A classmate claims that by using a \(40.0-\mathrm{cm}\) focal length mirror, he can project onto a screen a \(10.0-\mathrm{cm}\) tall bird locat ed 100 . \(\mathrm{m}\) away. He claims that the image will be no less than \(1.00 \mathrm{~cm}\) tall and inverted. Will he make good on his claim?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: No, the student's claim is partially correct. Though the projected image is indeed inverted, it is smaller than 1 cm tall (approximately 0.421 cm).

Step by step solution

01

Identify the given information

We are given: 1. Focal length of the mirror (f) = 40 cm 2. Object distance from the mirror (d_o) = 100 m (convert it to cm) 3. Object height (h_o) = 10 cm We need to find the height of the image (h_i) and verify if it is inverted.
02

Convert the distance to a matching unit

Convert the object distance from meters to centimeters: d_o = 100 m * 100 cm/m = 10,000 cm
03

Use the mirror equation to find the image distance (d_i)

The mirror equation is: 1/f = 1/d_o + 1/d_i Rearrange to solve for d_i: 1/d_i = 1/f - 1/d_o Substitute the values: 1/d_i = 1/(40 cm) - 1/(10,000 cm) Now, calculate the value of d_i: d_i = 1/((1/40 - 1/10000)) ≈ 42.11 cm
04

Use the magnification equation to find the image height (h_i)

The magnification equation is: M = h_i / h_o = -d_i / d_o We want to find h_i, so rearrange the equation: h_i = h_o * (-d_i / d_o) Substitute the values: h_i = (10 cm) * (-42.11 cm / 10,000 cm) Calculate the value of h_i: h_i ≈ -0.421 cm
05

Determine if the claim is correct

From our calculations, we find that the height of the image (h_i) is approximately -0.421 cm, which means the image is indeed inverted (negative sign). However, the image is smaller than the claimed 1 cm (0.421 cm < 1 cm). Therefore, the claim is partially correct - the image is inverted, but it is smaller than 1 cm.

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