Ray Diagram

Ray Diagram
Ray Diagram
• What is a ray diagram?
• Important things to remember when making a Ray Diagram
• Important Terms in the study or Ray Diagram
• How to make a ray diagram:
• Rules for drawing reference rays
• Plane and Curved Mirrors (Concave and Convex Mirrors)
• Lenses
• Diverging Lenses
• Converging Lenses
Ray Diagram
-a diagram that traces the path that light takes in order for
a person to view a point on the image of an object.
-a representation of the possible paths light can take to
get from one place to another. This is often from a source
or object to an observer or screen.
Important things to remember when
making a Ray Diagram
• Light travels in straight lines within a uniform medium (this means
that light can change direction upon entering a different medium)
• Light has a direction of travel, it is often useful to indicate this with
an arrow on your ray.
• A sharp real image (an image that can be displayed on a screen) is
formed when all rays from one point on an object all “appear”, to
have come from one unique point on the image i.e. a straight line
tracing back along their direction will always pass though this point.
• For situations involving multiple lenses or mirrors, the image formed
from one of these components can act as the object for another one.
Important Terms to Remember
Principal Axis – line that extends infinitely

from the center of the mirrors surface
through the center of curvature.
Center of Curvature- the center of the

spherical shell of which the mirror is a
small part.
Radius of Curvature – the same as the

radius of the spherical shell in which the
mirror is a small part.
Focal point (F)- a place between the

center of curvature and the mirror
Real Image – can be displayed on a

surface
Virtual image – appear behind a mirror

Mirror Equation

Magnification

Ray diagram are useful for checking values
calculated from the mirror and
magnification equations
Plane Mirror
A mirror with a flat reflective

surface. For light rays striking a
mirror, the angle of reflection equal
the angle of incidence.
Plane Mirror
Spherical Mirrors
When drawing ray diagrams for

spherical mirrors, follow the basic
procedure for a flat mirror, but also
measure all distances along the
principal axis and mark the center of
curvature, C, and the focal point, F.
Spherical Mirrors
Three reference rays are used to find

the image point. The intersection of
any two rays locate the image. The
third ray should intersect at the same
point and can be used to check the
diagram.
Rules for drawing reference rays
Line drawn from
Line drawn from the
Ray object to mirror mirror to image
after reflection
parallel to principal through focal
1
axis point, F
through focal parallel to principal
2
point, F axis
through center of back along itself
3
curvature, C through C
Concave Spherical Mirror
A spherical mirror with light reflecting

from its silvered, concave surface.
Concave spherical mirror are used
whenever a magnified image of an
object is needed.
C
When the object’s

distance is greater than
the focal length, p>f
C F Characteristic of
the Image
1. Real
2. Inverted
3. Reduced
When the object’s

distance is equal to the
focal length, p=f
C F
The image is infinitely
far to the left and
therefore is not seen
When the object

lies between the
focal point and the
mirror surface
C F Characteristic of
the Image
1. Virtual
2. Upright
3. Enlarged
Problem 1
A concave spherical mirror has a focal

length of 10.0 cm. Locate the image of
a pencil that is placed upright 30.0 cm
from the mirror. Find the magnification
of the image. Draw a ray diagram to
confirm your answer.
Solution:
•
•
•
Sign Convention for Magnification
Orientation of
image with Type of image
Sign of M
respect to object this applies to
+ Upright Virtual
- Inverted real
Ray Diagram
C F
f = 10.0 cm
do = 30.0 cm
di = 15 cm
Convex Spherical Mirror
A convex spherical mirror is a segment of a sphere that is
silvered so that light is reflected from the sphere’s outer convex
surface. This type of mirror is also called a diverging mirror because
the incoming rays diverge after reflections as though they were
coming from some point behind the mirror.
C
Characteristic of F C
the Image
1. Virtual
2. Upright
3. Reduced
The resulting image in a convex spherical
mirror is always virtual and the image
distance is always negative. Magnification
is always less than 1.
Problem 2
An upright pencil is placed in front of

a convex spherical mirror with a focal
length of 8.00 cm. An erect image 2.50
cm tall is formed 4.44 cm behind the
mirror. Find the position of the object,
the magnification of the image, and the
height of the pencil.
Solution
Given:
f = -8.00 cm q = -4.44 cm h’ = 2.50 cm

•
•
•
Ray Diagram
h = -5.62 cm
h’ = 2.50 cm
F C
f = -8.0 cm
p = 9.98
cm
q = -4.44 cm
Lenses
When drawing ray diagrams for lenses,
there are a few important things to note.
Firstly, lenses can either be drawn as lens
shapes or as lines with arrows on them. The
convention is that a diverging lens has
inwards pointing arrows and a converging
lens has outwards pointing arrows,
mimicking the shapes of the lenses.
Diverging Converging
Conventional
Lens
Drawings
Shorthand
arrows
F F
F F
f f
Principal Axis F’ P F2
Rainbow formation
Rainbow is an arc of colors

appearing opposite the sun as a
result of the refraction of
sunlight in rain.
How does a rainbow form?
•Rainbows are created by sunlight and water
droplets.
•Rainbows are created by refraction and
reflection of sun’s rays in falling rain or mist.
•Sunlight strikes the front of raindrop and is
refracted and separated into it’s colors. Then
the light hit back the raindrop and is reflected,
and is refracted again as it leaves the raindrop.
What makes colors in the rainbow?
• The sunlight consists of all wavelengths of visible
light, which we simply see as white light because
they are combined together.
• When light is refracted, different wavelengths
refract at different angles, therefore the various
colors are separated.
• Rainbows have 7 colors; however, they actually
consist of every color. The color is constantly
changing from red to violet.

Ray Diagram

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Ray Diagram

Principal Axis – line that extends infinitely

Center of Curvature- the center of the

Radius of Curvature – the same as the

Focal point (F)- a place between the

Real Image – can be displayed on a

Virtual image – appear behind a mirror

A mirror with a flat reflective

When drawing ray diagrams for

Three reference rays are used to find

A spherical mirror with light reflecting

When the object’s

When the object’s

When the object

A concave spherical mirror has a focal

An upright pencil is placed in front of

f = -8.00 cm q = -4.44 cm h’ = 2.50 cm

Rainbow is an arc of colors

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