1. By: Jordan Hickox, Aaron Woltz
Ray Diagrams
By: Jordan Hickox, Aaron Woltz

2. What is a Ray Diagram?
A ray diagram is of course a diagram that traces the path that the light takes for a person to view the point on the image of an object.
But in order for this to happen it is all based on two factors: The line of sight principle which allows you to view an image of an object in a mirror, you have to sight a line to the image of that object though.
The second factor is the law of reflection, which is the ray of light reflecting off a mirror in a somewhat unpredictable manner.

3. Uses of Ray Diagrams
Ray Diagrams are useful for explaining why only a portion of the image of an object can be seen from a location.
The Ray Diagram on the right shows the lines of sight of the eye to see a portion of an image in the mirror.
Though the mirror may not be long enough, the eye can only see the topmost portion of the image. While the lowest point of the image that the eye can see in a point in a line with the line of sight that intersects with the bottom of the mirror.
Also, Ray Diagrams are useful tools for determining what objects might be viewed when looking into a mirror from an location.

4. Concave Mirrors
Concave and Convex mirrors are also spherical mirrors, meaning that they are curved mirrors with a spherical shape, that is thought of as a portion of a sphere that is sliced away and silvered on one of the sides to create a reflecting surface.
In this case, concave mirrors are silvered on the inside of a sphere and convex mirrors are silvered on the outside of a sphere.
A concave mirror has a line passing through the center of the sphere and attaching to the mirror in the center, which is known as the principal axis.
The point in which the mirror was sliced in the center of the sphere is known as the center of curvature (C).
When the principal axis meets the mirror it is known as the vertex (A).
The focal point (F) is between the vertex and the center of curvature.
The radius of curvature (R) is the distance from the vertex and the center of curvature or known as the radius of the sphere from which the mirror was cut.
The distance from the mirror and the focal point is known as the focal length (f), which would be one-half of the radius curvature.
Concave mirrors can show both real and virtual images.

5. Convex Mirrors
Convex mirrors are said to be silvered on the outside of the sphere so that it can reflect light.
A convex mirror also has a center of curvature (C) , a principal axis, and a focal point (F).
A convex mirror is also referred to as a diverging mirror because the incident light originating from the same point and will also reflect off the mirror surface and diverge.
The bottom diagram to the right shows 4 rays incident rays originating from a point and incident on the convex mirror. After reflection, the light rays will diverge: meaning they will never intersect subsequently on the object side of the mirror. Because of this, convex mirrors produce virtual images that are located behind the mirror.

6. What is a Plane Mirror?
A plane mirror is a mirror with a flat, reflective surface. For light rays contacting a plane mirror, the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. The angle of incidence is the angle between the incident ray and the surface normal which is an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface.

7. Plane Mirror Full Body Sight
To view an image of yourself in a plane mirror, you will need an amount of mirror equal to one-half of your height. A 6 foot tall man needs 3 feet of mirror (positioned properly) in order to view his entire image. As for a 5 foot woman, she would need 2.5 feet of mirror (positioned properly) to see her entire self.

8. Question #1 - What is a ray diagram?
T or F - A diagram that traces the path that the light takes for a person to view the point on the image of an object.

9. Question #2 - What are two factors that are needed for a ray diagram?
Sound and smell
Newton’s First law and Newton’s Second law
The line of sight principal and the law of reflection
Cookies and milk

10. Question #3 - Why are ray diagrams useful?
They help make you see clearly
Explaining why only a portion of the image of an object can be seen from a location
Explaining how we can hear objects from far away
Nobody knows

11. Question #4
Name the two types of spherical mirrors.

12. Question #5 - What is the difference between convex and concave mirrors?
Concave mirrors are silvered on the inside of a sphere, and convex mirrors are silvered on the outside of a sphere.
Concave mirrors are silvered on the outside of a sphere, and convex mirrors are silvered on the outside of a sphere.
Concave mirrors are squares, and convex mirrors are circles.
Mirrors are mirrors.

13. Questions 6. Is a plane mirror curved?
7. What is the angle of reflection equals to?
8. What is the angle of incidence?
9. How much mirror does a person need to see their entire body?
10. How much mirror would a 5’2” woman need to see her entire self?

14. APA Citing
"Ray Diagrams." The Physics Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar From
"The Anatomy of a Curved Mirror." The Physics Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar From
"Reflection and Image Formation for Convex Mirrors." The Physics Classroom. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar From Formation-for-Convex-Mirrors

15. APA Citing
Image Characteristics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from
What Portion of a Mirror is Required? (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from Mirror-is-Required-to-View-an-Im
Plane mirror. (2017, January 29). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from