E XPERIMENT

EXPERIMENT 9
AIM
To find the value of ‘v’ for different values of ‘u’ in case of concave
mirror and to find the focal length.

APPARATUS AND MATERIAL REQUIRED

An optical bench, two sharp-edged needles (pins), concave
mirror of less than 20 cm focal length, three uprights (with
clamps), index needle (may be a knitting needle), metre scale
and spirit level.

T ERMS AND DEFINITIONS

1. Principal axis of a mirror is the line
passing through the centre of
curvature and pole of the mirror.

2. Principal focus is the point where

rays parallel to principal axis, focus
after reflection from the surface of
the mirror (Fig. E 9.1).

3. Geometrical centre of the mirror is

called pole, P.
Fig. E 9.1 Focal length of a concave mirror.
4. Focal length is the distance between
the pole, P and the focus, F.

INDEX CORRECTION

Usually the distance between concerned points of two elements is

not the same as the distance between their uprights as read on
the scale. For example, in Fig. E 9.2 the reading of two uprights
do not give the actual distance between the tip of the pin and the
pole of the mirror. A correction must, therefore, be applied. It is
called the index correction.
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Fig. E 9.2 Determination of Index correction

P ARALLAX
This is employed in the location
of image of an object.
For example, as shown in the
Fig. E 9.3 (a) O and I are the
object and image points for a
mirror/lens.
An object point O and its real
image ‘I’ are conjugate points i.e.
any of the two may be considered
as object and the other as its
(a) image. Thus it helps in accurate
adjustment to check for no
parallax at both the points.
If we say there is no parallax
between an object O (pin) and its
image I, then by moving the eye
through which we are observing,
to the left and then to the right,
(b)
object and its image both appear
to move together relative to the
lens/mirror. It implies that the
position of both are same on the
optical bench [Figs. E 9.3 (d) and
(e)]. If their positions are not same
then in one position they may
appear to coincide and in another
they will appear separate [Figs. E
(c) 9.3 (b) and (c)].
This method of locating the
position of an image on the optical
Fig. E 9.3 (a),(b),(c) Locating the position of an image
bench by a pin is called the
on the optical bench by a pin
method of parallax.
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(d)

(e)

Fig. E 9.3 (d), (e) Ray diagram for finding focal length of a concave mirror

S IGN CONVENTION
1. All the distances are measured from the pole P of the mirror (or
the optical centre of a lens).
2. The distance measured in the direction of propagation of incident
rays are taken as positive and those measured in the opposite
direction are taken as
negative.
3. The heights measured
upwards (above the
principal axis of
the mirror/lens) are
taken as positive and
the heights measured
downwards are taken
as negative (Fig. E 9.4).
Note: In the cartesian sign
convention, the object is
always placed to the left of Fig. E 9.4 The cartesian sign convention
the mirror (or the lens).

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R AY TRACING IN SPHERICAL MIRRORS

To locate the image, we need to trace only a

few specific paths or rays (a minimum of two)
as shown in Fig. E 9.5.
Conveniently, any two rays can be taken to
locate the image.
1. An incident ray parallel to the principal
axis of the mirror either passes through
the principal focus F (concave mirror)
or appears to be diverging from it
(convex mirror).
2.
An incident ray passing through the
centre of curvature C (concave mirror)
Fig. E 9.5 Ray tracing for image formation or appearing to pass through it (convex
by a concave mirror mirror), retraces its path i.e. reflected
back along its original path. You must note that this ray is
incident normal to the mirror.
3. An incident ray passing through the principal focus F (concave
mirror) or appearing to pass through it (convex mirror) will be
reflected from the mirror parallel to the principal axis.
4. An incident ray striking the pole P of the mirror is reflected at
an angle equal to the angle of incidence with the principal axis.

P RINCIPLE
For an object placed at a distance u from the
pole of a concave mirror of focal length f, the
image is formed at a distance v from the pole.
The relation between these distances (for a
concave mirror) is
1 1 1
= +
f u v

uv
or f=
u +v
Fig. E 9.6 Formation of image by a concave mirror.
Object is between the centre of curva- If an object (say, a pin) is placed in front of the
ture and principal focus F; real, invertedreflecting surface of the concave mirror such
and magnified image is between the that the object’s position lies in between the
centre of curvature and infinity principal focus of the mirror, F and the centre
of curvature C, then a real, inverted and
magnified image is formed in between the centre of curvature C of the
mirror and infinity (Fig. E 9.6).
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Thus, the image formed in such a case would be clearer and easier to
be seen. The focal length of the mirror, using the above relation, can be
determined by placing the object in between the point 2F and focus F.

