Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

Section 1 Plane Mirrors: Practice Problems

1. Explain why the reflection of light off ground glass changes from diffuse to specular if you spill water on it.

SOLUTION:
Water fills in the rough areas and makes the surface smoother. The surface normals are then parallel.

2. If a light ray reflects off a plane mirror at an angle of 35° to the normal, what was the angle of incidence of the ray?

SOLUTION:

3. A ray of light’s angle of incidence is 42°.

a. What is the angle of reflection?

b. What is the angle the incident ray makes with the mirror?
c. What is the angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray?

SOLUTION:
a.

b.

c.

4. Light from a laser strikes a plane mirror at an angle of 38° to the normal. If the laser is moved so that the angle of
incidence increases by 13°, what is the new angle of reflection?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

5. You position two plane mirrors at right angles to one another. A light ray strikes one mirror at an angle of 60° to the
normal. It then reflects toward the second mirror. What its angle of reflection off the second mirror?

SOLUTION:

6. Challenge You are asked to design a retroreflector using two mirrors that will reflect a laser beam by 180o
independent of the incident direction of the beam. What should be the angle between the two mirrors?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

Section 1 Plane Mirrors: Review

7. MAIN IDEA A light ray strikes a flat, smooth, reflecting surface at an angle of 80° to the normal. What angle does
the reflected ray makes with the surface of the mirror?

SOLUTION:

8. Image Properties A dog looks at its image, as shown in Figure 10. What is the image position, height, and type?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

9. Law of Reflection Explain how the law of reflection applies to diffuse reflection.

SOLUTION:
The law of reflection applies to individual rays of light. Rough surfaces have normals that point in many
different directions.

10. Reflecting Surfaces Categorize each of the following as a specular or a diffuse reflecting surface: paper, polished
metal, window glass, rough metal, plastic milk jug, smooth water surface, and ground glass.

SOLUTION:
Specular: polished metal, window glass, smooth water.

Diffuse: paper, rough metal, plastic milk jug, ground glass.

11. Image Diagram A car is following another car down a straight road. The first car has a rear window tilted 45°.
Draw a ray diagram showing the position of the Sun that would cause sunlight to reflect into the eyes of the driver of
the second car.

SOLUTION:

The Sun’s position directly overhead would likely reflect light into the driver’s eyes, according to the law
of reflection.

12. Critical Thinking Explain how diffuse reflection of light off an object enables you to see an object from any angle.

SOLUTION:
The incoming light reflects off the surface of the object in all directions. This enables you to view the
object from any location.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

Section 2 Curved Mirrors: Practice Problems

13. Use a ray diagram, drawn to scale, to solve Example Problem 2.

SOLUTION:

14. You place an object 36.0 cm in front of a concave mirror with a 16.0-cm focal length. Determine the image position.

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

15. You place a 3.0-cm-tall object 20.0 cm from a 16.0-cm-radius concave mirror. Determine the image position and
image height.

SOLUTION:

16. A concave mirror has a 7.0-cm focal length. You place a 2.4-cm-tall object 16.0 cm from the mirror. Determine the
image height.

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

17. Challenge You place an object near a concave mirror with a 10.0-cm focal length. The image is 3.0 cm tall,
inverted, and 16.0 cm from the mirror. What are the object position and object height?

SOLUTION:

18. You place an object 20.0 cm in front of a convex mirror with a –15.0-cm focal length. Find the image position using
both a scale diagram and the mirror equation.

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

19. A convex mirror has a focal length of –13.0 cm. You place a 6.0-cm diameter lightbulb 60.0 cm from that mirror.
What is the lightbulb’s image position and diameter?

SOLUTION:

20. A 7.6-cm-diameter ball is located 22.0 cm from a convex mirror with a radius of curvature of 60.0 cm. What are the
ball’s image position and diameter?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

21. A 1.8-m-tall girl stands 2.4 m from a store’s security mirror. Her image appears to be 0.36 m tall.

a. What is the image’s distance?

b. What is the focal length of the mirror?

SOLUTION:
a.

b.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

22. Challenge A convex mirror is needed to produce an image that is three-fourths the size of an object and located
24 cm behind the mirror.

a. What is the object’s distance?

b. What focal length should be specified?

