ANALYSIS

There are three different kinds of mirrors and each mirror reflect and form images differently
depending how the light touches or converges on the mirrors surface. A concave mirror can
form real and virtual images depending on the object’s distance A real image occurs where
rays converge, whereas a virtual image occurs where rays only appear to converge. Real
images can be produced by concave mirrors and converging lenses, only if the object is
placed further away from the mirror/lens than the focal point and this real image is inverted.
In this experiment the students are tasked to locate the real image using a concave mirror and
also compute the focal length of the mirror.

Table 1. Object distance greater than image distance

Object Distance Image
Trial Focal Length
Distance
1 31.242 cm
38.1 cm 17.1659 cm
2 27.178 cm
48.768 cm 17.4512 cm
3 24.13 cm
64.008 cm 17.5238 cm

Table 2. Image distance greater than object distance

Object Distance Image
Trial Focal Length
Distance
1 37.338 cm
32.512 cm 17.3771 cm
2 45.974 cm
26.67 cm 16.8786 cm
3 52.832 cm
25.4 cm 17.1532 cm
SAMPLE COMPUTATION

1 1 1
= +
f s s'

Magnification:
h
M= 1
h0

s'
M=
s
CONCLUSION

The experiment was very insightful and a great learning experience for the students to
understand the concept behind how mirrors work and how different mirrors form different
images depending on how they interact with the light that touches their surface. It was
however difficult to work in the dark. The experiment needed to be conducted in a dark room
which is why the lights inside the laboratory were turned off. It was difficult to see the
measurements and encode the data in the dark, but it was also in itself fun. Seeing the images
formed by the light was amazing and it was interesting to actually see the concepts of physics
applied in an actual controlled set up.