We can solve this using the mirror equation or by just remembering that the image of an object placed in front of the focal point of a concave mirror is behind the mirror. The mirror equation
states that
$\begin{align*}\frac{1}{d_o} + \frac{1}{d_i} = \frac{1}{f}\end{align*}$
where $d_o$ , $d_i$ , and $f$ are positive if and only if the object, image, and focal point (respectively) are on the reflecting side of the mirror. In our case $f$ is positive and $d_o$ is positive and $d_o < f$ . Therefore,
$\begin{align*}\frac{1}{d_i} = \frac{1}{f} - \frac{1}{d_o} < 0\end{align*}$
Therefore, the image is not on the reflecting side of the mirror. Therefore, answer (E) is correct.

Solution to 2001 Problem 12