Chapter 23, Problem 1RQ

Review Question 23.1 A mirror is hanging on a vertical wall. Will you see more or less of your body if you step closer to the mirror?

To determine

Whether a person’s sees his image bigger or smaller, if the person steps closer to the mirror hanging on a vertical wall.

Answer to Problem 1RQ

Solution:

The size of the image will remain the same, even if the person steps closer to the mirror. So, the person will see an image of the same size as he was seeing earlier.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

A plane mirror is a flat reflective surface which forms a virtual image of the object. The virtual image is formed at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of it. The image formed by a plane mirror obeys the law of reflection.

The law of reflection states that when light undergoes reflection, the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. The reflected light appears to diverge from the image behind the mirror.

Explanation:

A plane mirror forms a virtual image of the object at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of it.

The size of the image formed does not depend on the distance between the object and the mirror.

As the distance of the object from the mirror is increased or decreased, the distance of the image from the mirror also increases or decreases accordingly, but the size of the image remains the same.

Figure shows the formation of an image by a plane mirror.

Conclusion:

In plane mirrors, the size of the images is the same as the size of the objects as size doesn’t depend on the position of the object from the image.