Question

10) Hoid the inner side of stainless steel spoon nearer to your face and then holdi
away from your face. What differences do you see? Hold the backside of the
spoon nearer to your face and then away from your face. What differences do
you see? Explain.​

Answer 1

Take a stainless steel spoon. Bring the outer side of the spoon near your face and look into it. Do you see your image in it. Is this image different from what you see in a plane mirror? Is this image erect? Is the size of the image the same, smaller or larger?

Now look at your image using the inner side of the spoon. This time you may find that your image is erect and larger in size. If you increase the distance of the spoon from your face, you may see your image inverted. You can also compare the image of your pen or pencil instead of your face.

The curved shining surface of a spoon acts as a mirror. The most common example of a curved mirror is a spherical mirror. If the reflecting surface of a spherical mirror is concave, it is called a concave mirror. If the reflecting surface is convex, then it is a convex mirror.

The inner surface of a spoon acts like a concave mirror, while its outer surface acts like a convex mirror. We know that the image of an object formed by a plane mirror cannot be obtained on a screen. Let us investigate if it is also true for the image formed by a concave mirror.