Question

Magnification produced by a rear view mirror fitted in vehicles:

• A. is less than one
• B. is more than one
• C. is equal to one
• D. can be more than or less than one depending upon the position of the object in front of it

Hint:

Rear-view mirror = Convex mirror.
Convex mirrors always produce diminished images (\(h_i \lt h_o\)).
Therefore, the magnification \(m\) is always positive and less than 1 (\(m \lt 1\)).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Identify the mirror type used in rear view mirrors.
Vehicles use a convex mirror for this purpose, chosen specifically because of how it forms images.
Step 2: Recall the image it forms.
A convex mirror always produces a virtual, erect, and smaller image of whatever is behind it, no matter how close or far that object is.
Step 3: Translate smaller image into magnification.
Magnification is the ratio of image height to object height, \[ m = \frac{h_i}{h_o} \] and since the image height \(h_i\) is always less than the object height \(h_o\) for a convex mirror, this ratio always comes out less than one.
\[ \boxed{m \lt 1} \]