When we look at the mirror, we see ourselves as if we were inside the mirror, of course we know that the image

formed at the back of the mirror is not true. Virtual image is formed at the same distance as the object in front of the plane mirror.

The reflection of light in the mirror follows the law of reflection which states that:
1. 2.

The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane.

Note that the angle of reflection and incidence are measured from the line perpendicular to the surface commonly known as the normal. Oooopppsss.. dont forget to illustrate the image formation in a plane mirror.

These mirrors are whose reflecting surface is from a section of a sphere. Terms for Mirrors: 1. C or center of curvature- is the center of the sphere that the mirror is a part of. 2. F or Focal point- is a point where parallel light rays converge or apparently diverge upon reflecting off the surface of the mirror. 3. Principal axis- is the line that contains the center of curvature, the focus and the center of the mirror. 4. f or Focal length- The distance between F and O 5. R or Radius of curvature- The distance between the center C and O which is the center of the mirror.

Concave Mirrors- A spherical mirror whose C and F are in front of it. Convex Mirrors- A spherical mirror whose C and F are located at the back of the mirror.

1. 2. 3.

Consider an object O in front of a concave mirror. We locate the point of it on image I through drawing rays 1,2 and 3. Ray 1 is parallel to the principal axis and reflects toward the focal point. Ray 2 passes through F and reflects off the mirror parallel to the principal axis. Ray 3 passes through the center of curvature C and reflects back at the same lane. The image formed is said to be real because actual light rays are passing through the image. Also, the image is reduced in size and inverted in orientation.

 1.

2.
3.

We locate the image formed by drawing the following rays: Ray 1 is parallel to the principal axis and reflects away from the focal point F. Ray 2 passes toward F. As it hits the mirror, it reflects off it parallel to the principal axis. Ray 3 passes toward the center of curvature C and reflects back at the same line.

Extending all the reflected rays and their intersection shows the location of the image. The image formed is said to be virtual because no actual light rays passes through the image, as it is in the plane mirror. The image is reduced in size and upright in orientation.

Please note that the image does not always have the same properties as with the example, for it always depend on the position of the object from the mirror and the type of mirror used.

1/d + 1/d = 1/f For convention, we place negative sign to denote distances at the back of the mirror. Therefore, for concave mirrors, R and F are positive and for convex mirrors R and F are negative. This also goes with objects and images.
o i

Image can be reduced or enlarged. The lateral magnification can be obtained by getting the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object. M=h /h = -d /d
i o i o

For magnification less than 1, the image is reduced, and for m greater than 1, image is enlarged. If m is positive, the image and the object have the same orientation, otherwise they are inverted with respect to each other.

PARAMETERS Object distance d

o

SIGNS
+ -

DESCRIPTION Front of the mirror (real object) Back of the mirror (virtual object)

Image distance d

+ -

Front of the mirror ( real image) Back of the mirror (virtual image)

Lateral Magnification

+ -

Image is upright Image is inverted

Focal length and Radius of curvature

+ -

Front of the mirror ( concave mirror) Back of the mirror ( convex mirror)

1. A 4 cm tea cup is placed 15 cm from a concave mirror with a focal length of 5 cm. Where will the image be formed? What is the magnification, type and orientation of the image?

2. Where would an image of a 12 cm high pen be formed if it is placed 20 cm in front of a convex mirror? The focal length of the mirror is 30 cm. What are the characteristics of the image?

Using both the diagramming and mirror equations, solve the following problems. 10 points each

1. What are the characteristics of an image of 10 cm high object formed by a concave mirror? The mirrors focal length is 20 cm and the object distance is 18 cm?

2. What are the characteristics of the image of a 10 cm high object formed by a convex mirror? The mirrors focal length is 20 cm and the object distance is 18 cm.

1. A concave spherical mirror has a focal length of 12 cm. What is the position of the image if an object is placed 18 cm in front of it? Describe the image.

2. A concave spherical mirror has a focal length of 12 cm. What is the position of the image if the object is placed 6 cm in front of it? Describe the image.