SOLUTION:
a.

b.

Section 2 Curved Mirrors: Review

23. MAIN IDEA If you know the focal length of a concave mirror, where should you place an object so that its image
is upright and larger compared to the object? Will this produce a real or virtual image?

SOLUTION:
You should place the object between the mirror and the focal point. The image will be virtual.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

24. Magnification You place an object 20.0 cm in front of a concave mirror with a focal length of 9.0 cm. What is the
magnification of the image?

SOLUTION:

25. Object Position The placement of an object in front of a concave mirror with a focal length of 12.0 cm forms a
real image that is 22.3 cm from the mirror. What is the object position?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

26. Image Position and Height You place a 3.0-cm-tall object 22.0 cm in front of a concave mirror that has a focal
length of 12.0 cm. Find the image position and height by drawing a ray diagram to scale. Verify your answer using
the mirror and magnification equations.

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

27. Ray Diagram You place a 4.0-cm-tall object 14.0 cm from a convex mirror with a focal length of –12.0 cm. Draw
a scale ray diagram showing the image position and height. Verify your answer using the mirror and magnification
equations.

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

28. Radius of Curvature You place a 6.0-cm-tall object 16.4 cm from a convex mirror. If the image of the object is
2.8 cm tall, what is the mirror’s radius of curvature?

SOLUTION:

29. Focal Length A convex mirror is used to produce an image that is two-thirds the size of an object and located
12 cm behind the mirror. What is the focal length of the mirror?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

30. Critical Thinking Would spherical aberration be less for a mirror whose height, compared to its radius of
curvature, is small or large? Explain.

SOLUTION:
It would be less for a mirror whose height is relatively small compared to its radius of curvature;
diverging light rays from an object that strike the mirror are more paraxial so they converge more
closely to create an image that is not blurred. The curvature of a “short” mirror deviates less from
parabolic.

Chapter Assessment
Section 1 Plane Mirrors: Mastering Concepts
31. How does specular reflection differ from diffuse reflection?

SOLUTION:
When parallel light is reflected from a smooth surface, the rays are reflected parallel to each other. The
result is an image of the light source. When light is reflected from a rough surface, it is reflected in many
different directions. The rays are diffused or scattered. No image of the source results.

32. What is meant by the term “normal to the surface”?

SOLUTION:
Normal to the surface is a line perpendicular to the surface.

33. Where is the image produced by a plane mirror located?

SOLUTION:
The image is in a plane that is perpendicular to the mirror and the same distance behind the mirror as
the object is in front of the mirror.

34. Describe the properties of a plane mirror.

SOLUTION:
A plane mirror is a flat, smooth surface from which light is reflected by specular reflection. The images
created by plane mirrors are virtual, upright, and as far behind the mirror as the object is in front of it.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

35. A student believes that very sensitive photographic film can detect a virtual image. The student puts photographic
film at the location of a virtual image. Does this attempt succeed? Explain.

SOLUTION:
No, the rays do not converge at a virtual image. No real image forms and the student would not get a
picture.

36. How can you prove to someone that an image is a real image?

SOLUTION:
Place a sheet of plain paper or photographic film at the image location and you should be able to see the
image.

37. Is your image as seen in a plane mirror two dimensional (like a photograph) or three dimensional? How can you tell?

SOLUTION:
The image is three-dimensional. You can tell because different parts of the image are visible from
different vantage points. Objects closer to the mirror have images that are closer to the mirror. Objects
far away have images that are also far away.

Chapter Assessment
Section 1 Plane Mirrors: Mastering Problems
38. A light ray incident upon a mirror makes an angle of 36° with the mirror. What is the angle between the incident ray
and the reflected ray? (Level 1).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

39. A light ray strikes a mirror at an angle of 38° to the normal. What is the angle that the reflected ray makes with the
normal? (Level 1).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

40. Two adjacent plane mirrors form a right angle, as shown in Figure 19. A light ray is incident upon one of the mirrors
at an angle of 30° to the normal. (Level 2).

a. What is the angle at which the light ray is reflected from the second mirror?
b. The mirrors in Figure 19 are a retroreflector. A retroreflrector is a device that reflects incoming light rays back
in a direction opposite to that of the incident rays. Copy the diagram below and draw the reflected light rays to show
that this mirror system acts as a retroreflector.

