Optics

Mirror
Grade 10 Physics
Unit II

Joshua T.
Gordon
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006

Spring 2006 2
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006

Spring 2006 3
R O L C I T N E E F
REFLECTION of LIGHT
•The path of light is a straight-line
• We see things because they reflect light into our eyes wherein
reflection is the bouncing back of light after it hits a surface.
•Reflection off a flat surface follows a simple rule:
Incident ray- is the ray that strikes the surface or ray
from the source.
Reflected ray- is the ray reflected or bounced off from
the surface

exit ray
angel of angle of reflected ray
incidence reflection

incident ray θi θr

An angle measured perpendicular in the surface is called the

“normal”

normal
Lets apply and try
1.If the angle between two
A C rays is equal to 102°. What
is the angle of incidence?

B
2. The angle of reflection is 25°from the surface determine
the value of the other ray…
3. The angle of incidence is equal to 33.What is the
angle from the surface and the angle between the
incident ray and reflected ray?

What is the angle from the

Surface of the mirror?
θ=35°
IF YOU FACE AN OBJECT INFRONT OF A MIRROR
• Recall our ray tracing of a flat mirror
• Recall that there are rays that are
sufficient for locating the image
Laws of Reflection
1.The angel of incidence is equal
to the angle of reflection. that is
θi = θr
2. The incident ray, the normal,
and the reflected ray lie on the
one plane
 What if parallel rays hit a smooth surface?

When a group of parallel rays strikes a

smooth flat surface, the reflected rays are
parallel to each other. An example of this is a
reflection from a mirror is regular or specular
What happen when a group of parallel rays
strikes a rough surface,
The group of rays will be scattered in all
directions. The reflected rays cannot be parallel
to each other.

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 Diffuse reflection is more common than regular
reflection. the walls, ceiling, floors and most of the
objects inside our rooms except the mirrors are
rough surfaces and hence scatter the light incident
upon them.
Specular or regular reflection is the main
reason why we able to see our image in a mirror.
Night driving is easier when the road is dry or
wet?The road is basically a rough surface and
scatters light. If the road is wet, however, the water
that fills in the irregularities, smoothing the road in
the process. The headlights of an approaching car
will be reflected regularly and concentrated in a
beam of light and produce a glare.
 A glossy page makes a book difficult to read
since it causes regular reflection and produce
glare. Thank the publisher of a book that are
rough rather than glossy.

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S O R M I R R
Mirrors and Reflection of light
A mirror is not necessary a silvered plate of glass.
Rather, it is any surface that is smooth enough to
produce regular reflection of light incident upon it .
Two types of Mirror
Plane mirror and Spherical mirror
• A Plane Mirror is one with the flat surface.
• Image formed is exact image of ourselves
• The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of
incidence that is responsible for having the
same size and distance for an object.
plane mirror
 Plane mirrors in a beauty salon are
arranged in such a way that they face each
other. Suppose that two mirrors are 2 m
apart and an object is placed 0.5 m from on
of the mirrors. Find the distances of the first
image formed by each mirror.
Mirror 1 Mirror 2

1.5 m 0.5 m
Ans. From the mirror 1 the image is 1.5 m
while mirror 2 is 1.5m
 Hall Mirror
• Useful to think in terms of images

“real” you

mirror only “image” you

needs to be half as
high as you are tall. Your
image will be twice as far from you
as the mirror.
What if the mirror isn’t flat?
Spherical Mirror
has a reflecting surface taken from the surface of a
sphere or a mirror with curved reflecting surface.
it maybe concave or convex
Concave
Is a mirror curves inwards in the direction
of the incident rays actually the hollow part of
a shiny spoon is a concave.
CONVEX MIRROR
A mirror that curves outward or
bulges outward to the incident ray.
Diverging mirror.
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006

Convex mirror in a
store and side mirror
of certain car
provides a wide
range of view.

