Sample Problems for The Law of Reflection

Important Information
When light is reflected from a surface, the angle of incidence is always equal to
the angle of reflection, where both angles are measured from the path of the light to
the normal to the surface at the point at which light strikes the surface. This equality
is known as the law of reflection.

Sample Problem 1:
Light is incident on a flat
surface, making an angle of
10
o
with that surface, as
shown in the figure to the
right. (a) What is the angle
of incidence? (b) What is the
angle of
reflection? (c) Sketch the
path of the reflected beam on
the diagram.

Solution:

(a) If the light makes an angle of 10
o
with the surface, it makes an angle of 80
o
with
the normal to the surface. Thus the angle of incidence is 80
o
.
(b) According to the law of reflection, the angle of reflection equals the angle of
incidence. So the angle of reflection (measured to the normal) is 80
o
.
(c) The path of the light is shown in the figure below.




Sample Problem 2:
Three initially parallel rays of
light are incident at slightly
different points on a bumpy
surface, as indicated in the
figure to the right. The angles
of incidence are 15
o
for ray A
(blue in figure), 31
o
for ray B
(green), and 47
o
for ray C
(red). (a) What are the angles
of reflection for the three
rays? (b) Will the three rays
remain parallel after
reflection? (c) Sketch the
paths of the reflected rays on
the diagram.

Solution:

(a) According to the law of reflection, the angle of reflection must equal the angle of
incidence for each ray. Thus ray A will have an angle of reflection of 15
o
, B will
have an angle of reflection of 31
o
, and the third will have an angle of reflection
of 47
o
.
(b) No; the three rays will diverge after reflection. The divergence is due not only to
the differences in the angles of reflection, but also to the differences in the
directions of the normal at each incident point.
(c) The figure below roughly indicates the paths of the three rays after reflection,
illustrating the divergence. The blue ray is reflected through an angle of 30 from
the initial path, the green ray is reflected through 62, and the red ray is reflected
through a whopping 94 as compared to the initial path!