LAW OF

REFLECTION
AND REFRACTION
Castillo, Andrea Mae A.
THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT
Normal

Angle of Angle of
incidence reflection

Incident Reflected
ray ray

Surface (Mirror)
 RAY DIAGRAM TERMINOLOGY
NORMAL – The perpendicular drawn at the point of incidence to the reflecting
surface
INCIDENT RAY – The ray of light that falls on a surface
REFLECTED RAY – The ray of light that is reflected from a surface

ANGLE OF INCIDENCE – it is the angle between

the incident ray and the normal.
ANGLE OF REFLECTION – it is the angle between
the reflected ray and the normal.
POINT OF INCIDENCE – the point at which light
falls.
 THE LAWS OF REFLECTION
Normal
1. The incident ray, the
reflected ray and the
normal all lie in the
Angle of Angle of
same plane. incidence reflection

2. The angle of incidence is

equal to the angle of Incident Reflected
ray ray
reflection.

θi = θr Reflecting
Surface
 TYPES OF REFLECTION

SPECULAR REFLECTION DIFFUSE REFLECTION

Reflection off a smooth surface Reflection off an irregular/dull
surface
 REFRACTION
Straw

Light rays may bend as they

cross a boundary from one
material to another.
This bending of light rays is
known as refraction and is
governed by SNELL’S LAW
OF REFRACTION.
Refracted image
of the straw
 INDEX OF REFRACTION

The ability of a
material to bend
rays of light is
described by the
index of refraction
(or refractive
index).
The relationship between the angle of incidence,
angle of refraction and the index of refraction of both
materials is known as Snell’s Law of Refraction after
the Dutch mathematician, Willebrord Snell (1591 –
1626) who discovered it experimentally.
SNELL’S LAW OF REFRACTION
 

sin = sin

Where:
 
Normal
= Index of refraction of incident
material
= Angle of incidence
= Index of refraction of refractive   𝟏
material
= Angle of refraction
  𝟐