Formation of

Images
Reported by: Ma. Ashley Nicole S. Pelicano
MIRRORS AND IMAGES
• IMAGES
– Are formed when light strikes a reflecting surface such as a mirror or a lens.

Mirrors and lenses will help us understand more comprehensively the behavior
and properties of electromagnetic waves known as visible light.

Object
- is the source of the incident rays.
Image
- is the picture that is formed by the reflected rays.

An object could be any actual source of light, for example a light bulb or a
candle, which should reflect light from another source.
 Real Images
- Occur when light rays actually intersect at Virtual Images
the image making them appear inverted, or - Occur when light rays do not actually meet
at the image.
upside down.
• In describing objects and images, we need to know
their locations and their sizes.
• The distance from the mirror to object is the object
distance, do.
• The distance from the mirror to the image is the
image distance, di.
• The significance between these distances will be
made clearer when the magnification of mirrors
are discussed.
Mirrors and
Their Types
2 Basic Types of Mirrors

• Plane Mirrors
– Are the common, everyday, flat mirrors that we see everywhere.
– Consists of a flat, two-dimensional surface that reflects the light coming from
or reflecting off another object.

Law of Plane Mirrors

“the image is always the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of
the mirror.”
Law of Reflection
• States that the angle of incidence equals the angle of
reflection.
• It is strictly observed when the reflecting
surface is smooth.
 Spherical Mirrors
• A spherical mirror is a second class
mirror in the form of a slice of a • Concave Mirror is a mirror that
spherical surface. is curved inward like the
hollow inside of a sphere.
• It is called spherical because id you take
a sphere and cut it then polish the inside
• Convex Mirror is a mirror that
of one and the outside of the other, you is curved outward, like the
will get a concave mirror and convex outside of a sphere.
mirror.
 Features of a concave and a convex
mirror:
a. Center of curvature (C)
- the center of the circle of which the mirror
represents a small arc.
b. Focus (F)
- The point where parallel light rays
converge; the focus is always found on
the inner part of the “circle” of which the
mirror is a small arc; the focus of a
mirror is ½ the radius.
c. Vertex (V)
- The point where the mirror crosses the
principal axis
d. Principal Axis
– A line drawn through the vertex, focus,
and center of curvature of the mirror
upon which the object rests.
e. Focal Length (f)
- The distance from the focus to the vertex
of the mirror
f. Radius of curvature
- The distance from the center of curvature
to the vertex of the mirror; it corresponds to
the radius of the circle.
Ray Diagramming
Involving Mirrors
A Ray Diagram traces the path that light takes in order for
an individual to view a point on the image of an object.

The following should be remembered when drawing ray

diagrams:
1. Objects are represented by arrows whose length represents the
height of the object.
2. If the arrow points upwards, then the object is described as
upright or erect. If the arrow points downwards, then the object is
described as inverted.
3. If the object is real, then the arrow is drawn with a solid line. If the
object is virtual, then the arrow is drawn with a dashed line.
To be able to describe the location,
size, orientation, and type of image
formed by concave of a concave
mirror, the technique known as ray
diagramming.
Rule #1: Any ray through the focal point
will reflect parallel to the principle axis

Concave Mirror Convex Mirror

Rule #2: Any ray parallel to the principle axis will
reflect so that it passes through the focal point.

Concave Mirror Convex Mirror

Rule #3: Any ray that passes through the center
will reflect back through the center.

Concave Mirror Convex Mirror

• Principal ray – is the ray that leaves a point on an object
facing the mirror parallel to the principal axis.
• Focal ray – is the ray that leaves the same point on the
object and immediately passes through the focal point,
hitting the mirror and reflecting parallel to the principal
axis.
• Chief ray – is the ray that leaves the same point on the
object and passes through the center of curvature C of the
mirror.
 Six General Locations To
Summarize the Characteristics of
the Image Formed By A Concave
Mirror
Location 1: Object is beyond the center of
curvature
Location 2: Object at the center of
curvature
Location 3: Object between the center of
curvature and focal point
Location 4: Object at the focal point
Location 5: Object between the mirror
and the focal point
 Location 6: Object at affinity
• Image Formed: At the focus, real, inverted, smaller than the object.
• Application: Used by ENT surgeons and dentists.
While a ray diagram may help one
determine the approximate location and
size of the image, it will not provide
numerical information about image
distance and object size.

To obtain this type of numerical information,

it is necessary to use the Mirror Equation and
the Magnification Equation.
 Mirror Equation and Magnification
The mirror equation expresses the
quantitative relationship between the
object distance (do), the image distance
(di), and the focal length (f).
The magnification equation relates the
ratio of the image distance and object
distance to the ratio of the image
height (hi) and object height (ho).
Both equations can be applied when
dealing with lenses.
• Example:
A 4.0 cm tall light bulb is placed at a distance of 35.5 cm from a
convex mirror having a focal length of -12.2 cm. Determine the image
distance and the image size.

Given: ho=4.0 cm, do= 35.5 cm, f= -12.2 cm

Find: di, hi
Solutions:
• Distance of the Image, di • Height of the Image, hi
1 1 1 1 = 1
f do di do di
1 1 1 hi = ho -do
f do di di

1 1 1 hi = 4.0 cm (- -9.07/35.5 cm)

(-12.2 cm) 35.5 cm di
Dividing both sides by -0.1102:
-0.0820-0.0282 1 - 0.1102 di 1 cm
cm di 0.1102 - 0.1102
Applying cross multiplication:
-0.1102 di = 1 (cm) di = - 9.07 cm
Lenses and Images
• Images are formed when light refracts as it
encounters a boundary between two different
materials.

Types of Lens
A lens is a shaped transparent material that
refracts light to create an image. There are 2 main
types of lenses, the converging lens and diverging
lens.
Converging Lens Diverging Lens

• Is a lens that is thicker at the • Known as concave lens

middle.
• Is a lens that is thinner at the
• It is also known as convex lens middle than the edges.

The principle axis of a lens is the line joining the

centers of curvatures of its surfaces.

The point where they converge is called the

principal focus and its distance from the center
of the lens is the focal length.
Ray Diagramming Involving Lens
• Parallel Ray – a ray that leaves the object parallel to the
principal axis and is refracted by the lens to pass through
the far focal point of a converging lens or the near focal
point of a diverging lens.
• Focal Ray – a ray that leaves the object and passes
through the near focal point of a converging lens. When
they refract, they continue parallel to the axis.
• Chief Ray – a ray that leaves the object and continues to
the center of the lens.
Light Rays coming from the object
converge or diverge at another point
as a result of refraction.