Mirror Placement for 1.60m Body: Answers Revealed

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SUMMARY

To see the entire body of a person who is 1.60 m tall standing 1 m from a mirror, the mirror must be at least 0.8 m tall. The bottom edge of the mirror should be positioned 0.4 m from the floor. If the eyes are assumed to be 10 cm from the top of the head, the mirror height requirement remains the same, but the bottom edge should be adjusted to 0.5 m from the floor. When standing 2 m from the mirror, the height and bottom edge placement remain unchanged due to the principles of reflection and the angle of incidence equaling the angle of reflection.

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Voltman
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Assume that your eyes are located at the top of your 1.60 m tall body.
a) What size plance mirror would you need to see your whole body if you were standing 1 m from it?
b) How far from the floor should the bottom edge of the mirror be placed?
c) How would your answers to (a) and (b) change if you assumed your eyes were 10 cm from the top of your head?
d) How would your answers to (a) and (b) change if you were 2 m from the mirror?


I'm not sure how to start these problems. However, I suspect that you'd have to know that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection since that seems the most relevant thing to what we've done so far. Anyway any explanations, tips or other help will be appreciated!
 
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Hi Voltman! :smile:

Tip: Draw both the object and the image, and treat the mirror like a window. :wink:
 

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