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Plane and Spherical mirrors
Plane mirror- is flat and creates an exact image of an
object it can also be used by architects or
interior designers to make room seem
bigger.
Concave mirror - a mirror curves in and used for
shaving mirrors, makeup mirrors, and
dentist’s mirror.
Convex mirror- a mirror that bulges outward used in
rearview mirrors in cars and wide-range
mirrors in supermarkets designed for
shoplifters.
Images
is an intersection of two or more
reflected ray. A representation of form of
an object or a person formed by lens or a
mirror.

A B
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REAL image
A real image of an
object is formed by actual
intersection or reflected
rays.
it is formed in front of
the mirror and is always
upside down or inverted.
it can be projected
on a screen placed in
front of the mirror
 On the other hand, a virtual image is
formed behind the mirror and it is upright
relative to the object.
There is no actual intersection of reflected
rays. But if we extend the rays as if they came
from behind mirror there is an intersection
Note that this intersection is not formed by actual
reflected rays but by the extended rays.

Hence,virtual images cannot projected on screen

REAL and VIRTUAL images may be bigger
than the object , the same size as the
object, or smaller than the object
Images formed by the plane mirrors are always
virtual, upright, the same size as the object, the
same distance behind the mirror as the object is
in front of the mirror and laterally reversed
means that the left of the object becomes the
right of the image, and vice versa.
 Image REAL VIRTUAL

LOCATION In front behind

ORIENTATION Upside-down/ upright

inverted
SIGN Negative (-) Positive (+)

Project of yes no
screen
Intersection yes no
on reflected
rays
ANATOMY of a SPHERICAL MIRROR
Center of curvature (C) is the center of the
sphere from where the mirror was taken.
Vertex (P) is the center of the mirror or
sometimes called pole of the mirror.
Radius of curvature ( R) is the radius of the
sphere. It is the distance between C and P.
The principal axis, or optical axis is a
straight line joining CV
Aperture (MM’) refers to the width of the
mirror
Principal focus (F) is the point where the reflected
rays meet as in the case of a converging mirror, or
the point where the reflected rays seem to come
from behind a diverging mirror ( convex mirror)
Focal length (FV) is the distance from the pole to
the principal focus. Since the principal focus is
midway between C and V, the focal length is one-
half of the radius of the curvature.

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 When parallel rays strike a concave mirror,
the rays will be reflected an meet a single point
the principal focus which is located on the front.
Therefore we can say that a concave mirror is
converging.
Convex mirror is diverging mirror because
when parallel rays were extended, they would
appear or seem to come from a single point
behind the mirror. This point is also the principal
focus. However reflected rays are scattered
away in such direction. Therefore we can say
that convex mirror is diverging.
Ray Tracing for Spherical Mirrors
Images formed in the mirrors can be constructed
by the ray tracing method.
Rules for concave Mirrors
1.Parallel rays of light are reflected through the
principal focus F.
2. rays of light passing through F are reflected
parallel (reverse of rule 1)
3. A ray of light passing through the center of
curvature C will strike the mirror at right angles
and will be reflected back along its own path.
4. The position of the top of the image is where the
reflected rays meet.
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006
Case 1
object : distance of the object is infinity
Result: image is merely a point

C F
Case no. 2
Object : outside C

C F

object image

Result:
location: image between C and F
orientation: inverted
size : reduce in size
real…
Case no 3
Object at Center of curvature C

C F

RESULT
location: C
orientation: inverted
size: same

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Case no. 4
Object is located between C and F

C F

Result
location: Beyond C
orientation: inverted
size: bigger/magnified
CASE No. 5
Object is located at F
Result
image is at afinity

F
no image form
CASE no 6.
Object between F and the mirror

C F

Result
location:
orientation:
size:
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Rules for CONVEX Mirrors
1.Parallel rays of light are reflected so that they
appear to come from F.
2. Rays of light moving toward C hit the mirror at
right angle and reflected back along their own
path.

f c
Mirror Equation and Magnification
The position and size of the image formed by
mirrors may be determined using ray diagrams.
However, the position of the image may be quickly
determined using the mirror equation given below.
 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006

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 UCSD: Physics 8; 2006

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