SOLUTION:
a.

b.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

41. A light ray strikes a mirror at an angle of 53° to the normal. What is the angle of reflection? What is the angle
between
the incident ray and the reflected ray? (Level 1).

SOLUTION:

42. Draw a ray diagram of a plane mirror to show that if you want to see yourself from your feet to the top of your
head, the mirror must be at least half your height. (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

The ray from the top of the head hits the mirror halfway between the eyes and the top of the head. The
ray from the feet hits the mirror halfway between the eyes and the feet. The distance between the point
the two rays hit the mirror is half the total height.

43. You have a small plane mirror that will be mounted on a wall. If you want to see an image of your knee where
should you place the mirror? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:
To see your knee the mirror needs to be at a spot midway between your knee and eye. To see any part of
your body, the mirror needs to be midway between your eye and that part.

44. Picture in a Mirror Penny wishes to take a picture of her image in a plane mirror, as shown in Figure 20. If the
camera is 1.2 m in front of the mirror, at what distance should the camera lens be focused? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:
The image is 1.2 m behind the mirror, so the camera lens should be set to 2.4 m.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

45. A light ray strikes a mirror at an angle of 60° to the normal. The mirror is then rotated 18° clockwise, as shown in
Figure 21. What is the angle that the reflected ray makes with the mirror? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

46. Two plane mirrors are connected at their sides so that they form a 45° angle between them. A light ray strikes one
mirror at an angle of 30° to the normal and then reflects off the second mirror. Calculate the angle of reflection of
the light ray off the second mirror. (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

Chapter Assessment
Section 2 Curved Mirrors: Mastering Concepts
47. An object produces a virtual image in a concave mirror. Where is the object located?

SOLUTION:
Object must be located between F and the mirror.

48. What is the defect that all concave spherical mirrors have and what causes it?

SOLUTION:
Rays parallel to the axis that strike the edges of a concave spherical mirror are not reflected through the
focal point. This effect is called spherical aberration.

49. What is the equation relating the focal point, object position, and image position?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

50. What is the relationship between the radius of curvature and the focal length of a concave mirror?

SOLUTION:

51. If you know the image position and object position relative to a curved mirror, how can you determine the mirror’s
magnification?

SOLUTION:
The magnification is equal to the negative of the image distance divided by the object distance.

52. Why are convex mirrors used as rearview mirrors?

SOLUTION:
Convex mirrors are used as rearview mirrors because they allow for a wide range of view, allowing the
driver to see a much larger area than is afforded by ordinary mirrors.

53. Why is it impossible for a convex mirror to form a real image?

SOLUTION:
The light rays always diverge.

Chapter Assessment
Section 2 Curved Mirrors: Mastering Problems
54. Fun House A boy is standing near a convex mirror in a fun house at a fair. He notices that his image appears to be
0.60 m tall. If the magnification of the mirror is 1/3, what is the boy’s height? (Level 1)

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

55. You place an object 30.0 cm from a concave mirror of 15.0 cm focal length. The object is 1.8 cm tall. Use the mirror
equation to find the image position. What is the image height? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

56. A concave mirror has a focal length of 10.0 cm. What is its radius of curvature? (Level 1).

SOLUTION:

57. Rearview Mirror How far does the image of a car appear behind a convex mirror, with a focal length of 26.0 m,
when the car is 10.0 m from the mirror? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

58. Star Image Light from a star is collected by a concave mirror. How far from the mirror is the image of the star if
the radius of curvature is 150 cm? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

59. An object located 18 cm from a convex mirror produces a virtual image 9 cm from the mirror. What is the
magnification of the image? (Level 1).

SOLUTION:

60. Describe the image produced by the object in Figure 22 as real or virtual, inverted or upright, and smaller or larger
than the object. (Level 1).

