A mirror with a flat surface is called PLANE MIRROR. The image formed by a plane mirror appears to be "behind or inside the mirror". The type of image is called a virtual image. A virtual image is oriented upright but is laterally inverted. Lateral inversion means that when you look at a plane mirror your right side seems to be your left side and your left side seems to be your right side. This concept explains why the letters of the word AMBULANCE are printed backwards and are reversed in sequence.
The image formed by a plane mirror appears to be at a distance behind the mirror that is equal to the distance of the object in front of the mirror. In other words, the distance of the object is the same as the distance of the image. The size of the image is also the same as the size of the object. The lateral magnification is equal to one M = 1 meaning there is no magnification.
The illustration below is similar to our first hands-on activity on reflection of light
If you will analyze the illustration, the distance of the object (pin) is the same as the distance of the image. Likewise, the size of the object is the same as the size of the image. We will see that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
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