Question

A plane mirror is fixed so that it is at an angle of 50 degrees to a table. An array of light is incident on the mirror. Which angle does the reflected ray make with the table?

a) 40 degrees
b) 50 degrees
c) 90 degrees
d) 130 degrees

Answer 1

The reflected ray makes a 50-degree angle with the table according to the Law of Reflection.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a plane mirror is fixed at an angle of 50 degrees to a table, and a light ray is incident upon it, the angle of reflection will be equal to the angle of incidence due to the Law of Reflection. This means that if the incident ray makes a 50-degree angle with the table, the reflected ray will also make a 50-degree angle with the table; thus forming a 40-degree angle with the plane of the mirror. Since the table and the plane of the mirror form a right angle (90 degrees), the angle between the reflected ray and the table will be 90 degrees minus the 40 degrees (the angle of the reflected ray with the plane of the mirror), which results in 50 degrees. Therefore, the correct answer is (b) 50 degrees.