Which term describes the outward-curving mirror?

Which term describes the outward-curving mirror?

• A. Concave Mirror
• B. Focal Point
• C. Optical Axis
• D. Convex Mirror

Answer: (D)

An outward-curving mirror is a convex mirror. The reflective surface bulges toward you, so light rays that hit it spread apart after reflecting. When you extend those rays backward, they appear to originate from a point behind the mirror, called a virtual focal point. Because the rays diverge, convex mirrors always form virtual, upright, and smaller images rather than real ones. That’s why you often see convex mirrors used for wide-angle visibility, like on car side mirrors. In contrast, a concave mirror curves inward and can produce real or magnified images depending on distance to the object. The focal point is the location where parallel rays meet (or appear to come from, in the virtual case), and the optical axis is the straight line through the mirror’s center of curvature and vertex.

An outward-curving mirror is a convex mirror. The reflective surface bulges toward you, so light rays that hit it spread apart after reflecting. When you extend those rays backward, they appear to originate from a point behind the mirror, called a virtual focal point. Because the rays diverge, convex mirrors always form virtual, upright, and smaller images rather than real ones. That’s why you often see convex mirrors used for wide-angle visibility, like on car side mirrors. In contrast, a concave mirror curves inward and can produce real or magnified images depending on distance to the object. The focal point is the location where parallel rays meet (or appear to come from, in the virtual case), and the optical axis is the straight line through the mirror’s center of curvature and vertex.