Question

What kind of mirror is being used in this photo?

a convex mirror at a distance greater than a focal length
a concave mirror at a distance greater than a focal length
a convex mirror at a distance less than a focal length
a concave mirror at a distance less than a focal length

Answer 1

okay, so based on the last question i think it would then be a convex, since it does the opposite of a concave which makes things smaller

Answer 2

wait a minute...

Answer 3

\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{Originally Posted by}}\) @jennylove
okay, so based on the last question i think it would then be a convex, since it does the opposite of a concave which makes things smaller
\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{End of Quote}}\)
Keep in mind that those were lens and these are mirrors; properties differ.
e.g. in a concave mirror, images converge. Yet in a concave lens, rays diverge.

Answer 4

ohhh okay, i didnt know there was a differece

Answer 5

Typically vanity mirrors are concave mirrors so I'm not too optimistic about choosing an answer that involves convex mirrors.

Answer 6

so then it would have to be , a concave mirror at a distance less than a focal length , because we want to produce a real image correct?

Answer 7

i mean greater than a focal length*

Answer 8

wait i think i got it all confused, im sorry im not really great with this. it would be a concave mirror at a distance greater than a focal length , because we would produce a virtual image ?

Answer 9

I might need to get back to you on this one. I'm leaning much towards D however, because the image seems to be upright, virtual, and enlarged. But I'm not fully sure. @DuarteME

Answer 10

Okay, thats fine , i can see what @DuarteME says . Thank you for your help.

Answer 11

\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{Originally Posted by}}\) @justjm
I might need to get back to you on this one. I'm leaning much towards D however, because the image seems to be upright, virtual, and enlarged. But I'm not fully sure. @DuarteME
\(\color{#0cbb34}{\text{End of Quote}}\)
This is just it! Vanity mirrors do use concave mirrors in order to enlarge the images. Moreover, we know that the image is virtual (i.e., it is "beyond" the mirror), so the distance must be smaller than the focal length.

It's not really that easy to explain these in words. It's much better to use ray tracing. I recommend that you check this website and try to understand the images there: http://www.leydenscience.org/physics/electmag/raymir.html