Lesson 2

Curved Mirrors
 Focus Question

What are some advantages and

disadvantages of curved mirrors compared to
plane mirrors?
 New Vocabulary

principal axis
focal point
focal length
concave mirror
real image
spherical aberration
convex mirror
magnification
 Review Vocabulary

ray: a line drawn at a right angle to a wavefront;

represents the direction of wave travel
 Properties of Curved Mirrors
• The properties of curved mirrors depend on the shape
of the mirror.
• The mirror has the same geometric center (C) and radius
of curvature (r) as a sphere of radius r.
• The line that passes through line segment CM is the
principal axis, which is the straight line perpendicular to
the surface of the mirror that divides the mirror in half.
 Properties of Curved Mirrors

• This spot is called the focal

point of the mirror (F), the
point where incident light
rays that are parallel to the
principal axis converge after
reflecting from the mirror. F
is at the halfway point
between M and C.
• The focal length (f) is the
distance between the mirror
and the focal point and is
equal to r/2.
 Properties of Curved Mirrors

• When drawing ray diagrams, we will assume that all

reflection takes place at the mirror’s principal plane.
• The principal plane is perpendicular to the principal axis.
 Real Images with Concave Mirrors
Quantity +/−

• A concave mirror has a reflective f +

xo +
surface, the edges of which curve xi +
toward the observer. m −
• If the object is more than twice
the focal length (f) from a concave
mirror, the image formed will be:
• Located between F and C
• Reduced
• Inverted
• Real
 Real Images with Concave Mirrors
Quantity +/−
f +
A real image is an image formed by xo +
converging light rays. xi +
m −
 Real Images with Concave Mirrors
Quantity +/−
f +
• If the object is at the center of xo +

curvature (C), the image will be the xi +

same size and located at C. m −

• If the object is between the focal

point (F) and the center of curvature
(C), the image formed will be:
• located beyond C
• enlarged
• inverted
• real
 Real Images with Concave Mirrors

• In our ray diagrams, we have shown the rays reflected

from the principal plane.
• In reality, rays are reflected off the mirror itself and only
parallel rays that are close to the principal axis, or
paraxial rays, are reflected through the focal point.
Other rays converge at points closer to the mirror.
• The image formed by parallel rays reflecting off a
spherical mirror with a large mirror diameter and a
small radius of curvature is a disk, not a point.
 Real Images with Concave Mirrors

• This effect, called spherical

aberration, makes an image look
fuzzy, not sharp.
• A mirror ground to the shape of a
parabola suffers no spherical
aberration.
• Spherical aberration is reduced as
the ratio of the mirror’s diameter to
its radius of curvature is reduced.
 Virtual Images with Concave Mirrors
Quantity +/−
f +
• If the object is at the focal point (F),
xo +
no image will be formed. xi −
• If the object is between the focal m +
point (F) and the mirror, the image
formed will be:
• Located farther from
the mirror than the object
• Enlarged
• Upright
• Virtual
 Convex Mirrors
Quantity +/−
• A convex mirror is a reflective f −
surface with edges that curve xo +
away from the observer. xi −
m +
• Regardless of where the object is
placed, the image formed will be:
• Located between the
mirror and F
• Reduced
• Upright
• Virtual
 Calculating Image Position
• Using the spherical mirror model, we can develop a
simple formula to relate the focal length, object
position, and image position.
• When using this equation Mirror Equation
to solve problems, it is 1 1 1
 
important to remember f xi x o
that it is only approx-
imately correct. It does
not predict spherical
aberration, because it
uses the paraxial ray
approximation.
 Calculating Image Position

• Magnification is a property of spherical mirrors

which refers to how much larger or smaller an
image is relative to the object.
• The magnification of an object by a spherical
mirror, defined as the image height divided by the
object height, is equal to the negative of the
image position, divided by the object distance.

hi xi
Magnification m   
ho xo
 Calculating Image Position

The table below summarizes how the value of m

relates to the properties of the image.
m is… image is …
positive upright
negative inverted
0 < |m| < 1 reduced
|m| > 1 enlarged
 SOLVE FOR THE
UNKNOWN
• Use the mirror
Use with Example Problem 2. equation to find
the image position.
Problem 1 1 1
A concave mirror has a radius of curvature of  
f xi x o
24.0 cm. A 6.4-cm-tall object is held 26.0 cm
from the mirror. Where is the image and how
xi 
fxo

12.0 cm26.0 cm  22.3 cm
tall is the image? xo  f 26.0 cm  12.0 cm
The image is 22.3 cm in front of the mirror.
Response
• Use the definition of magnification to find the image
SKETCH AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM
• Draw a ray diagram. height.
• List the knowns and unknowns. h  xi
m  i 
KNOWN UNKNOWN ho xo
 xiho 22.3 cm6.4 cm
xo = 26.0 cm xi = ? hi    5.5 cm
xo 26.0 cm
ho = 6.4 cm hi = ? The image is 5.5 cm tall and inverted.
f = r/2 = 12.0 cm EVALUATE THE ANSWER
• The answer agrees with the ray diagram: The image
is inverted, reduced, in front of the mirror, and real.
 SOLVE FOR THE
UNKNOWN
• Use the mirror
Use with Example Problem 3. equation to find
the image position.
Problem 1 1 1
A convex mirror has a radius of curvature of  
f xi x o
28.4 cm. If you hold a 16.0-cm-long pencil 23.5
cm in front of the mirror, what will the image
xi 
fxo

14.2 cm23.5 cm  8.85 cm
position and image height be? xo  f 23.5 cm  14.2 cm
The image is 8.85 cm behind the mirror.
Response
• Use the definition of magnification to find the image
SKETCH AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM
• Draw a ray diagram. height.
• List the knowns and unknowns. h  xi
m  i 
KNOWN UNKNOWN ho xo
 xiho 8.85 cm16.0 cm
xo = 23.5 cm xi = ? hi    6.0 cm
xo 23.5 cm
ho = 16 cm hi = ? The image is 6.0 cm tall and upright.
f = r/2 = −14.2 cm
EVALUATE THE ANSWER
• The answer agrees with the ray diagram: The image
is upright, reduced, behind the mirror, and virtual.
 Mirror Comparison
Single-Mirror System Properties
Mirror Type f xo xi m Image

xo > 0 |xi| = xo
Plane ∞ same size virtual
(negative)
xo > r r > xi > f reduced,
inverted real

r > xo > f enlarged,

Concave + xi > r real
inverted

f > xo > 0 |xi| > xo

enlarged virtual
(negative)
|f| > |xi| > 0
Convex  xo > 0 reduced virtual
(negative)
 Quiz

1. Which is the straight line perpendicular to the

surface of the mirror that divides the mirror in half?

A principal axis C secondary axis

CORRECT

B spherical axis D real axis

 Quiz

2. Which is the point where incident light rays that are parallel to
the principal axis converge after reflecting from the mirror?

A virtual point C focal point CORRECT

B principal point D reflection point

 Quiz

3. Which is the distance between the mirror and the

focal point and is equal to r/2?

A principal length C focal length CORRECT

B reflection length D virtual length

 Quiz

4. Which has a reflective surface with edges that curve

toward the observer?

A plane mirror C concave mirror CORRECT

B spherical mirror D convex mirror

 Quiz

5. Which has a reflective surface with edges that

curve away from the observer?

A plane mirror C concave mirror

B spherical mirror D convex mirror

CORRECT