Answer:
This section of Lesson 2 details and illustrates the procedure for drawing ray diagrams. Let's begin with the task of drawing a ray diagram to show how Suzie will be able to see the image of the green object arrow in the diagram below. For simplicity sake, we will suppose that Suzie is viewing the image with her left eye closed. Thus, we will focus on how light travels from the two extremities of the object arrow (the left and right side) to the mirror and finally to Suzie's right eye as she sights at the image. The four steps of the process for drawing a ray diagram are listed, described and illustrated below.
1. Draw the image of the object.
Use the principle that the object distance is equal to the image distance to determine the exact location of the object. Pick one extreme on the object and carefully measure the distance from this extreme point to the mirror. Mark off the same distance on the opposite side of the mirror and mark the image of this extreme point. Repeat this process for all extremes on the object until you have determined the complete location and shape of the image. Note that all distance measurements should be made by measuring along a segment that is perpendicular to the mirror.
