'Optics' is a section of physics that requires you to construct optical ray diagrams. There have to be drawn very precisely. See this page for details on the symbols used.
A
reflected ray is the
ray that 'bounces off' the boundary between two optical media (but never
use that term in an exam - always say 'reflects').
It
is formed according to the Law of Reflection...
see the diagram below...
The
angle of incidence is the angle between the normal and the incident
ray.
The
angle of reflection is the angle between the normal and the reflected
ray.
The
Law of reflection states that the angle of incidence equals the
angle of reflection. The incident ray and the reflected ray and the normal
are all in the same plane.
There are two types of reflection you should know about.
Specular reflection reflects all light which arrives from a given direction at the same angle, giving a clear sharp reflection image, whereas
diffuse reflection reflects that light in a broad range of directions and produces a 'fuzzy' image.
The formation
of an image in a plane mirror
The vidclip below
will lead you through how to draw a ray diagram of the reflection of a point object in a plane mirror - a frequent subject set in GCSE examination questions....
The second vidclip takes you through how to construct a ray diagram to illustrate the nature the image in a plane mirror - that it is virtual, ertect, laterally inverted and that each image point is formed as far behind the mirror as the corresponding object point is in front.
Now
revise the topic from flash cards I have written for:
