Experiment 9: Concave and Convex Mirrors

In this experiment we gained an understanding of how concave and convex mirrors create an image. We began by looking into these two types of mirrors and analyzed the differences between them. After that we used simple geometry to draw diagrams that would help illustrate how each of the mirrors formed their images. The first diagram shows the image from a convex mirror.

The second diagram shows how we found the image in a concave mirror.

To create each of these diagram we began by drawing a line from the object to the center. Then we drew a line from the object parallel to the optic axis and then when the line hit the mirror we drew the line though the focus. Next we drew a line to the focus but when the line hit the mirror we then drew it parallel to the optic axis. Where all these lines intersected was our image. From these diagrams we could easily see where our image was relative to our object and out mirror and whether the image was erect or inverted. We were also able to tell that the image would have some magnification.