Question

In which mirror magnification is negative?

Answer 1

Magnification:

1. The ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object is termed magnification.
2. The concave mirrors produce virtual or real, erect or inverted, diminished or the same size depending on the position of the object placed.
3. The expression for magnification is given as, $m={\displaystyle \frac{h^{\prime }}{h}}$ where $h$ is the height of the object and $h^{\prime }$ is the height of the image. and $h$, $h^{\prime }$ can have negative or positive according to the cartesian sign convention.
4. When the image and the object have the same size the magnification will be one.
5. If the image is diminished the magnification will be less than one.
6. If the image is enlarged the magnification will be greater than one.
7. The negative sign indicates that the image is real and the positive indicates that the image is virtual.
8. A concave mirror has negative magnification. The height of the image divided by the height of the object determines the magnification of the concave mirror.
9. Therefore, if the image is inverted and real then the magnification will be negative.