Physics Light
Review Problems
2009
#1

The tallest man in history was 2.72 m
tall. The smallest woman in history
had a height of 0.55 m. Suppose
Robert is standing 5.0 m from a
converging mirror that produces an
image equal to Pauline’s height, what
is the focal length of this mirror?
#2

A human hair is about 0.0080 cm
thick. If one places the hair 2.40 cm
from a concave mirror with a focal
length of 2.50 cm, how thick will the
image of the hair appear?
#3

A steel ball bearing with a radius of
1.5 cm forms an image of an object
that has been placed 1.1 cm away
from the bearing’s surface. Determine
the image distance and magnification.
#4

A spherical mirror is to be used in a
motion-picture projector to from an
inverted, real image 95 times as tall
as the picture in a single frame of file.
The image is projected onto a screen
13 m from the mirror. What type of
mirror is required, and how far should
it be from the film?
#5

Consider a concave spherical mirror
and an object. Is the image always
inverted? Is the image always real?
Give conditions for your answers.
#6

The reflector of a radio telescope has
a radius of curvature of 265.0 m. How
far above the reflector must the radiodetecting equipment be placed in
order to obtain clear radio images?
#7

Describe the three rays used to
predict image location in curved
mirrors.
#8

The real image of a tree is magnified
-0.085 times by a telescope’s primary
mirror. If the tree’s image forms 35
cm in front of the mirror, what is the
distance between the mirror and the
tree?
#9

The real image of a tree is magnified
-0.085 times by a telescope’s primary
mirror. If the tree’s image forms 35
cm in front of the mirror, what is the
focal length of the mirror?
#10*

A child holds a candy bar 15.5 cm in
front of the convex side-view mirror of
an automobile. The image height is
reduced by one-half. What is the
radius of curvature of the mirror?
#11

What could you do to determine if an
image is real or virtual?
#12

What happens to a narrow light beam
that enters parallel to the principal
axis of a spherical concave mirror?
#13

What happens to a narrow light beam
that passes through the focal point of
a concave mirror before being
reflected?
#14

If a vehicle 2.0 m high is 4.6 m from a
car’s convex mirror, find the position
and height of the image, given that the
radius of curvature is 0.80 m.
#15
Which of the following does not refer to
a type of electromagnetic wave?
A. radio B. sonar
C. ultraviolet
D. X-ray E. microwave F. gamma
#16
The wavelength of red light is _?_ that
of blue light; the frequency of red light
is _?_ that of blue light.
A. longer than; higher than
B. shorter than; lower than
C. longer than; lower than
D. longer than; the same as
E. the same as; higher than
F. none of these
#17
From lowest to highest frequency, these
would be ordered
A. R-IR-UV-γ
B. IR-R-UV-γ
C. γ-IR-UV-R
D. UV-IR-γ-R
E. IR-γ-R-UV
F. γ-UV-IR-R
G. R-UV-γ-IR
H. UV-R-IR-γ
#18
Which station broadcasts with 2.94m
radio waves?
A. KXPR 91.7MHz
B. Y 92.5MHz
C. WGRD 98.5MHz
D. KSFM 102MHz
E. KWOD 106MHz
F. WLAV 108MHz
#19

A thimble is 32.0 cm from a concave
mirror. The focal point of the mirror is
11.0 cm. What is the magnification of
the image?
#20

A child who is 1.1 m tall is standing
6.0 m from a convex mirror. The
child’s image is 0.40 m behind the
mirror. What is the size of the image?
#21
What does negative value of focal
length tell you about a mirror?
 What does a negative image distance
tell you about an image?

#22

Describe how an image would change
as an object is moved from very far
away towards the surface of a
concave mirror.
#23

What does the law of reflection state?
#24
Which color of the visible light portion
of the electromagnetic spectrum has
the highest frequency?
 Most energy?
 Longest wavelength?

#25

A laser pointer emits light waves with
a wavelength of 533 nm. What is the
frequency of this light?