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The Mirror Equation

The document discusses the mirror equation and magnification equation which relate object and image distances and sizes for convex mirrors. It provides an example problem demonstrating how to use the equations to calculate the image distance and size given information about the object and mirror.

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yhenembiado
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31 views3 pages

The Mirror Equation

The document discusses the mirror equation and magnification equation which relate object and image distances and sizes for convex mirrors. It provides an example problem demonstrating how to use the equations to calculate the image distance and size given information about the object and mirror.

Uploaded by

yhenembiado
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Mirror Equation - Convex Mirrors

 Image Formation for Convex Mirrors


 Ray Diagrams - Convex Mirrors
 Image Characteristics for Convex Mirrors
 Mirror Equation - Convex Mirrors

Ray diagrams can be used to determine the image location, size, orientation and type of
image formed of objects when placed at a given location in front of
a mirror. The use of these diagrams was demonstrated earlier in
Lesson 3 and in Lesson 4. Ray diagrams provide useful information
about object-image relationships, yet fail to provide the information
in a quantitative form. 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 image size. To obtain this type of
numerical information, it is necessary to use the Mirror Equation and
the Magnification Equation. The mirror equation expresses the quantitative
relationship between the object distance (do), the image distance (di), and the focal

length (f). The equation is stated as follows:

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). The magnification equation
is stated as follows:

These two equations can be combined to yield information about the image distance
and image height if the object distance, object height, and focal length are known.
Their use was demonstrated in Lesson 3 for concave mirrors and will be demonstrated
here for convex mirrors. As a demonstration of the effectiveness of the Mirror equation
and Magnification equation, consider the following example problem and its solution.
Example Problem #1
A 4.0-cm tall light bulb is placed 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.

Like all problems in physics, begin by the identification of the known information.

ho = 4.0 cm do = 35.5 cm f = -12.2 cm

Next identify the unknown quantities that you wish to solve for.

di = ??? hi = ???

To determine the image distance (di), the mirror equation will have to be used. The
following lines represent the solution to the image distance; substitutions and algebraic
steps are shown.

1/f = 1/do + 1/di

1/(-12.2 cm) = 1/(35.5 cm) + 1/di

-0.0820 cm-1 = 0.0282 cm-1 + 1/di

-0.110 cm-1 = 1/di

di = -9.08 cm

The numerical values in the solution above were rounded when written down, yet
unrounded numbers were used in all calculations. The final answer is rounded to the
third significant digit.

To determine the image height (hi), the magnification equation is needed. Since three
of the four quantities in the equation (disregarding the M) are known, the fourth
quantity can be calculated. The solution is shown below.
hi/ho = - di/do

hi /(4.0 cm) = - (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)

hi = - (4.0 cm) • (-9.08 cm)/(35.5 cm)

hi = 1.02 cm

The negative values for image distance indicate that the image is located behind the
mirror. As is often the case in physics, a negative or positive sign in front of the
numerical value for a physical quantity represents information about direction. In the
case of the image distance, a negative value always indicates the existence of a virtual
image located behind the mirror. In the case of the image height, a positive value
indicates an upright image. Further information about the sign conventions for the
variables in the Mirror Equation and the Magnification Equation can be found in Lesson
3.

From the calculations in this problem it can be concluded that if a 4.0-cm tall object is
placed 35.5 cm from a convex mirror having a focal length of -12.2 cm, then the image
will be upright, 1.02-cm tall and located 9.08 cm behind the mirror. The results of this
calculation agree with the principles discussed earlier in this lesson. Convex mirrors
always produce images that are upright, virtual, reduced in size, and located behind the mirror.

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