An instructor asks a laboratory group to design an experiment that will determine the wavelength of an unknown monochromatic light source using a double-slit slide and a meter-long optical bench.
The class must submit a written plan that addresses measurement strategy, data analysis, and uncertainty.
(a) Describe in detail how you would arrange the apparatus and what specific measurements you would record to obtain the wavelength.
(b) Identify at least three distinct sources of experimental uncertainty in the measurement and explain qualitatively how each uncertainty propagates to the calculated wavelength.
(c) Propose two procedural modifications that would reduce the fractional uncertainty in the final value of the wavelength, and justify how each modification achieves this goal.