P
ROCEDURE
1. Obtain approximate value of the focal length of concave mirror
by focusing the image of a distant object. Obtain bright and
clear image of a distant building or tree on a plane wall or a
sheet of paper and measure the distance between the mirror
and the image which gives the approximate focal length of the
concave mirror.
2. Place the optical bench on a rigid table. Make it horizontal using
a spirit level and levelling screws.
3. Clamp the concave mirror on an upright and mount it vertically
near one end of the optical bench. Move an object pin P1 on the
optical bench back and forth so that its image is formed at the
same height. Make slight adjustments of the height of the pin or
the mirror inclination. This procedure ensures that the principal
axis of the mirror is parallel to the optical bench.
4. Place another vertically mounted sharp and bright pin P2 in front
of the reflecting surface of the concave mirror. Adjust the pins P1
and P2 so that the height of the tips of these pins become equal to
the height of the pole P of the mirror from the base of the optical
bench [Fig. E 9.3(e)].
5. To determine index correction, a thin straight index needle is
placed so that its one end A1 touches the tip of the pin and the
other end B1 touches the pole P of the mirror. The positions of the
uprights are read on the scale. Their difference gives the observed
distance between tip of the pin and the pole of the mirror. Length
of the needle A1B1 is measured by placing it on the scale which is
the actual distance between the points in question. The difference
between the two gives the correction to be applied to the observed
distance. Find the index correction for both the pins P1 and P2 for
all measurements.
6. Move the pin P1 away from the mirror and place it almost at 2F.
An inverted image of same size as the pin should be visible.
7. Now place another pin P2 on the bench, adjust its height to be
almost the same as the earlier pin. Place a piece of paper on the
tip of one pin, take this as the object pin.
8. Place the pin with paper at a distance lying between F and 2F.
9. Locate the image of the pin using the other pin. Remember that
parallax has to be removed between the image and the pin.
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10. Note the values of u and v i.e., the distances of the object and
image pins from the mirror respectively.
11. Repeat the experiment for at least five different positions of the
object and determine the corresponding values of v. Record your
observations in tabular form.
12. After doing index correction record the corrected values of u and
v. Find the value of focal length, f.

O BSERVATIONS
1. Rough focal length of the concave mirror = ...cm
2. Actual distance of the object from the mirror using index needle,
l0 = ... cm
3. Observed distance of the object from the mirror
= position of mirror upright – position of object pin upright on the
scale, l 0′ ...cm

4. Index correction for object distance, e = actual distance – observed

distance.

=l0 – l0′ = ...cm

Similarly for image pin

e i = l i – l i′ = ...cm

Table E 9.1: Determination of u, v and f

Sl. Position of Observed Observed Corrected Corrected uv

f= ∆f
No. u′ v′ u = u′ + e v = v′ + e u +v
i
(cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm) (cm)
Mirror Object Image
M pin P1 pin P2
(cm) (cm) (cm)
1
2
--
6
Mean

C ALCULATIONS
Calculate the corrected values of u and v and compute the value of f.
Tabulate them and find the mean value of the focal length of the given
concave mirror.
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Error

1 1 1
∵ = +
f u v

∆f ∆u ∆v
2
= 2
+
f u v2

 ∆u ∆v 
or ∆ f = f 2  2 + 2 
u v 

R ESULT
The focal length of the given concave (converging) mirror is
(f ± ∆ f) = ... ± ...cm

Here f denotes mean value of the focal length and ∆ f is maximum of

the six values of the error.

P
RECAUTIONS
1. The uprights supporting the optical elements should be rigid and
mounted vertically.
2. The object pin should be kept in between the centre of curvature
and the focus of the mirror.
3. The aperture of mirror should be small otherwise the image formed
will not be distinct.
4. Eye should be placed at a distance of distinct vision (25 cm) from
the image needle.
5. The tip of the inverted image of the object pin must touch the tip of
the image pin and must not overlap. It should be ensured while
removing the parallax.
6. The image and the object pins should not be interchanged during
the course of the experiment.
7. The corrected values of the distances u and v must be put in the
formula for calculating f and then a mean value of f should be
taken. Calculations for f must not be made using the mean values
of u and v.
8. A white screen or plane background may be used for seeing the
clear image of the pin.
9. Image of the Sun should not be seen directly as it may hurt
your eyes.
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S OURCES OF ERROR
1. An error may arise in the observations if the top of the optical bench
is not horizontal and similarly if the tips of pins and pole of the
mirror are not at the same horizontal level.
2. The concave mirror should be front-coated, otherwise multiple
reflections will come from the reflecting surface of the mirror.

D ISCUSSION
The image B′ of the point B (Fig. E 9.6) will be at the point where two
such rays either intersect or appear to be intersecting. The image of
the bottom of the object A (lying on the principal axis) will lie on the
principal axis itself such that the final image is perpendicular to the
axis as the object.

S ELF ASSESSMENT
1. A dentist uses concave mirror to see the tooth. In what way does it
help the dentist?
2. Can you determine the focal length of the concave mirror if u < f ?

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL EXPERIMENTS/ACTIVITIES

1. Plot a graph of uv against u + v with uv on y-axis and u+v on x-axis.

Determine f from the slope of the graph.

2. Using spherometer, determine the radius of curvature of the concave mirror

and calculate its focal length (f = R/2).

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