Properties of Plane Mirrors

Question 1

list of types of reflection

Answer 1

• diffuse reflection
• retroreflection
• spectacular reflection (regular)

Question 2

diffuse reflection is when

Answer 2

light falling on a course (matte) surface will be reflected almost equally in all directions
(regardless of the angle the surface is viewed it will not appear glossy or shiny

Question 3

retroreflection causes

Answer 3

the incident light to be reflected more directly back towards the source, and the surface is much brighter than a diffuse surface to an observer positioned near the source

Question 4

what occurs during spectacular reflection?

Answer 4

a ray incident on a smooth (mirror-like) surface will be reflected in a unique, definite direction given by the law of reflection

Question 5

the law of reflection states that

Answer 5

angle of incidence= angle of reflectance

i=r

Question 6

angle of incidence of a ray falling on a surface is the

Answer 6

angle between the ray and the normal at that point

Question 7

angle of reflection is the

Answer 7

angle between the reflected ray and the normal

Question 8

Fresnel’s law of reflection describes the

Answer 8

percentage of incident light that is reflected

Question 9

equation for the deviation of a single plane mirror, when (i=r)

Answer 9

180 degrees - 2i

Question 10

plane mirror imaging characteristics for position of image

Answer 10

the image is as far behind the mirror as the object is in front of it

Question 11

plane mirror imaging characteristics for image size

Answer 11

the image is the same size as the object

Question 12

plane mirror imaging characteristics for the image nature (virtual, real)

Answer 12

the image is virtual when the object is real (most cases)

Question 13

plane mirror imaging characteristics for image appearance

Answer 13

the image is reversed, laterally inverted, and upright

Question 14

for multiple surfaces, and an angle between the mirrors (a), the deviation can be calculated by

Answer 14

2 (180 - a)

Question 15

what are porro prisms?

Answer 15

is a two faced mirror separated by 90 degrees

Question 16

porro prism mirrors are often used in

Answer 16

optical instruments (such as telescopes) to cause an inverted image to sit upright

Question 17

the role of porro prisms in binoculars is to

Answer 17

bring the final image upright