REFLECTION

AND MIRRORS
CHAPTER
III
SCIENCE IV – UNIT II
GROUP 4
REFLECTION AND MIRRORS

3.1 Plane Mirrors 3.2 Curved Mirrors

 Laws of Reflection  Convex and Concave
 Image Formed by a Mirrors
Plane Mirror  Light reflectors
 Ray Diagrams for
Spherical Mirrors
 What do you call a reflective surface, now typically of glass coated

01 with a metal amalgam, that reflects a clear image?

Answer: MIRROR

It is the throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound

02 without absorbing it.

Answer: REFLECTION
PRETEST It is the bending of light as it passes from one transparent substance

03 into another.

Answer: REFRACTION

What happens to light when it strikes a plane mirror?

04 Answer: IT IS REFLECTED
3.1 PLANE
MIRRORS
LAWS OF
REFLECTION
Incident Ray: Ray from the source.
Reflected Ray: Ray from the reflecting surface.
Normal Line: Line which is perpendicular to the mirror at
the point of Incidence.

1st Law of Reflection:

 The incident ray, the reflected ray, and the normal
line (N) all lie in the same plane.

2nd Law of Reflection:

 Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection

3rd Law of Reflection:

 Object Distance = Image Distance
 PLANE MIRROR
A plane mirror is a mirror
with a flat reflective surface.
For light rays striking a
plane mirror, the angle of
reflection equals the angle of
incidence. The angle of the
incidence is the angle
between the incident ray and
the surface normal.
 IMAGE FORMED BY PLANE MIRROR

Rays from O hit the mirror and are reflected

following the laws of reflection. These rays then
reach the observer’s eye.

The eye sees the ray as if they come from point I;

the intersection of the reflected rays extended
behind the mirror. The observer then sees the
image of O at I.

However, take note that the rays do not actually

come from I. They are VIRTUAL RAYS and the
image they form is a VIRTUAL IMAGE. Virtual
images cannot be projected on a screen.
MIRROR IMAGE What happens to your virtual image
when you stand in front of a plane
mirror?

Is there a difference between the

size of the image compared to your
actual size?

When you move closer, what

happens to your virtual image?

Raise your right hand and what

happens?
 When standing in front of a plane mirror, your image is as
MIRROR IMAGE

big as you; it is upright; and it is as far behind the mirror as

you are in front of the mirror.

When you walk towards the mirror, it also came towards the
mirror. When you walk away, it also did. When you raise
your right hand, it raised its left one.

We say that the image is LATERALLY INVERTED or

REVERSED.
 WHY IS A THE IMAGE LATERALLY
INVERTED OR REVERSED?
Incident rays 1, 2, and 3 from the object (O)
strike the mirror and are reflected. All angles of
incidence and all angles of reflection are equal,
too. Reflected rays are parallel but ray 1 on the
left of the incident ray appears as 1’ in the right
side of the reflected rays.

The image O is O’ and that of P is P’. The image

is of the same shape as the object but is reversed.
Also O and O’ as well as P and P’ are at the same
distances.
3.2 CURVED
MIRRORS
CURVED MIRRORS
Most curved mirrors are parts of a sphere, that is why they
are called SPHERICAL MIRRORS.

If the reflecting surface is the INNER ONE, the mirror is

called a CONCAVE MIRROR.

Examples of Concave Mirrors: Beauty Kits, Dentist’s

Chair, and Light Reflectors.

If the reflecting surface is the OUTER ONE, the mirror is

called a CONVEX MIRROR.

Example of Convex Mirror: Side Mirrors of Vehicles.

 Rays parallel to the principal axis reflect from the concave mirror and meet or converge at the REAL FOCUS F.
This is the reason why concave mirrors are also called CONVERGING MIRRORS.

On the other hand, when rays parallel to the principal axis hit a convex mirror, the reflected rays spread out or
diverge. Hence, the convex mirror is also called DIVERGING MIRROR.
MIRRORS
CURVED

(A) In a concave mirror, the reflected rays converge to the real focus F.
(B) In a convex mirror, the reflected rays diverge and seem to meet at the virtual focus.
CURVED MIRRORS
If the reflected rays are
extended, they appear to
meet at a point behind the
mirror called VIRTUAL
FOCUS F. The distance
from the principal focus to
the vertex of the mirror is
the FOCAL LENGTH F.
The focal length is half the
radius of curvature.
IMAGE FORMED
BY A CONVEX
MIRROR
How would you describe images formed
by convex mirrors? How do they
compare with images formed by plane
mirrors?
Side mirrors form images that are
always virtual, upright, and smaller
than the object. This is true for ALL
convex mirrors.
 REFLECTION OF LIGHT RAYS BY CONVEX MIRRORS

The first figure shows incident light rays parallel to the

principal axis of a convex mirror. Such rays come from very
far objects. These rays are reflected in such a way that they
appear to diverge from the PRINCIPAL FOCUS F. The
reflected rays when extended meet at a point. This meeting
point is the IMAGE LOCATION.

When the incident rays are coming from a source near the
convex mirror (source O) as shown in the second figure, the
rays are reflected so that they seem to meet or diverge from
point X on the principal axis. This point where the extended
rays seem to meet or diverge is also the image location. Note
that for far and near objects, the images are always
VIRTUAL.
LIGHT REFLECTORS
Do you ever wonder why the light beam emitted by a
flashlight is intense and so strong?

There is a certain position of a bulb where the beam of

light is brightest. This is where manufacturers of
flashlights, searchlights, and car headlights position the
light bulbs.

What is that position in relation to the mirror? Why is the

beam of light very intense in that particular position?
 To understand this, look at the second figure. It
shows that incident rays parallel to the principal
axis of a concave mirror converge at the
principal focus F upon reflection. Since the path
of light is reversible, if the source of light is
REFLECTORS

placed at the focus of a concave mirror, the

incident rays are reflected from the mirror
parallel to the principal axis, first figure. This
results in the production of an intense beam. That
is the reason why concave mirrors are used in
flashlights, spotlights, and head lights of vehicle.
LIGHT

Concave mirrors are also used to enlarge objects.

Examples of these are the dentist's mirror and the
ophthalmoscope.
CONSTRUCTING RAY DIAGRAMS
FOR SPHERICAL MIRRORS
Images formed by curve mirrors can be located graphically using ray
diagrams. The size and kind of image formed can also be
determined. Consider the tip of the arrow O in the figure. To locate
the image formed by the curve mirror, draw to rays from O. A third
ray can be drawn and used as check. These rays are the following:

1. A ray from O parallel to the principal axis reflects passing through

the focus ray ( ray 1 in the figure)

2. A ray from O which passes through the center of curvature is

reflected along the same path (ray 2 in the figure)

The intersection of the reflected rays for rays 1 and 2 is the tip of the
image I. This can be checked by drawing a third ray from O, passing
through the focus which is reflected parallel to the principal axis
(ray 3)
CONSTRUCTING RAY
DIAGRAMS FOR SPHERICAL
MIRRORS
When a concave mirror is
used, the image is smaller
than the object, inverted,
and is real.

When a convex mirror is

used, the image is smaller,
upright, and virtual.
Convex and Concave Mirrors of the same object
placed at the same distance from the mirrors.