A concave mirror produces an image of an object such that the distance between the object and image is . If the magnification of the image is , then the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the mirror is:
- A
- B
- C
- D
A concave mirror produces an image of an object such that the distance between the object and image is . If the magnification of the image is , then the magnitude of the radius of curvature of the mirror is:
Correct answer:C
Standard Method
Given: Magnification of the image is . The distance between the object and image is .
Find: The magnitude of the radius of curvature of the concave mirror.
For mirrors, the magnification relation is
Substituting ,
so
Using the given distance between object and image,
Hence,
Now apply the mirror formula,
Substituting the values,
Therefore,
For a spherical mirror,
Thus,
Therefore, the magnitude of the radius of curvature is and the correct option is C.
Using magnification and mirror formula
Given: A concave mirror forms an image with magnification , and the separation between object and image is .
Find: The magnitude of the radius of curvature .
The key relations are:
and
Also,
From magnification,
which gives
Now use the object-image separation:
Then,
Substitute into the mirror formula:
Finally,
Therefore, the radius of curvature is .
Using the magnification formula without the negative sign. For mirrors, , not . Ignoring the sign can lead to an incorrect relation between and . Use the mirror sign convention carefully.
Taking the distance between object and image as instead of . Since the question gives the separation between their positions, use the difference in magnitudes here, as done in the extracted solution.
Stopping after finding the focal length. The question asks for the radius of curvature, so after obtaining , use to get the required answer.
Get unlimited AI-adaptive practice, mastery tracking, and an AI tutor that explains every step — free to start.