A ray of light passes through the center of curvature of a concave mirror after reflection. Which path will it follow and why?
It will retrace its path because it strikes the mirror at a right angle to the surface.
The centre of curvature of a spherical mirror is the centre of the sphere of which the mirror is a part. Any line drawn from the centre of curvature to the mirror is a radius, and a radius is always perpendicular (normal) to the mirror surface at that point.
A ray travelling through the centre of curvature therefore meets the mirror along the normal, so its angle of incidence is 0°. By the law of reflection the angle of reflection is also 0°, and the ray goes back along the same line through the centre of curvature, retracing its path.
The other descriptions belong to different rays: a ray parallel to the principal axis passes through the principal focus after reflection, and a ray passing through the focus emerges parallel to the principal axis. A concave mirror converges light, so it does not make this ray diverge.
Hence, It will retrace its path because it strikes the mirror at a right angle to the surface.
Similar Questions
An object is placed 10 cm from a diverging lens with a focal length of 15 cm. What is the position of the image formed?
Identify the statement(s) that accurately describe situations involving refraction.
(i) The apparent depth of a swimming pool is less than its actual depth due to refraction.
(ii) We are able to see our image in a plane mirror due to refraction.
(iii) A pencil partially dipped in water appears bent at the water surface due to refraction.
(iv) Refraction makes a white wall appear colored at night.
Which of the following statements about image formation by spherical mirrors is NOT correct?
Which feature best describes the orientation and size of the image produced by a convex mirror for any object position?
If an image formed by a spherical mirror is real and inverted, which of the following correctly describes the sign of the image distance according to the sign convention?
A rainbow is observed after a rain shower when sunlight passes through water droplets in the air. Which process primarily causes the separation of colors seen in a rainbow?
In the context of spherical mirrors, what is the relationship between the principal axis and the normal at the pole?
Which property of convex mirrors makes them suitable for use in shopping malls for security purposes?
A student is asked to design an experiment using a concave mirror to locate its principal focus. She position a parallel beam of light to strike the mirror and observe the reflected rays meeting at a point. How should this point be described in the context of the mirror’s features?
A person with hypermetropia (farsightedness) is prescribed a lens to correct their vision. Which type of lens and action is used in their spectacles?
Important Questions from Optics
Who was the first one to use a glass prism to obtain the spectrum of sunlight?
Twinkling of stars is due to:
In which a convex mirror is used?
A. Rear View mirrors in vehicles
B. Glass windows
C. Makeup Mirror
D. Kaleidoscope
An object is placed 10 cm in front of a lens. The image formed is real, inverted and of same size as the object. What is the focal length and nature of the lens?
The power of a lens is -2.5 D. The type of lens and its focal length are respectively:
