Practice portal › Ray Optics and Optical Instruments › Reflection by Plane and Spherical Mirrors

The power of a plane mirror is ______.

Asked in GUJCET 2015 · Plane mirrors

Answer: (1) 0

Step-by-step solution

Idea: a plane mirror is the limiting case of a spherical mirror whose radius of curvature has grown infinite.

With R=∞ the focal length is f=R/2=∞.

Power is the reciprocal of the focal length in metres, P=1/f.

So P=1/∞=0.

This matches what a plane mirror does: it neither converges nor diverges a beam, so it has no power.

Why the other options are wrong

More Reflection by Plane and Spherical Mirrors questionsAll Reflection by Plane and Spherical Mirrors questions →

Reading this solution needs no sign-in. You only sign in to practise against the clock and keep your progress.

Practise this with a timer