AP Physics 2 : Mirrors

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Physics 2

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Example Questions

Example Question #431 : Ap Physics 2

An object of height \displaystyle 5 cm is placed \displaystyle 10 cm in front of a concave mirror that has a radius of curvature of \displaystyle 37 cm

Determine the focal length of the mirror.

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle f=18.5cm

\displaystyle f=-10cm

\displaystyle f=-4cm

\displaystyle f=10cm

\displaystyle f=4cm

Correct answer:

\displaystyle f=18.5cm

Explanation:

Use the mirror/lens equation:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{r}

Where:

\displaystyle p is the object distance from the mirror, which is taken to be negative

\displaystyle i is the image distance from the mirror

\displaystyle f is the focal length of the mirror, which for concave mirrors is taken to be positive

\displaystyle r is the radius of curvature of the mirror

Plug in values and solve for the focal point:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{-10}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{37}

\displaystyle f=18.5cm

Example Question #11 : Optics

An object of height \displaystyle 5 cm is placed \displaystyle 10 cm in front of a concave mirror that has a radius of curvature of \displaystyle 37 cm

Determine the distance of the image.

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle i=8cm

\displaystyle i=1.5cm

\displaystyle i=6.5cm

\displaystyle i=4cm

\displaystyle i=10cm

Correct answer:

\displaystyle i=6.5cm

Explanation:

Use the mirror/lens equation:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{r}

Where:

\displaystyle p is the object distance from the mirror, which is taken to be negative

\displaystyle i is the image distance from the mirror

\displaystyle f is the focal length of the mirror, which for concave mirrors is taken to be positive

\displaystyle r is the radius of curvature of the mirror

Plug in values and solve for the image distance:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{-10}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{37}

\displaystyle i=\frac{1}{-\frac{2}{37}+\frac{1}{10}}

\displaystyle i=6.5cm

Example Question #21 : Optics

An object of height \displaystyle 5 cm is placed \displaystyle 10 cm in front of a concave mirror that has a radius of curvature of \displaystyle 37.5 c m. Will the image be real or virtual?

Possible Answers:

There will be no image

Virtual

Real

Cannot be determined without knowing the index of refraction

Correct answer:

Virtual

Explanation:

Use the relationship between focal length and radius:

\displaystyle f=\frac{r}{2}

Plug in values.

\displaystyle f=\frac{37.5cm}{2}

\displaystyle f=18.75cm

Based on the properties of a concave mirror, objects inside the focal length of the mirror will generate virtual images.

Example Question #432 : Ap Physics 2

An object of height \displaystyle 5 cm is placed \displaystyle 10 cm in front of a convex mirror that has a radius of curvature of \displaystyle 45.0 cm.

Determine the magnification of the image.

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle M=4.8

\displaystyle M=3.0

\displaystyle M=1.8

\displaystyle M=6.8

\displaystyle M=2.8

Correct answer:

\displaystyle M=1.8

Explanation:

Use the mirror/lens equation:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=-\frac{2}{r}

Where:

\displaystyle p is the object distance from the mirror, which is taken to be negative number

\displaystyle i is the image distance from the mirror

\displaystyle f is the focal length of the mirror, which for convex mirrors is taken to be negative number

\displaystyle r is the radius of curvature of the mirror

Plug in values:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{-10}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=-\frac{2}{45}

Solve for \displaystyle i:

\displaystyle i=\frac{1}{-\frac{2}{45}+\frac{1}{10}}

\displaystyle i=18cm

Use the equation for magnification and solve for magnification, \displaystyle M:

\displaystyle M=\frac{h_i}{h_p}=-\frac{i}{p}

\displaystyle M=-\frac{18}{-10}

\displaystyle M=1.8

Example Question #14 : Mirrors

An object of height \displaystyle 5 cm is placed \displaystyle 10 cm in front of a concave mirror that has a radius of curvature of \displaystyle 37 cm

Determine the size of the image.

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle h_i=3.25cm

\displaystyle h_i=8.50cm

\displaystyle h_i=5.25cm

\displaystyle h_i=2.25cm

\displaystyle h_i=3.75cm

Correct answer:

\displaystyle h_i=3.25cm

Explanation:

Use the mirror/lens equation:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{r}

Where:

\displaystyle p is the object distance from the mirror, which is taken to be negative

\displaystyle i is the image distance from the mirror

\displaystyle f is the focal length of the mirror, which for concave mirrors is taken to be positive

\displaystyle r is the radius of curvature of the mirror

Plug in values:

\displaystyle \frac{1}{-10}+\frac{1}{i}=\frac{1}{f}=\frac{2}{37}

Solve for the image distance:

\displaystyle i=\frac{1}{-\frac{2}{37}+\frac{1}{10}}

\displaystyle i=6.5cm

Use the magnification formula:

\displaystyle M=\frac{h_i}{h_p}=-\frac{i}{p}

Where

\displaystyle M is magnification

\displaystyle h_i is image height

\displaystyle h_p is object height

Plug in values and solve for the image height:

\displaystyle \frac{h_i}{5}=-\frac{6.5}{-10}

\displaystyle h_i=3.25cm

Example Question #22 : Optics

A ray of light is parallel to the principal axis and reflects from a concave mirror. The reflected ray will __________.

Possible Answers:

pass through the focal point

pass through both the focal point and the center of curvature

None of the other answers.

pass through the center of curvature

also be parallel to the principal axis

Correct answer:

pass through the focal point

Explanation:

Parallel rays that reflect off a concave mirror always pass through the focal point of the mirror. 

Example Question #11 : Mirrors

If an object is situated at a distance farther than the radius of curvature of a concave mirror, what will be true about the image formed?

Possible Answers:

The image will be virtual and inverted

The image will be real and up-right

It is impossible to determine

The image will be real and inverted

The image will be virtual and up-right

Correct answer:

The image will be real and inverted

Explanation:

In this question, we're told that an object is positioned outside of the curvature radius of a concave mirror. We're asked to identify how the resulting image will appear.

One way to approach this problem is to draw a ray diagram. In such a diagram, a straight line is first drawn from the top of the object horizontally to the mirror. From there, the line is drawn to pass through the mirror's focal point.

A second line is then drawn from the top of the object and straight through the focal point to the mirror. Then, the line is drawn horizontally away from the mirror.

The point at which these two lines intersect will represent the top of the image. In the diagram shown below, we can see that the image will appear in front of the mirror. Hence, it is a real image. Furthermore, the image appears upside down, meaning that it has an inverted orientation. So all together, the image will be real and inverted, which makes this the correct answer.

Mirror light rays

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