PhysicsLAB Lab
Man and the Mirror

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  1. Draw a vertical line from the top of the man's hat to his feet that passes through the front of the man's eye. Measure, in cm, the man's height.
  2. Using your vertical line in Step (1), measure the distance, in cm, that the man is from the mirror and then accurately locate his image.
  3. Using a sharp pencil, draw a dotted normal to connect his "eyes."
  4. Next, draw the rays that will enable the man to see the image of his hat (color #1) and the image of his feet (color #2).
  5. Measure, in cm, the minimum length of mirror required in each diagram to capture these required rays.
Data Table I
 
 
 
measurement (cm)
man's height
man's distance from mirror
minimum length of mirror
ratio of mirror length to man's height
 
Data Table II
 
 
 
measurement (cm)
man's height
man's distance from mirror
minimum length of mirror
ratio of mirror length to man's height
 
 
Conclusions:
 
(1) Based on these two diagrams, does the minimum length of mirror required depend on the man's distance from the mirror?  Support your answer numerically.
 

(2) Based on these two diagrams, how does the minimum mirror length compare to the man's height?  Support your answer numerically.
 




 
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