How Is the Image Size Calculated in a Concave Mirror?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around calculating the size of an image formed by a concave mirror, given specific parameters such as object height and distance from the mirror, as well as the mirror's radius of curvature.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the relationship between object distance, image distance, and image height using the mirror equation and magnification formula. There are questions about the definitions of variables such as p, q, and f, as well as the implications of sign conventions in the context of concave mirrors.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided clarifications on the nature of real and virtual images, and the implications of the signs in the equations. There is an ongoing exploration of how to correctly apply the magnification formula to determine the absolute size of the image.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working under the constraints of a homework problem, which may limit the information available for discussion. There is a focus on understanding the underlying concepts rather than arriving at a definitive solution.

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Homework Statement


An object 23.0 mm high is 31.0 cm away from a concave spherical mirror with a radius of curvature of 54.0 cm. What is the absolute size of the image?

Homework Equations



Maybe these are relevant

Mirror equation in terms of focal length:
[tex]\frac{1}{p}+\frac{1}{q}=\frac{1}{f}[/tex]

Magnification of image:
[tex]M=\frac{h'}{h}=-\frac{q}{p}[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution



I have already calculated the distance of the image from the mirror to be 209 cm. But how do I calculate the size of the image? Is there a special formula or do I need to use some kind of trigonometry? I had no luck using the trying the above equations...

The correct answer must be 155.
 
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Explain the notations you used: What is p and q and f? And what is a concave mirror? What about the signs of p,q and f? How is f related to the curvature of the mirror?
You know both the image distance and the object distance. How are they related to the ratio of the image height to the object height?

ehild
 
Last edited:
ehild said:
Explain the notations you used: What is p and q and f? And what is a concave mirror? What about the signs of p,q and f? How is f related to the curvature of the mirror?
You know both the image distance and the object distance. How are they related to the ratio of the image height to the object height?

ehild

Thank you! I got the right answer using the ratio [tex]\frac{h'}{h}=-\frac{q}{p}[/tex], but I had to exclude the minus '-' sign. Is that because the resulting image is upright (not inverted)?
 
The real image is inverted (h' is negative), the virtual image is upright (h' is positive). The image distance is positive when the image is real, and negative when the image is imaginary. You got q=209, a positive number, so h'/h was negative, h' negative, the image was real. To get the absolute size, you have to take the absolute value of h'.

ehild
 

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