A ray of light is the direction of the path taken by the light LAW 2.

2. The angle of incidence, 𝜽𝒊 equals the angle of

LIGHT A beam is a stream of light energy or a collection of rays.
REFRACTION, REFLECTION, and GEOMETRIC OPTICS reflection, 𝜽𝒓 . Both angles measured relative to the
Light is a form of energy which travels in a vacuum A beam can be normal.
at a speed of 3 x 108 m.s-1 Light can exhibit properties of 1. Parallel 𝜽𝒊 = 𝜽 𝒓
both waves and particles (photons). This property is Example : Plane Mirror. Glass mirrors have a thin layer of
referred to as wave–particle duality. The study of light, silvering deposited on the back of the glass which is
known as optics, is an important area in physics. protected. An IMAGE is produced in the mirror. The term
Light travels in straight lines which can be A collection of parallel rays image is used for any reproduction of an object by means
demonstrated by placing three cardboards A, B and C and of rays of light.
make a pinhole at their centers. Place a burning candle on 2. Diverging The image in a plane mirror is always
one side of the cardboard A and arrange the cardboards in 1. Same size as the object and the same way up
such a way that the three pinholes and the candle flame are 2. As far behind the mirror as the object is in front.
in a straight line. The candle flame will be visible through 3. Turned sideways or laterally inverted. In the case of
the pinhole of the cardboard C. If any one of the cardboards plane mirrors, the image is said to be a virtual
is slightly displaced, the flame will not be visible. From this image. Virtual images are images which are formed
it is clear that light travels in a straight line. A collection of rays diverging from a point. in locations where light does not actually reach.
Light does not actually pass through the location on
3. Converging.
the other side of the mirror; it only appears to an
observer as though the light is coming from this
location.
Note: an alternative description is that a real image can be
focused on a screen, whereas a virtual image can not.

The light can be seen by the observer at O if and only if A,

A collection of rays converging to a point.
B and C are in a straight line.

Also through REFLECTION OF LIGHT.

one pinhole, When light falls on a smooth highly polished surface it is
the image is reflected i.e turned back. A piece of polished metal
formed by the makes a good reflector.
light travelling
The angle of incidence i is the angle between the incident
in straight LAWS OF REFLECTION. ray and the normal.
lines and is
inverted.
LAW 1. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the The angle of reflection r is the angle between the reflected
normal all lie in the same plane. ray and the normal.
Normal is the direction at 90o to the direction of the surface
at the point. The angle of incidence i is equal to the angle or reflection r
𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃𝑟
Locating an Image in a Plane Mirror 2. Laterally inverted Anatomy of a Curved Mirror
Take a point object, O, the image is also a point I.
To identify one particular point you need two lines.
Therefore to locate a point we will use the intersection of

3. Virtual Image

The curved mirror is a small part of a large sphere.

Terms Used with Curved Mirrors:

two reflected rays. From the point O produce two incident

rays. Each incident ray has a reflected ray.
The intersection of the reflected rays indicates the location
of the image. Curved Reflectors
In the case of the plane mirror we notice that the reflected Curved Mirrors are parts of spherical surfaces.
beam produced is a diverging beam and that the rays There are two types
APPEAR to be diverging from a point behind the mirror. 1. Concave or Converging Mirrors 1. The Center of Curvature, C is the center of the sphere
The distance from M to O = the distance from M to I 2. Convex or Diverging Mirrors of which the mirror is a part.
The reflected rays form a diverging beam which APPEAR to 2. The aperture is the angular opening of the sphere
come from I that encloses the mirror. If line MM’ were drawn
perpendicular to the principal axis, it would represent
In a plane mirror we can see that the aperture of the mirror.
1. Image is 3. The vertex V is the center of the mirror.
4. The principal axis passes through the center of
same size curvature C and the vertex V.
as the object
5. Point F is the principal focus and is the midpoint of
the same
the line ̅̅̅̅
𝑪𝑽.
way up and
6. The focal length f is the distance between F and V or
the same
line ̅̅̅̅
𝑭𝑽.
distance
behind the
mirror as the
image is in front.
 Concave Mirror In a convex mirror when a parallel beam is incident on the
mirror the reflected rays form a divergent beam. However
when produced back all the rays seem to come from one
point F’ behind the mirror.
The rays only appear to come from F’ and it is said to be a
virtual focus.
Again
F P = f = 𝑭𝑽 ̅̅̅̅ (focal length)

It can be shown that a

parallel beam of light Any incident ray
incident on a concave parallel to the principal
mirror is reflected to axis is reflected so as
a converging beam to pass through the
that passes through a principal focus F.
point F on the
principal axis known For both mirrors ,
as the principal focus. F P = f = ̅̅̅̅ 𝑭𝑽 focal length
In a concave mirror the rays reflected by the mirror actually
 C P = r = 𝑪𝑽 ̅̅̅̅ radius of curvature
r
pass through F and it is called a real focus. It can be shown that f =
2
The distance from F to the pole of the mirror P is called the If the object in a curved reflector is a point O then we find
focal length of the mirror, f the point of the image by the point of intersection of two
F P = f = ̅̅̅̅ 𝑭𝑽 reflected rays.

