Light wave Recall: Light must reflect off of an object before it can be used to see the object. A flat mirror is called a plane mirror. A plane mirror generates a virtual image (the image of the object that is being reflected) that is upright and appears to be the same distance away from the surface as the object is.

Concave Mirrors: The reflecting surface of the mirror is curved inward (mnemonic: the mirror is caved in) The focal point is the point through which all parallel incoming light rays are reflected. The distance along the optical axis to the focal point is called the focal length. Concave mirrors form real images because light rays pass through the image position. A real image can be projected onto a piece of paper.

The image that is formed by a concave mirror depends upon where the object is positioned. If the object is positioned at a distance greater than the focal length, the the object will be: Smaller and inverted

The image that is formed by a concave mirror depends upon where the object is positioned. If the object is positioned inside of the focal length, the image will be: Virtual Upright Larger

Convex Mirrors: The reflecting surface of the mirror is curved outward. Images formed by convex mirrors are: Upright Smaller than actual object Example: Fish-eye mirrors for surveillance.

Lenses:A lens is any material that causes light to refract as it passes through it. The size and orientation of the image depends upon: The shape of the lens (concave vs. convex) The position of the object in comparison to the focal point A convex lens, like a convex mirror, has outwardly curved surfaces

When the image is more than two focal lengths away from the lens, the image is: Real Inverted smaller

If the image is between one and two focal lengths away from the lens, the image is: Real Inverted LARGER

When the object is less than one focal length away from the lens, the image is: Virtual Upright LARGER

A concave lens always produces images that are: Virtual Upright smaller