Objective

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to predict the qualitative characteristics of images formed by a plane
mirror.

What are the qualitative characteristics of images formed by plane mirrors?

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Mirrors are objects that reflect light and form images. The most common type of mirror is the plane mirror, which
has a flat surface.

Plane Mirror Image

Objects viewed in a plane mirror appear laterally inverted, which means that when you are facing the mirror, your
right hand appears as your image's left hand, and your left hand appears as your image's right hand.

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Qualitative Characteristics of Images

Images formed by mirrors are described by their orientation, type, magnification, and distance.

The orientation describes whether the image is upright or inverted.

The type describes whether the image is real or virtual. A real image is formed on the same side of the mirror as the
object. Light passes through the actual image location. On the other hand, a virtual image is formed at the back of
the mirror, in a location where light does not reach.

The magnification describes the size of the image compared with the size of the object.

The distance describes how far the object (do) and the image (di) are from the mirror.

Explore!
Place a cup in front of a plane mirror. Describe the image formed by the cup on the mirror by answering the
following questions:

1. Is the image upright or inverted?

2. Is the image virtual or real?
3. Does the image have the same size as the cup?
4. Does the image have the same distance from the mirror as the cup appears to be? (image distance = object
distance)

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Reflection of Light in Mirrors
Reflection is the bouncing off of light rays when they hit a surface such as a plane mirror. It can be described using
the incident ray, reflected ray, and normal line. The incident ray is the light ray that hits the mirror while
the reflected ray is the light ray that leaves the mirror. The normal line is the imaginary line that is perpendicular to
the surface of the mirror.

Light rays that hit a plane mirror follow the law of reflection. The law of reflection states that when a light ray hits a
barrier, the incident angle is equal to the reflected angle. The incident ray, reflected ray, and the normal line all lie in
the same plane.

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Ray Diagram Method

In predicting the characteristics of the image formed by mirrors, the ray diagram method is used. Note that in
constructing ray diagrams, the rays follow the law of reflection.

Consider an object with a certain height (ho) placed at a certain distance in front of a plane mirror (do) as shown by
the ray diagram below.

In the ray diagram, there are three rays (coming from the object) that hit the mirror, rays 1, 2, and 3.

 Ray 1 (red) hits the mirror at a 90-degree angle with the surface. It is reflected back without a change in
angle.
 Ray 2 (violet) hits the mirror at a 45-degree angle and is reflected back at the same angle.
 Ray 3 (green) hits the mirror at a certain angle and is reflected back at the same angle.

Where is the image located?

To answer the question, you need to extend the light rays that are reflected by the mirror. The image is found where
the reflected rays meet.
How do you describe the image formed?

From the diagram, you can conclude that the image formed by a plane mirror is upright. It is virtual because it is at
the back of the mirror. It is of the same size as the object (ho=hi). Lastly, it is at the same distance from the mirror
as the distance of the object from the mirror.

All these are always true for images formed by a plane mirror regardless of the distance of the object from the
mirror.

What do you think?

Why is the word "ambulance" laterally inverted in ambulance mobiles?

Key Points
 Mirrors are objects that reflect light and form images. The most common type of mirror is the plane mirror,
which has a flat surface.
 Images formed by mirrors are described by their orientation, type, magnification, and distance.
 The law of reflection states that when a light ray hits a barrier, the incident angle is equal to the reflected
angle.
 Images formed by a plane mirror are always upright, virtual, have the same size as the object, and are
located at the same distance from the mirror as the object.

Objective
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to predict the qualitative characteristics of images formed by curved
mirrors.

A curved mirror is a curved reflective surface.

What are the different types of curved mirrors? What are their qualitative characteristics?
Learn about it!
Important Terms in Curved Mirrors

Principal Axis

If the curved mirror is thought to be a slice of a sphere, then the principal axis is the line that passes through the
center of the mirror and the center of the sphere.

Center of Curvature (C)

The center of curvature is the point in the center of the sphere from which the mirror was sliced. It is denoted by
the letter C in ray diagrams.

Vertex (V) or Pole (P)

The vertex is the point where the principal axis meets the mirror.

Focus or Focal Point (F)

The focus or focal point is found midway between the center of curvature and the vertex. It is denoted by the
letter F in ray diagrams. It is one half of the radius of the curvature.

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Types of Curved Mirrors

A curved mirror can either be a convex mirror or a concave mirror.

A convex mirror has a reflective surface that bulges towards the light source. It curves outward. It is also
called diverging mirrorbecause it diverges the incident rays after reflection.

The light rays reflected by a convex mirror diverge or spread out such that the rays appear to come from the mirror's
focus.

On the other hand, a concave mirror has a reflective surface that bulges away from the light source. It curves
inward. It is also called converging mirror because it converges the incident rays after reflection.

The light rays reflected by a concave mirror converge or meet at the mirror's focus.

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Constructing Ray Diagrams

In constructing a ray diagram to predict and describe the images formed by a curved mirror, at least two of the
following rays are drawn:
  Ray 1, which hits the mirror parallel to the principal axis, is reflected back passing through the focal point.
 Ray 2, which passes through the focal point and hits the mirror, is reflected back parallel to the principal
axis.
 Ray 3, which passes through the mirror's center of curvature and hits the mirror, is reflected back passing
through the center of curvature.

Images formed by Convex Mirror

Consider three light rays, 1, 2 and 3, hitting the convex mirror from the tip or head of the object.

The point where the reflected rays meet is where the image is formed. Based on the ray diagram, the image is
located behind the convex mirror. It is upright, virtual, and smaller than the object. Note that all convex mirrors
always produce images with these same characteristics.

Learn about it!

Images formed by Concave Mirror

Consider two light rays, A and B, hitting the concave mirror from the tip or head of the object. Note that the point
where at least two of the reflected rays meet is where the image is formed.

Unlike convex mirrors, concave mirrors produce images depending on the position of the object. There are six
characteristics of images formed by a concave mirror based on the object's position.

Case a: The object is at infinity.

The image is located at the focus (F). It is point-sized and real.

Case b: The object is located beyond C.

The image is located between F and C. It is real, inverted, and reduced.

Case c: The object is at C.

The image is located at C. It is real, inverted, and has the same size as the object.

Case d: The object is between C and F.

The image is located behind C. It is real, inverted, and enlarged.

Case e: The object is at F.

The image is located at infinity. It is real, inverted, and enlarged.

Case f: The object is between F and P.

The image is located behind the mirror. It is virtual, upright (or erect), and enlarged.

What do you think?

How does the location of the object affect the characteristics of the image formed in a convex mirror? How about in
a concave mirror?

Key Points
 A curved mirror can either be a convex mirror or a concave mirror.
 A convex mirror has a reflective surface that bulges towards the light source.
 A concave mirror has a reflective surface that bulges away from the light source.
 Images formed by a concave and a convex mirror can be described by constructing a ray diagram.
 All convex mirrors always produce images with the same characteristics, which are upright, virtual, smaller
than the object, and located behind the mirror.
 Unlike convex mirrors, concave mirrors produce images depending on the position of the object.