Question

1. Identify two situations where CONVEX mirrors are used and explain why.

2. Why is the curved bathroom mirror considered a magnifying mirror. Explain the optics.

3. Why are telescopes made with parabolic mirrors instead of spherical mirrors?

4. Why is a multi-trillion dollar industry dependent on a small critical angle of plastic?( Hint fiber optics).

Answer 1

Q 1 Convex mirror are used in car as side mirror and it is also used in parking areas or corner areas where chances of accident is high.

Explanation: Main purpose mirroror convex mirror is to cover the larger view for looking. Hence they are used as side mirror in cars so that person sitting in car can see clear and large back view.

For the similar reason it is used in corner areas so that large view of other side can be seen and accident chances are reduced.

Q 2 Curved bathroom mirror is concave mirror. Concave mirror are used to maginify the picture like in bathroom and bedroom they are used so as to give maginified picture of your face so as to give clear shave and makeup. When the object is placed between mirror and focus then image formed of object is upright and large in size.

Q 3 In parabolic mirror, there is property that light coming from distant place always passes through the focus while in spherical mirror light is distracted from focus and not give the clear image. Hence parabolic mirror are used in telescope.

Q 4 Because communication by optical fibre is due to light travelling through them and loss of light is very less. At critical angle total internal reflection of light take place and it passes through optical fibre.