How Tall is the Tree in the Plane Mirror Problem?

AI Thread Summary
In the plane mirror problem, a woman stands 1.0 m from a 0.5 m tall mirror, while a tree is 9.0 m away from the mirror. The challenge is to determine the height of the tree (H) based on the condition that the tree fills the mirror's reflection. The magnification equation is applied, but confusion arises regarding the distances for the woman and the tree in relation to the mirror. Ultimately, the correct height of the tree is determined to be 5 m, highlighting the importance of understanding the distances and the role of both objects in the scenario. A geometric diagram is recommended for clarity in visualizing the relationships involved.
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Homework Statement



A woman stands between a vertical mirror, 0.5 meter tall, and a distant tree whose height is H. she is 1.0 m from the mirror and the tree is 9.0 m from the mirror. If she sees the tree just fill the mirror, what is H?

Homework Equations



m = (hi/ho)/(-di/do)

hi = image height = 0.5
ho = object height = H
di = image height
do = object height

The Attempt at a Solution



I'm trying to solve the problem using the magnification equation. The image height has to be the height of the mirror and the object height is the unknown.

However, I'm having a hard time figuring out what values to use for di and do. In all the problems I've done so far, "do" was the distance from the object to the mirror and "di" was the distance from the image to the mirror (equal to "do" but negative for a virtual image), but in this problem, I don't know how to incorporate the person's distance from the mirror.

The correct answer is 5 m.
 
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It looks like this is a plane mirror. If it is a curved mirror, you can't do the problem without the focal length or curvature. The magnification is +1, if you must have it. Draw yourself a neat geometric diagram and you will see what is going on.
 
I did draw a diagram--I just don't know what "do" or "di" would be in this case, since I can't figure out how to incorporate the person's distance from the mirror. I'm guessing that the person must factor into the "do" or "di" measurement somehow.

And I don't see how the magnification would help since 1 = 0.5/H would be H=0.5 and that is incorrect.
 
There are two "objects" in this case, a woman and a tree, therefore there are two values for do, namely do1 = 1 m and do2 = 9 m. Draw a plane mirror of some height that you label h0 (0.5 m), then draw a woman in front of the mirror and a tree also in front of the mirror but at about nine times the woman's distance from the mirror. Label the tree's height H.

Question 1: What are di1 and di2? Draw the images in your figure.
Question 2: What condition must be met so that the woman sees the tree just fill the mirror? What does your diagram say?
 
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