Ray Optics: Reflection and Mirrors

Reflection and Mirrors: Audio Guided Solution

Problem 6:

A meter stick (object) is placed in an upright position in front of a plane mirror as shown in the diagram at the right. The image of the meter stick is equidistant from the mirror. Suppose that the meter stick is equipped with a working eyeball capable of viewing the top and the bottom of its image. The eyeball is located at the 90-cm mark on the meter stick. Using either a ray diagram or geometry, determine …
a. … the location of the intersection of the eye's line of sight with the mirror as the eyeball sights at the top of the image.
b. … the location of the intersection of the eye's line of sight with the mirror as the eyeball sights at the bottom of the image.
c. … the amount of mirror required by the meter stick to view the image.

Audio Guided Solution

Habits of an Effective Problem Solver

• Read the problem carefully and develop a mental picture of the physical situation. If necessary, sketch a simple diagram of the physical situation to help you visualize it.
• Identify the known and unknown quantities in an organized manner. Equate given values to the symbols used to represent the corresponding quantity - e.g., d_o = 24.2 cm; d_i= 16.8 cm; f = ???.
• Use physics formulas and conceptual reasoning to plot a strategy for solving for the unknown quantity.
• Identify the appropriate formula(s) to use.
• Perform substitutions and algebraic manipulations in order to solve for the unknown quantity.

Read About It!

Get more information on the topic of Reflection and Mirrors at The Physics Classroom Tutorial.

• What Portion of a Mirror is Required to View an Image?

Return to Problem Set

Return to Overview

View Audio Guided Solution for Problem:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26