Mirrors are smooth reflecting

surfaces, usually made up of

polished metal or glass that has
been coated with some metallic
substance. A mirror with a flat
surface is called a plane
mirror.
● The image you see is
upright and appears to be
behind the mirror is
known as a virtual
image.
● An image in front of a
plane mirror is said to
show right-left reversal
relative to the object.
The position and size of the
virtual image formed by a plane
mirror can be located by using
ray diagrams.
 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
m=
𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
Ray 2 has an
angle of Triangles ACB and 𝐴𝐵 𝐸𝐷
incidence ϴ and ECD are equal. =
is reflected with 𝐴𝐶 𝐸𝐶
an angle ϴ’.

Ray 1
 Multiple Reflections
A single mirror gives one image. If you add one more mirror, more images will
be formed. This is due to multiple reflections. Two adjacent mirrors give a
multiple number of images depending on the angle between them.
REFLECTIONS ON CURVED MIRRORS

The front and the back of

the spoon work like two
curved mirrors. The front is
a concave mirror and the
back is the convex mirror.
Curved mirrors are usually spherical mirrors. The reflecting surface
of a spherical mirror is a part of a large sphere. A concave mirror
curves inward like a cave. A convex mirror curves outward.
C= Center of Curvature
F= Focal point
V= Vertex
R= Radius of curvature

Vertex Vertex

R
 V V

The center of curvature, C, is the center of the sphere from which the mirror is
formed. The distance from V to C is the radius of curvature, R. The distance
from V to F is called the focal length, f. The ling passing through the center of
curvature us the principal axis.
 Images Formed by Concave Mirror
A mirror with a surface that curves
inward like the inside of a bowl is a
concave mirror. A concave mirror
turns parallel rays into convergent
rays. Concave mirrors are used as
magnifying mirrors for shaving and
applying makeup, and are also used in
reflecting telescopes. They are also
used to make the beam of light in
flashlights and car headlights. Often
these mirrors are parabolic to avoid
spherical aberration.
● When parallel rays of light hit a concave
mirror, the rays are reflected inward. The
reflected rays meet and cross over at a
point F, called the focal point or the
principal focus. The distance of F from
the vertex of the mirror is the focal
length, f, of the mirror.
● Concave mirrors can form either virtual or real images. Real images are
those created when light rays ‘actually’ converge, or meet at a point. Virtual
images are those formed at a location where light rays reflected from a
mirror ‘seem’ to diverge. Such images cannot be projected on the screen.
The type of image formed by a concave
mirror depends on the position of the
object in relation to the focal point. The
images formed can be found by drawing ray
diagrams using the following instructions:
1. Draw a horizontal line to represent the
principal axis intersecting an arc
representing the convex mirror.
2. Mark the positions F and C on the
principal axis. Remember that 2f=R.
3. Draw the object, for example, an arrow,
standing upright at the given position. The
distance between the object and the mirror
is called the object distance.
4. Draw rays with arrows to indicate directions from
the tip of the object using the following.
● A. A ray parallel to the principal axis is reflected
through the principal focus.
● B. A ray passing through the principal focus is
reflected parallel to the principal axis.
● C. A ray passing through the center of the
curvature is reflected back along its own path.
5. Draw the image of the arrow with its tail on the
principal axis. The distance between the image and
mirror is called image distance. Find out the nature
of the image, whether the image is real or virtual,
inverted or upright, enlarged or reduced or the
same size.
 Images Formed by Convex Mirrors
A mirror with a surface that curves
outward is a convex mirror.

When parallel rays of light hit a convex mirror,

the rays are reflected outwards.

The reflected rays appear to spread out from

a point, the principal focus, behind the mirror.

Therefore, a convex mirror is a diverging mirror.

Construction Rules in Tracing the Image Formed by
a Convex Mirror

1. Draw a horizontal line to represent the principal axis intersecting a

circular arc representing the convex mirror.

2. Mark the positions of F and C on the principal axis intersecting a

circular arc. Remember that 2f=R.

3. Draw the object, for example, an arrow, standing upright at the given
position. The distance between the object and the mirror is the
object distance.
4. Draw the rays with arrows to indicate directions from the tip of the
object using the following:
a. A ray parallel to the principal axis is reflected so that it appears to come
from the principal focus.
b. A ray directed toward the principal focus is reflected parallel to the principal
axis.
c. A ray directed toward the center of curvature is reflected back along its own
path.
5. Draw the image of the arrow with its tail on the principal axis. The distance
between the image and the mirror is the image distance. Find out the nature of
the image, whether the image is real or virtual, inverted or upright, enlarged or
reduced or the same size.
● Note: Use dashed lines for extending rays backwards to locate the virtual
image behind the mirror and to draw a virtual image.
● Since the rays do not actually meet,
images formed by convex mirrors are
ALWAYS VIRTUAL, UPRIGHT and
SMALLER than the object.
● Convex mirrors are used in cars as
passenger -side rearview mirrors.
Because convex mirrors spread out
rays of light, you can see a larger
reflection area and you can see
more in the mirror although the
images appear smaller and farther
away than the objects really are.
 REFRACTION IN THIN LENSES

● A lens is a curved piece of glass or some other transparent material that is

used to refract light.

● Like mirrors, lenses can have different shapes and the type of image
formed depends on the shape of the lens. They may be concave
(diverging) or convex (converging).
A convex lens is thicker at the center than at the edges while a concave lens is
thinner at the center than at the edges
Since lenses has two surfaces, it has two focal points, F and F’, and the
center of the lens, C, between them. The focal points are the same distance
from the lens’ midpoint, O. The distance between the lens’ midpoint and its
focal point is called focal length, f.

, ,
O O
Refraction in Converging (Convex) Lenses

When parallel rays of light pass through a convex lens, they are
refracted inwards. The refracted rays meet and cross over at the
principal focus. A convex lens is a converging lens.
● Ray diagrams can be used to determine the location, size and type of
image formed by a lens.
● The images formed by a converging (convex) lens can be found by drawing
ray diagrams using the following construction rules for lenses:
1. Draw a horizontal line to represent the principal axis and a symbol to
represent a double convex lens.
2. Mark the position of F’ on the side of the lens where the object is located
and that of F on the other side. Also mark points called 2F’ and 2F are twice
the focal length from the lens.
3. Draw the object, for example, an arrow standing upright on the principal
axis at the given position.
4. Draw rays, with arrows ton indicate directions, from the tip of the object using
the following:
a. A ray parallel to the principal axis is refracted through the principal focus, F.
b. A ray passing through the principal F’ is refracted parallel to the principal
axis.
c. A ray passing through the lens’ midpoint travels straight on.
5. Draw the image of the arrow with its tail on the principal axis. The
distance between the image and the mirror is the image distance. Find
out the nature of the image, whether the image is real or virtual,
inverted or upright, enlarged or reduced or the same size. (Use dashed
or broken lines for a virtual image).