Convex Mirrors
Convex mirrors are spherical mirrors that curve outwards. This causes reflected
light rays to _____________ and travel away from each other when they hit
the mirror. The principal focus (F) and centre of curvature (C) are _________
because they are located behind the mirror. For this reason their values are
negative numbers.
C
Rules for Ray Diagrams of Convex Mirrors are the same as for Concave mirrors.
The only difference is that the rays only appear to pass through the points
behind the mirror. Here is a list of rules for BOTH types of mirrors:
1. A Ray that travels _________ to the principal axis is reflected
________ (or as if it had gone through) the principal focus.
2. A ray that travels _______ (or appearing to pass through) the principal
focus is reflected _________ to the principal axis.
3. A ray that passes _________ (or appears to pass through) the centre of
curvature will reflect back along the same path.
Unlike the concave mirror which produces both real and virtual images, convex
mirrors only produce virtual images. They are all upright, smaller than the
object and located between the vertex and the focal point.
S: Smaller than object
A: upright
L: behind the mirror (btw V and F)
T: Virtual
Example: A 1.5cm object is located 2.0cm away from a convex mirror that has a
focal length of -3.0cm and a centre of curvature of – 6.0cm. Describe the image
using SALT.