Reflection of Light

- refers to the bouncing off of light rays when it hits a surface like a plane
mirror.
-

Incident Ray

- The ray of light approaching the mirror

Reflected Ray

- The ray of light leaves the mirror and is represented by an arrow pointing
away from the mirror

Normal line

- An imaginary line that can be drawn perpendicular to the optical element

Law of reflection of Light

- The FIRST law of reflection states that the angle of incidence is equal to the
angle of reflection.

The angle is measured between the normal

line and the incident ray while the angle of
reflection is measured between the normal
line and reflected ray.
 - The SECOND law of reflection states that the normal line, incident ray and
reflected ray all lie in the same plane.

This means, what you see on the

mirror is an image which appears to
be at the back of the mirror.

TYPES OF REFLECTION
1. Specular/Regular
- Reflection on light on smooth surfaces
(mirrors/calm body of water)

2. Diffuse/Irregular
- Reflection of light on rough surfaces (clothing,
paper, wavy water, asphalt roadway)
 TYPES OF IMAGES

---REAL VS VIRTUAL----

Real Image

- Inverted
- Formed infront of mirror
- Size depends on the location of the object with
respect to the mirror

Virtual Image

- Upright
- Formed at the back of the mirror
- Size depends on the used of the mirror

Types of mirror

1. Plane mirror
- The reflecting surface is flat
- Lateral inversion: we experienced is mot caused by the mirror but by our
perception of the mirror image
2. Curved mirror
- The reflecting surface is a section of sphere
3. Concave mirror
- Reflective surface bulges away from the light source
- A.k.a. converging mirror
4. Convex mirror
- Reflective surface bulges towards the light source
- A.k.a. diverging mirror
IMAGES FORMED IN PLANE MIRROR

- Virtual
- Upright
- Formed at the back of mirror
- Same size
- Same distance
- Laterally inverse

IMAGES FORMED IN CURVED MIRROR

- Real
- Inverted
- Formed infront of the mirror
- Size of image is smaller than object
LOCATING IMAGES IN CONCAVE

LOCATING IMAGES IN CONVEX