Question

Which of the following are the properties of plane mirror images?
A) The image is same size as the object
B) The image is virtual
C) The image is laterally inverted
D) Image distance is equal to object distance

Answer 1

Hint: Plane mirrors are flat mirrors in which the incident angle and the reflected angle are the same. When an image is formed in a plane mirror, it will be seen from behind the mirror and will be the same as the object.

Complete step by step answer:
We know, a plane mirror is a mirror whose reflecting surface is flat. For light rays striking a plane mirror, the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.
The incidence angle is the angle between the incident ray and the normal of the surface (an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface). Therefore, the angle of reflection is the angle between the reflected ray and the normal and a collimated beam of light will not be spread out after reflection from a plane mirror, except for the diffraction effects.
The main characteristics of an image formed in a plane mirror are:
1) Images formed by plane mirrors are virtual.
2) The image formed will be a laterally inverted image.
3) When an image is formed in a plane mirror, the distance of the image from the mirror will be the same as the object's distance.
4) The size of the image will be equal to the size of the object
5) Orientation will always be in an upright manner.

So all the options given in the question are correct.

Note: The reflected rays appear to the viewer to come directly from the image behind the mirror. In reality, these rays are coming from the points on the mirror where the rays are reflected. The image behind the mirror is a virtual image because it can’t be projected onto a screen—the rays only appear to originate from a common point behind the mirror. The phenomenon where your left side appears as the right side and vice versa in a mirror is referred to as Lateral Inversion of the image.