How is light reflected? micro-lesson
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How is light reflected? Reflection is when light bounces off the surface changing the direction of a ray of light. Now, all objects do reflect light, but smooth and shiny surfaces reflect all rays of light at the same angle. Rough or dull surfaces will scatter the rays of light. The light ray that hits a mirror or another reflective object is called the incident ray, the ray that comes from the light source, and the rate that bounces off is known as the reflective ray, the light that's being reflected. The Law of Reflection says that the angle of incidence must always be equal to the angle of reflection. So, if a light ray hits the mirror at 45 degrees, it will be reflected at 45 degrees. Now, looking at this diagram, that thick black line is called the normal ray and that's drawn perpendicular to the reflective surface. So, the Law of Reflection will say that the angle of incidence, which is the angle between the incident rate and the normal line, must be the same as the angle of reflection, that angle between the normal line and the reflected ray.

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Here are some example of questions about this video that kids may be asked in the 1Question app to earn screen time.
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If the angle of incidence is 38 degrees, what will the angle of reflection be?
1) 38 degrees2) 90 degrees3) 152 degrees4) 52 degrees -
What does light do when it hits a reflective surface?
1) Bounce2) Go through3) Bend4) Stop -
What is the ray which bounces off the surface called?
1) reflected ray2) incident ray3) secondary ray4) source ray -
What is the light ray that hits the object called ?
1) incident ray2) reflected ray3) initial ray4) source ray -
What objects reflect light at the same angle?
1) smooth and shiny objects2) rough objects3) all objects4) no objects -
What is the angle of incidence?
1) the angle at which the light hits an object from the light source2) the angle at which the light bounces off an object -
What is the angle of reflection?
1) the angle at which the light bounces off an object2) the angle at which the light hits an object from the light source -
What is the law of reflection?
1) when rays of light reflect, the angle of the reflection is the same as the angle of incidence2) When rays of light reflect, they always do it twice3) when rays of light reflect, the angle of the reflection is greater than the angle of incidence4) when rays of light reflect, the angle of the reflection is less than the angle of incidence -
What is reflection?
1) when light bounces off a surface, changing the direction of the light wave2) when the light goes through an object and makes another identical image3) when the light goes through an object and travels in a straight line - when you see the same thing twice -
If you know the angle of incidence, how do you work out the angle of reflection?
1) it is the same as the angle of incidence2) You subtract the angle of incidence from 90 degrees3) You add the angle of incidence to 90 degrees4) The angle of reflection is half the angle of incidence

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