PHYSICS · CHAPTER 4 · CBSE CLASS X

Optics: Reflection
of Light
Complete Study Notes with Diagrams & Formulae

ALLEN Institute IITIANS CAREER Class 10 · Science

CONTENTS

4.1 Light & Its Nature 4.2 EM Spectrum 4.5 Objects & Beams
4.6 Reflection of Light 4.7 Plane Mirrors 4.8 Spherical Mirrors
4.9 Image Formation Rules 4.10 Image Tables 4.12 Sign Convention
4.13 Mirror Formula

SECTION 4.1

Light & Its Nature

Light is a form of energy which excites our sense of sight.

Primary Source Sun (during day), sky brightness is secondary

Other Sources Flames, electric bulbs, tube lights, CFLs, LEDs

Properties of Light

1 Light consists of electromagnetic (non-mechanical) waves — no material medium needed.

2 Speed in vacuum / free space: c = 3 × 10⁸ m/s (fastest possible).

3 In air, speed is almost the same; in glass or water, it reduces considerably.

4 Wavelength of visible light: 4 × 10⁻⁷ m to 7 × 10⁻⁷ m (400 nm – 700 nm).

5 Light carries energy and momentum ; it has massless particles called photons .
 6 Light travels in a straight line in vacuum or homogeneous medium.

7 Light waves are transverse in nature.

SECTION 4.5

Objects, Beams & Basic Terms

Luminous Object Emits its own light. Ex: Sun, lamp, bulb, candle

Non-luminous Object Reflects scattered light falling on it. Ex: Table, chair, moon, planets

Opaque Object Does not allow any light to pass through. Reflects a part, absorbs the rest.

Transparent Object Transmits most light. Ex: plain glass slab

Translucent Object Transmits partial light — cannot see object clearly behind it.

(a) CONVERGENT (b) DIVERGENT (c) PARALLEL

Point

Fig. 3 — Types of Beams of Light

SECTION 4.6

Reflection of Light
Reflection is the process in which light rays meeting the boundary between two media 'bounce back' to stay in
the first medium.
★ KEY POINT

On reflection: speed, wavelength, and frequency of light do NOT change. However, amplitude and intensity are
slightly less (some energy absorbed at surface).
 Incident Ray

∠i
N N'
Mirror
Point of
∠r Incidence

Reflected Ray

Fig. 4 — Reflection of Light at a Plane Surface

Laws of Reflection

1 First The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same
Law: plane.

2 Second Law: The angle of incidence (∠i) is equal to the angle of reflection (∠r). ∠i = ∠r

Key Terms

Incident Ray The ray of light which falls on the mirror surface

Reflected Ray The ray of light sent back by the mirror

Normal Perpendicular to the mirror surface passing through point of incidence

∠ of Incidence Angle between incident ray and normal

∠ of Reflection Angle between reflected ray and normal

Regular vs. Diffuse Reflection

REGULAR (SPECULAR) DIFFUSE (IRREGULAR)

Smooth mirror surface Rough surface

Parallel beam → parallel reflected beam Parallel beam → scattered reflected rays
All normals are parallel Normals not parallel at rough surface
Ex: plane mirror, calm water Ex: paper, wall, rough ground

SECTION 4.7
Reflection from Plane Mirrors
A mirror is a highly polished surface used to reflect light. Mirrors are made by depositing a thin layer of silver
metal on one side of a plane glass sheet.

Basic Terms — Object & Image

Object Anything that gives out light rays (own or reflected)

Point Object Object whose dimensions are negligibly small (symbol •)

Extended Object Object whose dimensions are quite large (symbol ↑)

Image Formed when light rays coming from object meet or appear to meet at a point
after reflection/refraction

Real Image Formed when rays actually meet. Can be obtained on a screen. Always
inverted.

Virtual Image Rays appear to meet (but don't actually). Cannot be obtained on screen.
Always erect/upright.

Plane Mirror

B B'
Object Image
A Object dist. Image dist. A'

Fig. 9 — Formation of Image by a Plane Mirror (Extended Object)

Properties of Image in a Plane Mirror

1 The image is virtual and erect .

2 The distance of image from mirror = distance of object from mirror.

3 The size of image is exactly equal to the size of object. (Magnification = +1)

4 The image is laterally inverted (left–right inverted / "side ways inversion").

 ◆ REMEMBER

When you wish to take a picture of your image standing 5 m in front of a plane mirror, set the camera
focus to 10 m (5 m to mirror + 5 m behind mirror = 10 m total distance to image).

