Practice Questions Image Formation

1. A clown 2 m tall looks at himself in a full-length mirror (floor-to-ceiling). Where in the mirror must he
look to see his feet?
a. 1 m from the floor
b. 50 cm from the floor
c. 25 cm from the floor
d. at the bottom of the mirror
e. 1.5 m from the floor
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

2. The inhabitants of a planet in another galaxy have their eyes at the exact center of their 4.0-m long bodies.
How long must a plane mirror be for such a creature to be able to see all of its body in the mirror?
a. 1.0 m
b. 2.0 m
c. 2.5 m
d. 4.0 m
e. 8.0 m
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

2. A concave mirror has a focal length of 20 cm. What is the position (in cm) of the resulting image if the
image is inverted and four times smaller than the object?
a. 15
b. 25
c. 50
d. 100
e. 15
ANS: B PTS: 2 DIF: Average

4. If you stand closer to a concave mirror than a distance of one focal length, the image you see is
a. real and inverted.
b. real and upright.
c. virtual and inverted.
d. virtual and upright.
e. none of the above because you do not get an image.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

5. When you stand in front of a convex mirror, the image you see is
a. real and inverted.
b. real and upright.
c. virtual and inverted.
d. virtual and upright.
 e. real and inverted if your distance from the mirror is greater than two focal lengths.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

6. The image of an object beneath the surface of a medium of refractive index n > 1 is seen in air by a
person looking down on the surface. This image, formed by light rays leaving the flat refractive surface, is
a. real and closer to the viewer than the object.
b. virtual and closer to the viewer than the object.
c. real and farther from the viewer than the object.
d. virtual and farther from the viewer than the object.
e. virtual and the same distance from the viewer as the object.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

7. Which ray diagrams are correct? The three rays in each diagram are distinguished by different types of
lines. Hint: Check the behavior of each ray as it interacts with the lens.

a. B and C
b. C and D
c. D and E
d. C and E
e. C, D and E
ANS: E PTS: 2 DIF: Average

8. Which ray diagram is correct? The three rays in each diagram are distinguished by different types of lines.
Hint: Check the behavior of each ray as it interacts with the lens.
 a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
e. E
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

9. An object 20-cm high is placed 50.0 cm in front of a lens whose focal length is 5.00 cm. Where will the
image be located (in cm)?
a. 5.13
b. 5.56
c. 5.72
d. 5.93
e. 4.55
ANS: B PTS: 2 DIF: Average

10. A plane convex lens is made of glass (n = 1.5) with one flat surface and the other having a radius of 20
cm. What is the focal length (in cm) of the lens?
a. 20
b. 30
c. 40
d. 10
e. 50
ANS: C PTS: 2 DIF: Average
11. A far-sighted student has a near point of 1.0 m. Calculate the focal length (in cm) of the glasses needed so
the near point will be normal (25 cm).
a. 72
b. 25
c. 33
d. 100
e. 33
ANS: C PTS: 2 DIF: Average

12. A compound microscope is made with an objective lens ( = 0.90 cm) and an eyepiece ( = 1.1 cm).
The lenses are separated by a distance of 10 cm. If an object is 1.0 cm in front of the objective lens, where
will the final image of the eyepiece be located?
a. 30
b. 15
c. 23
d. 11
e. 9
ANS: D PTS: 3 DIF: Challenging

14. A telescope is constructed with two lenses separated by a distance of 25 cm. The focal length of the
objective is 20 cm. The focal length of the eyepiece is 5 cm. Calculate the magnitude of the angular
magnification of the telescope.
a. 6
b. 4
c. 8
d. 10
e. 5
ANS: B PTS: 2 DIF: Average

13. An object is placed a distance y0 = 2f in front of a convex lens of focal length f that is located at y = 0.
An identical object is placed a distance in front of a concave lens of focal length f that is
located at . The difference between the two image positions, , is
a.
.
b. f.
c.
.
d. 2f.
e.
.

ANS: E PTS: 3 DIF: Challenging