SOLUTION:
real; inverted; larger

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

61. Reverse Problem Write a physics problem with real-life objects for which the following equation would be part of
the solution: (Level 2)

SOLUTION:
Possible answer: An image is formed 0.75 m from a concave mirror with f = 0.40 m. How far from the
mirror is the object?

62. Ranking Task Several object and image heights for various mirrors are listed. Rank them according to magnification,
from greatest to least. Specifically indicate any ties. (Level 2).

A: object 1.0 cm, image 0.5 cm

B: object 2.0 cm, image 0.5 cm
C: object 2.0 cm, image 1.0 cm
D: object 5.0 cm, image 7.0 cm
E: object 3.0 cm, image 2.0 cm

SOLUTION:
D>E>C=A>B

63. Dental Mirror A dentist uses a small mirror with a radius of curvature of 40 mm to locate a cavity in a patient’s
tooth. If the mirror is concave and is held 16 mm from the tooth, what is the magnification of the image? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

64. An object that is 24 mm tall is placed 12.0 cm from a concave mirror. Sunlight falls on the mirror and forms an image
that is 3.0 cm from the mirror. Sketch the ray diagram to show the location of the image. Use the mirror equation to
calculate the image position. How tall is the image? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

65. You place a 3.0-cm-tall object 22.4 cm from a concave mirror. If the mirror has a radius of curvature of 34.0 cm,
what are the image position and height? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

66. Shiny spheres that are placed on pedestals on a lawn are convex mirrors. One such sphere has a diameter of
40.0 cm. A 12-cm-tall robin sits in a tree that is 1.5 m from the sphere. Where is the image of the robin and how tall
is the image? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

67. Find the image position and height for the object shown in Figure 23. (Level 2)

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

68. Jeweler’s Mirror A jeweler inspects a watch with a diameter of 3.0 cm by placing it 8.0 cm in front of a concave
mirror of 12.0-cm focal length. Where is the watch’s image? What is the image diameter? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

Chapter Assessment: Applying Concepts

69. BIG IDEA A dry road is more of a diffuse reflector than a wet road. Based on Figure 24, explain why a wet road
appears blacker than a dry road does.

SOLUTION:
Less light is reflected back to the car from a wet road.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

70. Book Pages Why is it desirable that the pages of a book be rough rather than smooth and glossy?

SOLUTION:
The smoother and glossier the pages are, the lesser the diffuse reflection of light and the greater the
glare from the pages.

71. Locate and describe the physical properties of the image produced by a concave mirror when the object is located at
the center of curvature.

SOLUTION:
The image will be at C, the center of curvature, inverted, real, and the same size as the object.

72. An object is located beyond the center of curvature of a spherical concave mirror. Locate and describe the physical
properties of the image.

SOLUTION:
The image will be between C and F, and will be inverted, real, and smaller than the object.

73. Telescope You have to order a large concave mirror for a high quality telescope. Should you order a spherical
mirror or a parabolic mirror? Explain.

SOLUTION:
You should order a parabolic mirror to eliminate spherical aberrations.

74. List all the possible arrangements in which you could use a spherical mirror, either concave or convex, to form a real
image.

SOLUTION:
You can use only a concave mirror with the object beyond the focal point. A convex mirror will not form a
real image.

75. Rearview Mirrors The outside rearview mirrors of cars often carry the warning “Objects in the mirror are closer
than they appear.” What kind of mirrors are these and what advantage do they have?

SOLUTION:
Convex mirror; it provides a wider field of view.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

76. Describe the properties of the image seen in the single convex mirror in Figure 25.

SOLUTION:
The image in a single convex mirror is always virtual, erect, smaller than the object, and located closer
to the mirror than the object.

Chapter Assessment: Mixed Review

77. Problem Posing Complete this problem so that the resulting image will be virtual: “An object is placed 32 cm from
a mirror….” (Level 3).

SOLUTION:
Possible answer: “…that has a focal length of +35 cm. Where will the image be?”