SECTION 4.8

Reflection from Spherical Mirrors

A spherical mirror has the shape of a section of a hollow sphere. Its reflecting surface is made by the part of a
hollow sphere.

reflecting reflecting
surfaceF(inside)
(Real) surface (outside)

Concave Mirror Convex Mirror

Fig. 11 & 14 — Concave and Convex Mirrors showing convergence/divergence

Concave Mirror Reflecting surface is curved inwards (bent-in). Also called converging mirror.

Convex Mirror Reflecting surface is curved outwards (bulging-out). Also called diverging
mirror.

Important Terms — Spherical Mirrors

Centre of Curvature (C) Centre of the hollow sphere of which the mirror is a part

Radius of Curvature (R) Radius of the hollow sphere. R = 2f

Pole (P) Middle point on the surface of the spherical mirror (geometric centre)

Principal Axis Line passing through pole (P) and centre of curvature (C)

Principal Focus (F) Point where parallel rays converge (concave) or appear to diverge from
(convex) after reflection

Focal Length (f) Distance between pole P and principal focus F

 Aperture (AB) Diameter of circular cross-section; represents the size of the mirror

Focal Plane Plane passing through focus, perpendicular to principal axis

★ KEY POINT

For a concave mirror: centre of curvature and principal focus are real.
For a convex mirror: centre of curvature and principal focus are virtual.

SECTION 4.9

Rules to Obtain Images in Spherical Mirrors

Rule 1: Parallel to axis → passes through F

←
C F P

Rule 2: Through F → parallel after reflection

Rule 3: Through C → reflects back along same path

Fig. 15 — Three Rules for Ray Diagrams (Concave Mirror)

For Concave Mirrors — 3 Rules

1 A ray parallel to the principal axis → after reflection passes through principal focus F.

2 A ray passing through the principal focus F → after reflection becomes parallel to the principal axis.

3 A ray passing through the centre of curvature C → reflected back along its own path.

For Convex Mirrors — 3 Rules

1 A ray parallel to the principal axis → after reflection appears to diverge from principal focus F.

2 A ray directed towards the principal focus F → after reflection becomes parallel to principal axis.

3 A ray directed towards centre of curvature C → reflected back along its own path.

SECTION 4.10 / 4.11

Image Formation Tables

Concave Mirror

POSITION OF OBJECT POSITION OF IMAGE SIZE OF IMAGE NATURE OF IMAGE

Between P and F Behind the mirror Enlarged Virtual & Erect

At F At infinity Highly enlarged Real & Inverted

Between F and C Beyond C Enlarged Real & Inverted

At C At C Same size Real & Inverted

Beyond C Between F and C Diminished Real & Inverted

At infinity At focus F Highly diminished, point-sized Real & Inverted

Convex Mirror

NATURE OF
POSITION OF OBJECT POSITION OF IMAGE SIZE OF IMAGE
IMAGE

Between infinity and Between P and F, behind

Diminished Virtual & Erect
pole P mirror

Highly diminished, point-

At infinity At focus F, behind mirror Virtual & Erect
sized

★ KEY POINT

The image formed by a convex mirror is always behind the mirror (virtual), always erect, and always smaller
than the object.

Uses of Concave Mirrors

→ Used as shaving mirrors — to see a larger image of the face.

→ Used as reflectors in car headlights, search lights, hand torches, table lamps — to get powerful parallel
beams of light.
→ Used in solar power plants to produce electricity.

→ Used by doctors to concentrate light on body parts like ears and eyes.

→ Used by dentists to see large images of teeth of patients.

Uses of Convex Mirrors

→ Used as rear-view (wing) mirrors in vehicles — always gives erect though diminished image, with a wider
field of view.
→ A convex mirror always forms virtual, erect and diminished image for every location of the object.

SECTION 4.12

Sign Convention for Spherical Mirrors

We follow the New Cartesian Sign Convention. The pole (P) of the mirror is taken as the origin. The principal
axis is taken as the x-axis (XX').

