Question

Magnification produced by a rear view mirror fitted in vehicles
A. Is less than one
B. Is more than one
C. Is equal to one
D. Can be more than or less than one depending upon the position of the object in front of it.

Answer 1

Hint:In this question, we need to comment on the magnification produced by the rear view mirror fitted in the vehicles. Convex mirrors are used as the rear view mirrors in the vehicles. Convex mirrors have a very wide range of view as they are curved outwards. Therefore, the convex mirrors let the driver view a much larger area than a normal mirror.

Formula used:
$m = \dfrac{{{h_i}}}{{{h_o}}}$
Where, $m$ is the magnification, ${h_i}$ is the height of the image and ${h_o}$ is the height of the image.

Complete answer:
From the formula $m = \dfrac{{{h_i}}}{{{h_o}}}$ ,
-If the magnification is equal to one, it means that the height of the image is equal to the height of the object which is the condition for a plane mirror. If the magnification is greater than one, it means that the height of the image is greater than the height of the object which is the condition for a concave mirror. That means, only a part of the object is being viewed by the observer.
-Hence, the magnification produced by the rear view mirror of the vehicles should be less than one which means that the height of the image is less than the height of the object which is the condition for a convex mirror and provides the driver with a complete view of the vehicles behind.

Therefore, option (A) is the correct answer.

Note: We always choose a convex mirror as a rear view mirror upon a concave and plane mirrors in vehicles because it gives a wider range of view, which allows the driver to see most of the vehicles behind him.Also remember that if value of magnification is less than one then size of the image formed is less than the size of the object.