Question

An inverted image can be seen in a convex mirror:
A. Under no circumstances
B. When the object is very far from the mirror
C. When the object is at a distance equal to the radius of curvature of the mirror
D. When the distance of the object from the mirror is equal to the focal length of the mirror

Answer 1

Hint: Convex mirror always produces an upright image. In the case of a real object, the image formed is upright, virtual, and smaller in size. In the case of the virtual object the image is enlarged, real, and upright. You should also draw diagrams for both the cases.

Complete answer:
A convex mirror is shown in the diagram below –

This convex mirror has a silver coating (the coating that gives a glass reflective properties) on the inner side which you can see as a coating on the right side in the diagram above.
A very peculiar and interesting property of a convex mirror is that no matter the position of the object in the front of a convex mirror the image formed will always be upright.

Let’s talk about the image of a real object

As you saw in this case the image is virtual, smaller, but most importantly inverted. This will be the case of image formation for any real object placed at any place in front of the convex mirror.

Now, let’s talk about the image of a virtual object.

As we saw in the diagram, in this case, the image is real, enlarged, but still upright. This will be the case of image formation for any virtual object at any distance from the convex mirror.
So, as we saw in the two cases above, the convex mirror will always produce an upright image.

So, the correct answer is “Option A”.

Note:
As you saw in the first case, the convex mirror produces an upright, small image of a real object, which is why they are used as rear view mirrors in cars. They provide a larger field of view to the drivers, hence giving him more safety. Imagine, if convex mirrors produced an inverted image, the driver would become confused, which could potentially be dangerous.