Convex Mirror There is a set of rules to follow when finding rays

1. Rays incident at the pole are reflected making the
same angle with the principal axis.
2. Rays passing through the centre of curvature are
reflected back along their own path.
3. Rays parallel to principal axis are reflected through
the principal focus.
4. Rays through the principal focus are reflected
parallel to the principal axis.
NOTES 2. Object at F 5. Object beyond C
1. A REAL image is formed by the actual intersection of
reflected rays. (in front of the mirror, projected on the
screen)
2. A VIRTUAL image is one formed by the apparent Image is at infinity
intersection of reflected rays at the back of the mirror.
3. All angles are measured relative to the Normal.
Using the above rules we may now easily find the
images formed by a concave mirror.

For each image formed we need to determine

(i) Its location relative to the mirror. 3. Object between F and C
(ii) Whether it is real or virtual. Image is
(iii) Whether it is upright or inverted. Between F and C, Real, Inverted, Smaller than object
(iv) Its size relative to the object.
6. Object at infinity
The chosen object is a vertical line with two points (e.g.
arrow or candle). To locate the image of the object we
must locate the image of both the bottom and the top
point. The bottom of the arrow is placed along the
principal axis so that its image is always at some point
along the principal axis. The image of the top point is
located by the intersection of two reflected rays. The two Image is
Image is
image points are joined together to produce the image. At F, Real, Inverted, Smaller than object
Beyond C, Real, Inverted, Larger than object

4. Object at C Images in a convex mirror

1. Object between F and V

Experiments show that the image formed in a convex

mirror is always
(i) Virtual
Image is Image is (ii) Upright
Virtual, Upright, Larger than the object. At C, Real, Inverted, Same size as object (iii) Smaller than object
Regardless of where the object is located.
Therefore, If the image is REAL the mirror is CONCAVE The magnification is less than 1 that indicates that it is
If the image is VIRTUAL the mirror is smaller than the object. The sign of the magnification is
CONCAVE IF THE IMAGE IS LARGER negative (-) which means it is an inverted image.
AND
CONVEX IF THE IMAGE IS SMALLER SEATWORK:
An object 3.00 cm high is placed 20.0 cm from a convex
mirror with a focal length of 8.00 cm. Find (a) the position of
SUMMARY (Fill in the missing information) the image, (b) the magnification of the mirror, and (c) the
Object Image height of the image.
Location L O S T
ocation rientation ize ype Sample Problem:
Note: Since it is a convex mirror, the focal length is negative
Between Behind the Assume that a certain concave spherical mirror has a focal
(f = -8.00 cm).
Upright virtual length of 10.0 cm. (a) Locate the image and find the
F&V mirror
magnification for an object distance of 25.0 cm. Determine
At F SOLUTION: Write your solution below.
At infinity (No image formed) whether the image is real or virtual, inverted or upright, and
larger or smaller.
Between
Beyond C Larger Real Step 1: Identify the given quantities.
C&F
At C Same f = 10.0 cm p = 25.0 cm
Inverted Real
size Step 2: Use the mirror equation to determine where the
Beyond Between C image will be formed (image distance). Then, use the
Inverted Smaller
C &F magnification equation to determine the size of the image
At Point and the type of image formed.
At F Inverted Real
infinity size

MIRROR EQUATION
All distance values are measured with the mirror as the
origin i.e. the pole P (also known as vertex, V). We use the
following symbols:
p = distance from the object to the mirror
q = distance from the image to the mirror
f = focal length / distance from focus to mirror

For a spherical mirror it can be proved that Step 3: Evaluate your answers by using the sign convention
1 1 1 above to give the descriptions of the image.
+ =
p q f Based on the above answer, the image is formed 16.7 cm in
front of the mirror (since the answer is positive). It is a real
and also that the magnification m image.
𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒉𝒊 𝒒
𝑴= = −
𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒉𝒐 𝒑
PROBLEM SHEET MIRROR (ii) calculate the focal length of the
FORMULA mirror.

Question 1. A concave mirror has a Question 4. It is desired to cast the

radius of curvature of 40 cm. A real image of a lamp magnified 5 times
object 5 cm high is placed 30 cm in upon a wall 12 m from the lamp.
front of the mirror (i) calculate the What kind of mirror is required and
position and height of the image. Is what is its focal length ?
the image real or virtual? (ii) locate
the image using ray tracing (iii)
repeat the calculations if the object
is placed 60 cm from the mirror (ii)
repeat for a convex mirror.

Question 2. An object is placed 25

cm from a concave mirror of radius
80 cm. (i) Determine the position
relative size and type of image that
is produced (ii) repeat for a convex
mirror
(iii) show the ray tracing

Question 3. (i) What type of mirror

should be used in order to give an
erect image 1/5th the size of an
object placed 15 cm in front of it?