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

78. An object is located 4.4 cm in front of a concave mirror with a 24.0-cm radius. Locate the image using the mirror
equation. (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

79. A light ray strikes a plane mirror at an angle of 28° to the normal. If the light source is moved so that the angle of
incidence increases by 34°, what is the new angle of reflection? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

80. A concave mirror has a radius of curvature of 26.0 cm. An object that is 2.4 cm tall is placed 30.0 cm from the
mirror. Where is the image position? What is the image height? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

81. A convex mirror is needed to produce an image one-half the size of an object and located 36 cm behind the mirror.
What focal length should the mirror have? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

82. What is the radius of curvature of a concave mirror that magnifies an object by a factor of 13.2 when the object is
placed 20.0 cm from the mirror? (Level 2).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

83. A ball is positioned 22 cm in front of a spherical mirror and forms a virtual image. If the spherical mirror is replaced
with a plane mirror, the image appears 12 cm closer to the mirror. What kind of spherical mirror was used?
(Level 3).

SOLUTION:
The object position for both mirrors is 22 cm. So, the image position for the plane mirror is –22 cm.
Because the spherical mirror forms a virtual image, the image is located behind the mirror. Thus, the
image position for the spherical mirror is negative.

The focal length is positive, so the spherical mirror is a concave mirror.

84. Magic Trick A magician uses a concave mirror with a focal length of 8.0 m to make a 3.0-m-tall hidden object,
located 18.0 m from the mirror, appear as a real image that is seen by his audience. Draw a scale ray diagram to
find the height and location of the image. (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

85. Copy Figure 26 on a sheet of paper. Draw rays on the diagram to determine the height and location of the image.
(Level 1).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

86. A 4.0-cm-tall object is placed 12.0 cm from a convex mirror. If the image of the object is 2.0 cm tall, and the image
is located at 26.0 cm, what is the focal length of the mirror? Draw a ray diagram to answer the question. Use the
mirror equation and the magnification equation to verify your answer. (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

87. Surveillance Mirror A convenience store uses a surveillance mirror to monitor the store’s aisles. Each mirror has
a radius of curvature of 3.8 m. (Level 2).

a. What is the image position of a customer who stands 6.5 m in front of the mirror?
b. What is the image height of a customer who is 1.7 m tall?

SOLUTION:
a.

b.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

88. Inspection Mirror A production-line inspector wants a mirror that produces an image that is upright with a
magnification of 7.5 when it is located 14.0 mm from a machine part. (Level 3).

a. What kind of mirror would do this job?

b. What is its radius of curvature?

SOLUTION:
a. An enlarged, upright image results only from a concave mirror, with the object inside the focal length.

b.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

89. A 1.6-m-tall girl stands 3.2 m from a convex mirror. What is the focal length of the mirror if her image appears to be
0.28 m tall? (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

90. The object in Figure 27 moves from position 1 to position 2. Copy the diagram onto a sheet of paper. Draw rays
showing how the image changes. (Level 3).

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

Chapter Assessment: Thinking Critically

91. Analyze and Conclude The object in Figure 28 is located 22 cm from a concave mirror. What is the focal length
of the mirror?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

92. Apply Concepts The ball in Figure 29 slowly rolls toward the concave mirror on the right. Describe how the size
of the ball’s image changes as it rolls along.

SOLUTION:
Beyond C, the image is smaller than the ball. As the ball rolls toward the mirror, the image size
increases. The image is the same size as the ball when the ball is at C. The image size continues to
increase until there is no image when the ball is at F. Past F, the size of the image decreases until it
equals the ball’s size when the ball touches the mirror.

93. Analyze and Conclude The layout of the two-mirror system shown in Figure 14 is that of a Gregorian telescope.
The larger mirror is concave and has a radius of curvature of r and a focal length of f. The smaller mirror is located
a distance x away such that f < x < r. Why is the secondary mirror concave?

SOLUTION:
The smaller mirror is concave to produce a real image at the eyepiece that is upright. The light rays are
inverted by the first concave mirror and then inverted again by the secondary concave mirror.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

94. A large serving spoon is spherical and reflective on both the outside and inside. If you hold the spoon at a distance of
3 cm and look at your face in the part that holds food, your image is 9 cm behind the spoon. If you flip the spoon
over, where is your image located?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

95. The image of the primary mirror in a Cassegrain telescope (Figure 30) is the object of the secondary mirror. The
focal length of the concave primary mirror is 1.0 m and that of the convex secondary mirror –0.50 m. The secondary
mirror is located 0.25 m from the focal point of the primary mirror.

a. What is the object position? The image position?

b. What is the magnification of the convex mirror? Does it invert the image?

