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Multiple choice questions · Q2

Q.A rod of length 10 cm lies along the principal axis of a concave mirror of focal length 10 cm in such a way that its end closer to the pole is 20 cm away from the mirror. The length of the image is, (AIPMT Main 2012)

(a) 2.5 cm
(b) 5 cm
(c) 10 cm
(d) 15 cm
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Step 1. The rod lies along the axis from u1=−20u_1=-20 cm (near end) to u2=−20−10=−30u_2=-20-10=-30 cm (far end), in front of a concave mirror of focal length f=−10f=-10 cm.

Step 2. For the near end: 1v1=1f−1u1=1−10−1−20=−110+120=−120\dfrac{1}{v_1}=\dfrac{1}{f}-\dfrac{1}{u_1}=\dfrac{1}{-10}-\dfrac{1}{-20}=-\dfrac{1}{10}+\dfrac{1}{20}=-\dfrac{1}{20}, so v1=−20v_1=-20 cm.

Step 3. For the far end: 1v2=1−10−1−30=−110+130=−230=−115\dfrac{1}{v_2}=\dfrac{1}{-10}-\dfrac{1}{-30}=-\dfrac{1}{10}+\dfrac{1}{30}=-\dfrac{2}{30}=-\dfrac{1}{15}, so v2=−15v_2=-15 cm.

Step 4. The image of the rod spans from v1=−20v_1=-20 cm to v2=−15v_2=-15 cm, so the image length is ∣v1−v2∣=∣−20−(−15)∣=5|v_1-v_2|=|-20-(-15)|=5 cm.

Step 5. Eliminating the others: (a) 2.5 cm, (c) 10 cm and (d) 15 cm would each come from using a single, uniform magnification for the whole rod (as if it were a small object perpendicular to the axis) instead of correctly finding the image position of each end of the rod separately and taking their difference -- an extended object lying along the axis is not magnified uniformly along its length.

✓Final answer

(b) 5 cm.

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