematic illustration of a sheet of graph paper, a magnifying lens, and a pencil.

What's Going On?

The distance from a magnifying lens to an object determines the amount of magnification achieved or how large the object will look. As you increased the distance between the lens and the sheet of graph paper, you could see fewer squares, but they were larger.

Schematic illustration of the magnifying lens is placed on top of the graph paper.