Which type of image is always seen in a plane mirror?

Which type of image is always seen in a plane mirror?

• A. Real image
• B. Inverted image
• C. Magnified image
• D. Virtual image

Answer: (D)

Plane mirrors always produce virtual images because the light after reflection travels in directions that do not bring the rays together in front of the mirror. Our eyes extend the diverging reflected rays backward in straight lines and interpret them as coming from a point behind the mirror. Since the rays don’t actually converge in front of the mirror, no real image is formed. The image in a plane mirror is upright and has the same size as the object, and its location is behind the mirror at a distance equal to the object’s distance from the mirror. This combination—image behind the mirror that our eyes perceive as coming from a real position—defines it as a virtual image.

Plane mirrors always produce virtual images because the light after reflection travels in directions that do not bring the rays together in front of the mirror. Our eyes extend the diverging reflected rays backward in straight lines and interpret them as coming from a point behind the mirror. Since the rays don’t actually converge in front of the mirror, no real image is formed. The image in a plane mirror is upright and has the same size as the object, and its location is behind the mirror at a distance equal to the object’s distance from the mirror. This combination—image behind the mirror that our eyes perceive as coming from a real position—defines it as a virtual image.