REFLECTION OF LIGHTh

6.
2 Reflection of light
Reflection of light is the turning back or bouncing of light rays when it encounters a different
medium.
Rectilinear propagation of light simply means that light waves travel in straight lines.
The laws of reflection:
States that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence.
Remember that angles are always measured from the normal.
The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the reflecting surface at the point of
incidence all lie in same plane.
CLASS WORK
What is the angle between incident ray and reflected ray if the angle of incidence is 35 0?
Why you cannot see your reflection in a sheet of paper
Paper does not form a visible image, because that light gets scattered in all directions.
Notice that with the paper the laws of reflection apply as much as with a mirror.
The light still gets reflected off at the same angle that it hit the surface: it is just that the
surface points in different
directions.
periscope
A periscope is a device that helps an observer to see over or around an opaque material.
Using a periscope you can see a football game being behind a tall wall.
A periscope uses two plane mirrors placed in a long tube as shown in Fig. The mirrors are
placed at each end of the tube at 45° to the direction to be observed. The image formed by
the top mirror is observed through the bottom mirror.
Image formation by a plane mirror
The image formed in a plane mirror has the following characteristics;
i. It is erect, not upside down.
ii. It is of the same size as the object
iii. It is laterally inverted. (i.e. Sideways reversed)
iv. It has the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front i.e. the image
formed in a plane mirror appears to be as far behind the mirror as it is a virtual image.
Using the laws of reflection to explain how images are formed in a plane mirror and using a
ray tracing method to find the position of the image
Consider the mirror shown in Figure , with the object at point O.
Now trace the reflected rays beyond the mirror using dotted lines,
as shown in the following Figure.
The point where the dotted lines meet is the position of the image, I.
Image Formation by Curved Mirrors
Curved mirrors are made up of a spherical shaped body.

Consider the cover of a hollow sphere of glass.
We could produce a curved surface by cutting out the part of this spherical cover.
If we reflect light from the outside of this surface, we produce a convex mirror.
If we reflect light from the inside surface we have a concave mirror.
Such mirrors are called curved mirrors.
When the reflecting surface of mirrors is curved rather than plane, the law of reflection holds
true.
But the size and position of the image formed are quite different from those of the image
formed by a plane mirror.
Because of the curved nature of these mirrors, they do not produce images in the same way
as the plane mirrors. Concave mirrors are used in torches and car head-lights, in reflecting
telescopes and as showing mirrors.
Convex mirrors are often used as driving mirrors (i.e. as rear-view mirrors in cars) and to see
round corners in Supermarket.
To study the images formed by curved mirrors we need to define some terms used in
connection to these mirrors.
1. The pole (p) of the mirror is the midpoint of the mirror
2. The center of curvature (C) is the center of the sphere of which the mirror forms a part.
3. The principal axis is the line that passes through the pole and the center of curvature of
the mirror.
4. The distance from P to C is the radius of curvature (R). It is the radius of the sphere from
which the mirror was cut out. The action of a curved mirror depends on the radius of
curvature.
5. The principal Focus (F) of a concave mirror is the point where rays that are parallel to the
principal axis converge after reflection.
6. The principal focus (F) of a convex mirror is the point from which rays parallel and close to
the principal axis appear to diverge after reflection.
7. The focal Length (f) of curved mirrors is the distance from the principal focus F to the pole
P. The focal length is found experimentally to be equal to half of the radius of curvature.
Ray diagrams for Image formation
The followings are rays whose direction is known.
i. A ray parallel to the principal axis passes through the principal focus (F) after reflection.
ii. A ray through the principal focus (F)is reflected parallel to the principal axis .
iii. A ray through the center of curvature (C) is reflected back along its path.
Any intersection of the reflected rays of at least the above two rays form the image of the
object placed in front of the mirrors.
Images formed by Concave Mirrors
Images formed by a convex mirrors
• The image formed in a convex mirror does not depend on the distance between object
and mirror.
• For the convex mirror the image is always erect, diminished, virtual and behind the mirror
for all object positions.
The mirror equation
• If the image is virtual, then we use a negative sign for

the distances.
The magnification relationship for mirrors
CLASS WORK
1. A ball is held 50 cm in front of a plane mirror. The
distance between the ball and its image is _________.
2. Find the position of the image formed by the concave

mirror in Figure
3. Find the position and nature of the image formed by the
convex mirror
4. The focal length of a spherical mirror is N times its radius
of curvature where N is:
A. 1/4 B. 1/2 C. 1 D. 2
5. An erect object is located between a concave mirror and

its focal point. Its image is:
B. real, erect, and larger than the object
C. real, inverted, and larger than the object
D. virtual, erect, and larger than the object
E. virtual, inverted, and larger than the object
6. An erect object is in front of a convex mirror a distance
greater than the focal length. The image is:
A. real, inverted, and smaller than the object
B. virtual, inverted, and larger than the object
C. real, inverted, and larger than the object
D. virtual, erect, and smaller than the object
7. As an object is moved from the center of curvature of a
concave mirror toward its focal point its image:
A. remains virtual and becomes larger
B. remains virtual and becomes smaller
C. remains real and becomes larger
D. remains real and becomes smaller
8. A concave mirror forms a real image that is twice the size

of the object. If the object is 20 cm from the mirror, the
radius of curvature of the mirror must be about _______.
9. A concave spherical mirror has a focal length of 12 cm. If
an object is placed 6 cm in front of it, the image position is:
A. 4 cm behind the mirror
B. 4 cm in front of the mirror
C. 12 cm behind the mirror
D. 12 cm in front of the mirror

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6.

Why you cannot see your reflection in a sheet of paper

Consider the mirror shown in Figure , with the object at point O.

Curved mirrors are made up of a spherical shaped body.

• If the image is virtual, then we use a negative sign for

2. Find the position of the image formed by the concave

5. An erect object is located between a concave mirror and

8. A concave mirror forms a real image that is twice the size

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