Object always +y ↑
placed here
X' ← −x +x → X
Mirror
P

−y ↓
Y'

Fig. 23 — New Cartesian Sign Convention for Spherical Mirrors

POSITIVE (+) NEGATIVE (−)

Distances along direction of incident light (+x) Distances opposite to direction of light (−x)
Distances above principal axis (+y) Distances below principal axis (−y)
Heights of object/image (always +, as object is erect) Object distance u = always negative
f and R of concave mirror = negative

◆ REMEMBER

Concave mirror: f = negative, R = negative, u = negative

Convex mirror: f = positive, R = positive, u = negative, v = always positive
Image height: Real inverted image → h₂ is negative. Virtual erect image → h₂ is positive.

SECTION 4.13

Formulae for Spherical Mirrors

RELATIONSHIP: RADIUS OF CURVATURE & FOCAL LENGTH

f = R / 2
 The focal length of a spherical mirror is equal to half its radius of curvature.

MIRROR FORMULA

1/v + 1/u = 1/f

v = image distance from pole P
u = object distance from pole P
f = focal length

MAGNIFICATION (M)

m = h₂/h₁ = −v/u
h₂ = height of image | h₁ = height of object
Also: m = f/(f−u) = (f−v)/f

m is NEGATIVE → Real, Inverted image

m is POSITIVE → Virtual, Erect image
|m| < 1 → Diminished | |m| = 1 → Same size | |m| > 1 → Magnified

NUMERICAL ABILITY

Worked Examples

EXAMPLE 1 — CONVEX MIRROR (REAR VIEW)

Q: A convex mirror for rear view has R = 3.00 m. A bus is 5.00 m from the mirror. Find position, nature, and size of
image.

Given: R = +3 m → f = R/2 = +1.5 m, u = −5 m

Mirror formula: 1/v + 1/u = 1/f

1/v = 1/f − 1/u = 1/(1.5) − 1/(−5) = 2/3 + 1/5 = 13/15

∴ v = 15/13 = +1.15 m (behind mirror)

m = −v/u = −(15/13)/(−5) = +3/13 = +0.23

Result: Image is virtual, erect, and diminished (0.23× the object). Located 1.15 m behind mirror.
 EXAMPLE 2 — CONCAVE MIRROR

Q: Object 4.0 cm tall placed 25.0 cm in front of concave mirror of focal length 15.0 cm. Find image distance,
nature, and size.

Given: h₁ = +4 cm, u = −25 cm, f = −15 cm

1/v = 1/f − 1/u = 1/(−15) − 1/(−25) = −1/15 + 1/25 = (−5+3)/75 = −2/75

∴ v = −75/2 = −37.5 cm

h₂ = −(v/u) × h₁ = −(−37.5)/(−25) × 4 = −6 cm

Result: Image is real, inverted, and enlarged. Formed 37.5 cm in front of mirror. Height = 6 cm.

EXAMPLE 3 — SMALL CANDLE (CONCAVE MIRROR)

Q: Candle 2.5 cm tall, 27 cm from concave mirror, R = 36 cm. Find image distance and size.

f = R/2 = −18 cm, u = −27 cm, h₁ = +2.5 cm

1/v = 1/(−18) − 1/(−27) = −1/18 + 1/27 = (−3+2)/54 = −1/54

∴ v = −54 cm

h₂ = −(−54)/(−27) × 2.5 = −5 cm

Result: Image is real, inverted, and enlarged. Located 54 cm from mirror. Height = 5 cm.

QUICK REFERENCE

Summary — Important Points

CONCAVE MIRROR — KEY FACTS CONVEX MIRROR — KEY FACTS

u = always negative u = always negative

v = positive (virtual image, P–F) v = always positive (always virtual)
v = negative (all other real images) f = positive, R = positive
f = negative, R = negative m = always positive (always erect)
m can be +ve or −ve; |m| can be <1, =1, >1 |m| always < 1 (always diminished)
Acts as magnifier when object between P and F Image always between P and F
★ KEY POINT
Magnification sign tells you nature of image:
Negative → Real & Inverted | Positive → Virtual & Erect

Magnification magnitude tells you size:

|m| < 1: Diminished | |m| = 1: Same size | |m| > 1: Magnified

◆ REMEMBER

The line joining the centre of curvature and any point on the mirror represents the radius of curvature
at that point — and it acts as a normal at that point.