BY Team Aakash Byju's

Rules of Reflection for Concave and Convex Mirrors

Before learning the reflection rules for concave/convex mirrors, let us see some terms and their notations that need to be revised.

Pole(P), center of curvature(C), radius of curvature(R), principal axis, principal focus(F), and focal length(f) are some terms to remember.

Now let us study the different cases of reflection rules in concave mirrors:

Case 1

When an incident ray is parallel to the principal axis, it reflects and passes through the principal focus of the mirror.

If the incident ray falls through the principal focus, after reflection, it emerges as a line parallel to the principal axis.

Case 2

Case 3

If the incident ray passes through the center of curvature, then the reflected ray takes the same path as the incident ray.

If the incident ray falls obliquely on the pole, it reflects obliquely. The incident ray and reflected ray make the equal angles at P.

Case 4

Let us now study what happens to the reflections in a convex mirror:

Case 1

The incident ray parallel to the principal axis, after reflection, appears to be diverging from the principal focus.

Case 2

If the ray falls toward the principal focus, after reflection it emerges as a line parallel to the principal axis.

Case 3

If the ray is directed towards the center of curvature, then it reflects along the same path.

Case 4

 When the ray falls obliquely on the principal axis towards the pole, the reflection also happens obliquely.

The above cases with  diagrams are the revising points on ‘rules of reflection for concave and convex mirrors’ to prepare for an exam.

Did this help you? Then Share it with your friends.