3.1 Curved mirrors

• Types of curved mirrors: concave, convex and parabolic surfaces.
• Terms used in curved mirrors: aperture, pole, centre of curvature, principal axis, radius of curvature, principal focus, focal length and focal plane.
• Images formed by concave and convex mirrors: locating images and describing their characteristics.
• Applications of curved mirrors in day-to-day life.

• describe types of curved mirrors
• draw ray diagrams to locate images formed by concave and convex mirrors
• describe the characteristics of images formed by concave and convex mirrors
• explain the uses of concave and convex mirrors in day-to-day life
• appreciate the applications of curved mirrors in day-to-day life

“How are curved mirrors used in day-to-day life?”

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1. Types of curved mirror
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   Concave curves in and converges; convex bulges out and diverges.
2. Pole, centre of curvature and aperture
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   The words that describe the mirror itself.
3. Principal focus, focal length and focal plane
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   The point a parallel beam crosses, and how far it is from the mirror.
4. The relationship r = 2f
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   One relationship, and a way of measuring f in five minutes.
5. The rules for drawing rays
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   Three rules; any two of them locate the image.
6. Object at infinity
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   Parallel rays arrive and the image forms at F, reduced to a point.
7. Object beyond C
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   Real, inverted and diminished, lying between C and F.
8. Object at C
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   The one position where the image is exactly the size of the object.
9. Object between C and F
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   Real, inverted and magnified: the projector arrangement.
10. Object at F
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    No image at all, and that is exactly what a headlamp needs.
11. Object between F and P
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    Virtual, erect and magnified: the only upright image a concave mirror gives.
12. The concave mirror summary
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    All six positions in one table, and the pattern running through them.
13. Images in a convex mirror
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    Always virtual, always erect, always diminished, wherever the object is.
14. Field of view
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    Why a convex mirror shows far more than a flat one of the same size.
15. Concave and convex compared
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    Six features, side by side, and a way to tell them apart with a spoon.
16. Uses of concave mirrors
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    Three jobs, and each one is a different object position.
17. Uses of convex mirrors
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    Wherever you need to see a lot at once and do not mind it looking small.
18. Curved mirrors: the whole sub-strand
    40 min · 2 practice tasks · quiz
    Shape, terms, rays and uses, and how each one leads to the next.