- #1
meiler01
- 1
- 0
Homework Statement
A student is standing in the middle of a room with two opposite walls that are separated by 10.0m and covered by plane mirrors. There is a candle in the room 1.5m from one mirrored wall (from the left wall). The student is facing the opposite (right) mirrored wall and sees many images of the candle. How far from the student are the closest four images of the candle that he/she can see?
Homework Equations
Distance of object= distance of image
The Attempt at a Solution
If the student is 5m from the right mirror, the candle is 8.5m from the right mirror; therefore, and image must be 8.5m behind the mirror. Add this to the 5m distance from the mirror to the student= 8.5 + 5 = 13.5m from the student
Also, the candle is 1.5m from the left mirror, which is 5m behind the student. If the image is 1.5m behind the mirror, it is 1.5m + 5 m = 6.5m behind the student. Since the student is 5m from the right mirror (she faces the right mirror), does she see the image an additional 6.5m behind the right mirror, thus 5+ 6.5m= 11.5m? Or do I need to add another 6.5 to account for the distance behind her = 6.5 + 6.5 + 5 = 18m?
I'm not sure of my logic thus far, and am therefore unsure of how to proceed for distances 3 and 4. Is this on the right track? How do I approach the additional images?
Thanks!