Light rays follow the law of reflection when striking a surface, where the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. When light reflects off a smooth, even surface like a mirror (normal reflection), an image can be seen due to the light rays reflecting directly into the eye. In contrast, rough or uneven surfaces cause diffuse reflection, scattering the light rays in many directions so no clear image is formed.

1. Light: Reflection and Mirrors 7SCIENCE

2. How do reflections relate to light? How are light and reflection related? In mirrors, the image seen is reflected from the surface and into your eye Law of reflection When a light ray strikes a surface and is reflected it follows the law of reflection: The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection True FOR ANY surface, no matter what material it is made of

4. When a light ray strikes the surface, the line perpendicular (90°) to the surface is called the normal

5. The incoming light ray and the normal make up the angle of incidence

6. The reflected light ray forms an angle called the angle of reflectionNORMAL Incoming light

7. Reflection from surfaces Why can you see your reflection in some surfaces such as mirrors and not in others (ex. paper)? Related to the smoothness of the surface Even if something looks smooth, its surface may be uneven or rough and cause light rays to be reflected in many directions This is called diffuse reflection Mirror reflectionsare called normal reflections

8. Reflection from surfaces