Optics: Concave and Convex Mirror Lab

The purpose of this lab is to explore the properties of convex and concave mirrors. This lab will consist of observing an object in either a convex or concave mirror; then, the object will be moved from it's original position and resulting in a change in the image of the object in the mirror. 

Image of my hand holding a nail in a convex mirror.

The first case examined is the nail image in the convex mirror.

Observations:

• The image is upright.
• The image is located behind the mirror.
• The image increases in size as the object distance to the mirror decreases.
• The light that would pass through the radius of curvature reflects back at the source.
• Light that is incident on the mirror reflects off the mirror in such a way where if the reflected ray is traced past the mirror the ray would pass through the focal point.
• The magnification of the object is equal to the ratio of image height and object height. 

The second case examined is the nail image in the concave mirror.

Observations:

• The image is inverted.
• The image is larger than the object.
• The image is in front of the mirror.
• The image size increases as object distance approaches focal length, past the focal length the object shrinks in size.
• If the object was within the focal length, the object was upright. 
• If the object was past the focal length it was inverted.
• The magnification of the object is equal to the ratio of image height and object height.
• Light rays that pass through the radius of curvature reflect back to the source.
• Light rays that pass through the focal length reflect back out parallel to the optical access.
• Light rays that are parallel to the optical axis reflect and pass through the focal point. 

Conclusion:

In the convex mirror, the image formed was virtual and located behind the mirror. The image formed in the concave mirror is a real image when the object is located outside the focal length. If the object is inside the focal length of a concave mirror, the image forms behind the mirror and the image is virtual. Both convex and concave mirror images can be located by the intersection of rays, or better known as ray tracing. For both convex and concave mirrors, the magnification is equal to the ratio of image height and object height.