Mission RM8: Convex Mirror Ray Tracing

Mission RM8 pertains to the manner in which incident rays of light reflect off convex mirrors to produce images of objects. You should have a good understanding of the basic rules of reflection for such mirrors and for how ray diagrams are constructed. The mission consists of 26 questions organized into 7 Question Groups. You must answer one question from each Question Group to complete the mission. The learning outcomes for this mission are ...
 

Learning Outcomes

• The student should be able to identify the basic rules of reflection for convex mirrors and to describe the usefulness of such rules in determining the image location.
• The student should be able to recognize and distinguish between correct and incorrect ray diagrams.

 

Launch Mission RM8

 

Getting Help

If you are not familiar with this topic, then you should first learn about the topic using our written Tutorial or our Video Tutorial:
 

The Physics Classroom, Reflection and Mirrors Unit, Lesson 4, Part a

The Physics Classroom, Reflection and Mirrors Unit, Lesson 4, Part b
 

• What is meant by the terms principal axis, center of curvature, and focal point?
• How can one tell what light emerging from the same point on an object will reflect off a convex mirror?
• What is the definition of an image?
• What are the two rules for the reflection of light off convex mirror surfaces?
• What is the proper way of constructing ray diagrams for convex mirror images?
• What is the relative size, orientation, and general location of an image for a given object location?

 

Video Tutorials:

Convex Mirrors: Light Reflection and Image Formation

 

Convex Mirrors: Ray Diagrams and Image Characteristics

 

 

Question-Specific Help

Each Question Group has its own Help page with information specific to the question. You can access the Help page from within the mission by tapping on the Help Me! icon (textbook). For your convenience, links to those pages are provided below: