spherical mirrors

curved mirrors

concave and convex

center of curvature

center of the glass sphere from which the mirror was cut

pole

center of mirror

principal axis

straight line joining the pole at the center of curvature

focus

point half way between the center of curvature and the pole

focal length

distance from pole to focus

ray of light which goes in parrallel to the axis

reflected through the focus

ray of light going in through the focus

reflected parallel to the principal axis

ray of light through the center of curvature

reflected back along its own path

object outside c

real, inverted, smaller than object, located between c and f

object at c

real, inverted, same size as object, at c

object between c and f

real, inverted, bigger than object, outside c

object at f

at infinity

object inside f

virtual, erect, bigger, behind mirror

u

object distance

v

image distance

m

magnification

f

focal length

convex mirrors imagine

always virtual and smaller