SOLUTION:
a.

b. The magnification is .
The image is inverted.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

96. Analyze and Conclude An optical arrangement used in some telescopes is the Cassegrain system, shown in
Figure 30. This telescope uses a convex secondary mirror that is positioned between the primary mirror and the
focal point of the primary mirror. A single convex mirror produces only virtual images. Explain how the convex
mirror in this telescope produces a real image that could be projected onto a CCD detector.

SOLUTION:
The convex mirror is placed to intercept the rays from a concave mirror before they converge. Rays
incident on the convex mirror are already converging, not parallel. The convex mirror places the point of
convergence in the opposite direction back toward the concave mirror, and lengthens the total distance
the light travels before converging. This effectively increases the focal length compared to using the
concave mirror by itself, thus increasing the total magnification.

Inverted; each time the light rays cross the image inverts.

Chapter Assessment: Writing in Physics

97. Research a method used for grinding, polishing, and testing mirrors used in reflecting telescopes. You may report
either on methods used by amateur astronomers who make their own telescope optics, or on a method used by a
project at a national laboratory. Prepare a one-page report describing the method, and present it to the class.

SOLUTION:
Answers will vary depending on the mirrors and methods chosen by the students. Amateur methods usually
involve rubbing two “blanks” against each other with varying grits between them. Methods used at national labs
vary.

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

98. Mirrors reflect light because of their metallic coating. Research and write a summary of one of the following:

a. the different types of coatings used and the advantages and disadvantages of each
b. the precision optical polishing of aluminum to such a degree of smoothness that no glass is needed in the process
of making a mirror

SOLUTION:
Answers will vary. Student answers might include information about deformation of a mirror from its own
weight as size increases and how a mirror made of aluminum could impact this problem.

Chapter Assessment: Cumulative Review

99. A child runs down the school hallway and then slides on the newly waxed floor. He was running at 4.7 m/s before he
started sliding and he slid 6.2 m before stopping. What was the coefficient of friction of the waxed floor?

SOLUTION:

100. A 1.0-g potato bug is walking around the outer rim of an upside-down flying disk with a diameter of 17.2 cm. If the
bug moves at a rate of 0.63 cm/s, what is the centripetal force acting on the bug? What agent provides this force?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

101. A 1.0-g piece of copper falls from a height of 1.0×103 m from a hovering helicopter to the ground. Because of air
resistance it reaches the ground moving at a velocity of 70.0 m/s. Assuming that half of the decrease in the copper's
mechanical energy was transformed into thermal energy in the metal, what was its increase in temperature during
the fall?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

102. It is possible to lift a person who is sitting on a pillow made from a large sealed plastic garbage bag by blowing air
into the bag through a soda straw. Suppose that the cross-sectional area of the person sitting on the bag is 0.25 m2
and the person’s weight is 600 N. The soda straw has a cross-sectional area of 2×10–5 m2. With what pressure must
you blow into the straw to lift the person that is sitting on the sealed garbage bag?

SOLUTION:

103. What would be the period of a 2.0-m-long pendulum on the Moon’s surface? The Moon’s mass is 7.34×1022 kg,
and its radius is 1.7×106 m. What is the period of this pendulum on Earth?

SOLUTION:

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Chapter 17 Practice Problems, Review, and Assessment

104. Organ pipes An organ builder must design a pipe organ that will fit into a small space.

a. Should he design the instrument to have open pipes or closed pipes? Explain.
b. Will an organ constructed with open pipes sound the same as one constructed with closed pipes? Explain.

SOLUTION:
a. The resonant frequency of an open pipe is twice that of a closed pipe of the same length. Therefore,
the pipes of a closed-pipe organ need be only half as long as open pipes to produce the same range of
fundamental frequencies.

b. No. While the two organs will have the same fundamental tones, closed pipes produce only the odd
harmonics, so they will have different timbres than open pipes.

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