PROBLEM
SOLVING
Focal length (f) and radius of curvature(R) : positive for concave
mirrors
: negative for convex mirrors
Distance of image from the vertex (: positive for real image
: negative for virtual image
Distance of the object from the vertex of the mirror ( : always taken to
be positive
Magnification (M) is equal to 1: image is the same size as the object
Magnification (M) is less than 1 : image is smaller than the object
Magnification(M) is greater than 1 : image is bigger than the object
Magnification (M) : positive for upright
FORMULAS
object distance from the vertex of mirror
: = image distance from the vertex of mirror
: = focal length
Where: object distance from the vertex of mirror
: = image distance from the vertex of mirror
Where: image’s height
: = object’s height
Problem 1
An object is placed 10 cm from a concave mirror.
The focal length is 5 cm. Determine a) image
distance b) magnification of image
Problem 2
A 5 cm high object is placed in front of a concave
mirror with a radius of curvature of 20 cm.
Determine the image height if the object distance
is 5 cm.
Problem 3
A 4 cm tall light bulb is placed a distance of 45.7
cm from a concave mirror having a focal length of
15.2 cm. Determine the image distance and the
image size.
Problem 4
A convex mirror has a focal length of -10.8 cm.
An object is placed 32.7 cm from the mirror’s
surface. Determine the image distance.