Practice Drawing Ray Diagram for Plane Mirror

Ray Diagrams

The line of sight principle suggests that in club to view an image of an object in a mirror, a person must sight along a line at the epitome of the object. When sighting along such a line, lite from the object reflects off the mirror according to the constabulary of reflection and travels to the person's eye. This procedure was discussed and explained earlier in this lesson. I useful tool that is frequently used to depict this idea is known equally a ray diagram. A ray diagram is a diagram that traces the path that low-cal takes in order for a person to view a point on the paradigm of an object. On the diagram, rays (lines with arrows) are drawn for the incident ray and the reflected ray. Complex objects such as people are ofttimes represented past stick figures or arrows. In such cases information technology is customary to draw rays for the extreme positions of such objects.

Drawing Ray Diagrams - a Footstep-by-Step Approach

This section of Lesson 2 details and illustrates the procedure for drawing ray diagrams. Let'southward begin with the chore of drawing a ray diagram to show how Suzie will be able to encounter the image of the dark-green object arrow in the diagram beneath. For simplicity sake, nosotros will suppose that Suzie is viewing the image with her left eye airtight. Thus, we will focus on how low-cal travels from the two extremities of the object arrow (the left and right side) to the mirror and finally to Suzie'due south right eye as she sights at the epitome. The iv steps of the procedure for drawing a ray diagram are listed, described and illustrated below.

1. Describe the epitome of the object.

Utilize the principle that the object distance is equal to the image distance to determine the exact location of the object. Pick one farthermost on the object and carefully measure the distance from this farthermost point to the mirror. Marking off the same distance on the opposite side of the mirror and mark the epitome of this farthermost betoken. Repeat this process for all extremes on the object until you have determined the consummate location and shape of the image. Note that all distance measurements should be fabricated by measuring along a segment that is perpendicular to the mirror.

two. Pick i extreme on the image of the object and describe the reflected ray that volition travel to the center equally it sights at this signal.

Use the line of sight principle: the eye must sight forth a line at the image of the object in order to encounter the image of the object. It is customary to describe a bold line for the reflected ray (from the mirror to the eye) and a dashed line as an extension of this reflected ray; the dashed line extends behind the mirror to the location of the prototype point. The reflected ray should have an arrowhead upon it to indicate the management that the low-cal is traveling. The arrowhead should be pointing towards the eye since the light is traveling from the mirror to the eye, thus enabling the eye to see the image.

3. Draw the incident ray for low-cal traveling from the respective extreme on the object to the mirror.

The incident ray reflects at the mirror's surface according to the police of reflection. But rather than measuring angles, yous can merely depict the incident ray from the extreme of the object to the point of incidence on the mirror's surface. Since you drew the reflected ray in step 2, the indicate of incidence has already been adamant; the signal of incidence is merely the point where the line of sight intersects the mirror's surface. Thus depict the incident ray from the extreme point to the signal of incidence. Again, be certain to describe an arrowhead upon the ray to indicate its management of travel. The arrowhead should be pointing towards the mirror since low-cal travels from the object to the mirror.

iv. Repeat steps ii and 3 for all other extremities on the object.

After completing steps 2 and three, you take only shown how light travels from a unmarried extreme on the object to the mirror and finally to the middle. You lot will also accept to show how light travels from the other extremes on the object to the centre. This is just a matter of repeating steps 2 and 3 for each private extreme. Once repeated for each extreme, your ray diagram is complete.

Your Turn to Practice

The best style to acquire to depict ray diagrams involves trying it yourself. It's piece of cake. Just duplicate the two setups below onto a blank canvass of paper, take hold of a ruler/straightedge, and begin. If necessary, refer to the four-step process listed above. When finished, compare your diagram with the completed diagrams at the bottom of this page.

Uses of Ray Diagrams

Ray diagrams tin be especially useful for determining and explaining why only a portion of the image of an object can be seen from a given location. The ray diagram at the correct shows the lines of sight used past the heart in order to see a portion of the prototype in the mirror. Since the mirror is not long enough, the eye can but view the topmost portion of the image. The lowest point on the image that the eye can see is that point in line with the line of sight that intersects the very bottom of the mirror. Equally the middle tries to view fifty-fifty lower points on the prototype, in that location is not sufficient mirror present to reverberate light from the lower points on the object to the eye. The portion of the object that cannot be seen in the mirror is shaded green in the diagram beneath.

Similarly, ray diagrams are useful tools for determining and explaining what objects might be viewed when sighting into a mirror from a given location. For example, suppose that half dozen students - Al, Bo, Cy, Di, Ed, and Fred sit in front of a plane mirror and attempt to run across each other in the mirror. And suppose the exercise involves answering the post-obit questions: Whom can Al see? Whom can Bo see? Whom can Cy see? Whom tin Di come across? Whom can Ed see? And whom tin Fred run across?

The task begins by locating the images of the given students. So, Al is isolated from the rest of the students and lines of sight are drawn to see who Al can come across. The leftward-most pupil whom Al can see is the student whose image is to the right of the line of sight that intersects the left edge of the mirror. This would be Ed. The rightward-most student who Al tin come across is the student whose image is to the left of the line of sight that intersects the right edge of the mirror. This would be Fred. Al could meet whatever educatee positioned between Ed and Fred by looking at whatsoever other positions along the mirror. Even so in this case, there are no other students betwixt Ed and Fred; thus, Ed and Fred are the just students whom Al can see? The diagram below illustrates this using lines of sight for Al.

Of class the same process can be repeated for the other students past observing their lines of sight. Perhaps you volition want to endeavor to determine whom Bo, Cy, Di, Ed, and Fred can come across? Then check your answers by clicking the push button below.

Bank check Your Understanding

1. Six students are arranged in front of a mirror. Their positions are shown below. The paradigm of each pupil is also drawn on the diagram. Make the advisable line of sight constructions to determine that students each individual student can come across.

 

Here are completed diagrams for the two examples given above in the Your Plow to Practice department.

Dorsum to Diagram.

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Source: https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln/Lesson-2/Ray-Diagrams-for-Plane-Mirrors

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