Published on Texas Gateway (https://texasgateway.org)
Section Summary
  • The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence.
  • Plane mirrors and convex mirrors reflect virtual, erect images. Concave mirrors reflect light to form real, inverted images or virtual, erect images, depending on the location of the object.
  • Image distance, height, and other characteristics can be calculated using the lens/mirror equation and the magnification equation.
  • The index of refraction for a material is given by the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the speed of light in that material.
  • Snell’s law states the relationship between indices of refraction, the incident angle, and the angle of refraction.
  • The critical angle, θ c θ c , determines whether total internal refraction can take place, and can be calculated according to θ c = si n −1 ( n 2 n 1 ).
  • The characteristics of images formed by concave and convex lenses can be predicted using ray tracing. Characteristics include real versus virtual, inverted versus upright, and size.
  • The human eye and corrective lenses can be explained using geometric optics.
  • Characteristics of images formed by lenses can be calculated using the mirror/lens equation.