Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 2: Problem 6

Devise an arrangement of mirrors allowing you to see the back of your head. What is the minimum number of mirrors needed for this task?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The minimum number of mirrors needed to see the back of your head is 2 mirrors, placed at a 90° angle to each other. Stand facing where the two mirrors meet at their corners, equidistant from both mirrors, to see the back of your head in the reflection.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the reflection of light

When light bounces off a mirror, it follows the law of reflection, which states that the angle of incidence (the angle between the incoming light ray and the surface normal, an imaginary line perpendicular to the mirror's surface) is equal to the angle of reflection (the angle between the reflected light ray and the surface normal).
02

Consider the simplest arrangement

The most basic arrangement we can consider is having just one mirror. A person facing a mirror would only be able to see their frontal image. However, if we put another mirror such that it forms an angle with the first one, we might be able to achieve our goal.
03

Arranging two mirrors at a 90° angle

To see the back of your head, place two mirrors at a right angle (or 90° angle) to each other. This is so that one mirror can reflect the image of your back, side, or top of your head into the second mirror, which in turn reflects that image to your forward-facing eyes.
04

Position yourself correctly

Stand facing where the two mirrors meet at their corners so that your head is equidistant from both mirrors. You should be able to see the back of your head in the reflection.
05

Determine the minimum number of mirrors

From the arrangement described above, we can conclude that the minimum number of mirrors needed to see the back of your head is two. So the answer to this problem is 2 mirrors.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

An amoeba is \(0.305 \mathrm{cm}\) away from the \(0.300 \mathrm{cm}-\) focal length objective lens of a microscope. (a) Where is the image formed by the objective lens? (b) What is this image's magnification? (c) An eyepiece with a \(2.00-\mathrm{cm}\) focal length is placed \(20.0 \mathrm{cm}\) from the objective. Where is the final image? (d) What angular magnification is produced by the eyepiece? (e) What is the overall magnification? (See Figure \(2.39 .)\)

An object is located in air \(5 \mathrm{cm}\) from the vertex of a concave surface made of glass with a radius of curvature 20 cm. Where does the image form by refraction and what is its magnification? Use \(n_{\text {air }}=1\) and \(n_{\text {glass }}=1.5\)

It has become common to replace the cataract-clouded lens of the eye with an internal lens. This intraocular lens can be chosen so that the person has perfect distant vision. Will the person be able to read without glasses? If the person was nearsighted, is the power of the intraocular lens greater or less than the removed lens?

Unless otherwise stated, the lens-to-retina distance is 2.00 Calculate the power of the eye when viewing an object \(3.00 \mathrm{m}\) away.

A nearsighted man cannot see objects clearly beyond \(20 \mathrm{cm}\) from his eyes. How close must he stand to a mirror in order to see what he is doing when he shaves?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Atoms and Radioactivity

Read Explanation

Medical Physics

Read Explanation

Astrophysics

Read Explanation

Physics of Motion

Read Explanation

Oscillations

Read Explanation

Fundamentals of Physics

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free