Question

The way light reflects off a smooth surface is described by the law of reflection. This law states that the angle of reflection equals the ___________________.

Answer 1

Angle of incidence

Step-by-step explanation:

The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence.

Reflection is defined as the repropagation of light rays incidented on a plane or smooth surface. When a light ray strikes a plane surface we say it is incidented on the surface and all incident light tends to reflect out at the same angle that they strike the surface.

There is a third ray acting on the smooth surface and perpendicular to the surface, this ray is called the normal ray. The angle that the incident ray make with this normal ray is angle of incidence while the angle that the reflected ray makes with the normal ray is the angle of reflection. When light ray strikes the surface, this two angles are always equal according to the second law of reflection.

Answer 2

Angle of incidence ray

Step-by-step explanation:

The way light reflects off a smooth surface is described by the law of reflection. This law states that the angle of reflection equals the ANGLE OF INCIDENCE RAY.

This is because, when light is reflected off a smooth surface, the light is reflected by all the points that is present on that smooth surface.

Therefore the speed at which the light rays falls on the smooth surface is the same as the speed at which the light ray is reflected back. Due to their speed been the same, the distance of the incidence ray would also be the same as the distance of the reflected ray.

Hence the angle of incidence = angle of reflection.