The Law of Reflection

In the diagram, the ray of light approaching the mirror is known as the incident ray (labeled I in
the diagram). The ray of light that leaves the mirror is known as the reflected ray (labeled R in the
diagram). At the point of incidence where the ray strikes the mirror, a line can be drawn
perpendicular to the surface of the mirror. This line is known as a normal line (labeled N in the
diagram). The normal line divides the angle between the incident ray and the reflected ray into two
equal angles. The angle between the incident ray and the normal is known as the angle of
incidence. The angle between the reflected ray and the normal is known as the angle of
reflection. The law of reflection states that when a ray of light reflects off a
surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Check Your Understanding

1. Consider the diagram at the right. Which one of the angles (A, B, C, or D) is the angle of
incidence? ______ Which one of the angles is the angle of reflection? ______

2. A ray of light is incident towards a plane mirror at an angle of 30-degrees with the mirror
surface. What will be the angle of reflection?

3. A ray of light is approaching a set of three mirrors as shown in the diagram. The light ray is
approaching the first mirror at an angle of 45-degrees with the mirror surface. Trace the path of the
light ray as it bounces off the mirror. Continue tracing the ray until it finally exits from the mirror
system. How many times will the ray reflect before it finally exits?
The Law of Reflection is Always Observed

(regardless of the orientation of the surface)

Image Formation in Plane Mirrors
A ray diagram is a diagram that traces the path that light takes in order for a person to view a
point on the image of an object. The four steps of the process for drawing a ray diagram are listed,
described and illustrated below.

1. Draw the image of the object.

Use the principle that the object distance is equal to the image distance to determine the
exact location of the object. Pick one extreme point on the object and carefully measure the
distance from this extreme point to the mirror. Note that all distance measurements should be
made by measuring along a segment that is perpendicular to the mirror.

2. Pick one extreme on the image of the object and draw the reflected ray that will travel to the eye
as it sights at this point.

Use the line of sight principle: the eye must sight along a line at the image of the object in order to
see the image of the object. It is customary to draw a bold line for the reflected ray (from
the mirror to the eye) and a dashed line as an extension of this reflected ray The reflected
ray should have an arrowhead upon it to indicate the direction that the light is traveling. The
arrowhead should be pointing towards the eye since the light is traveling from the mirror to the
eye, thus enabling the eye to see the image.
3. Draw the incident ray for light traveling from the corresponding extreme on the object to the
mirror.

Since you drew the reflected ray in step 2, the point of incidence has already been determined; the
point of incidence is merely the point where the line of sight intersects the mirror's surface. Thus
draw the incident ray from the extreme point to the point of incidence. Once more, be sure to draw
an arrowhead upon the ray to indicate its direction of travel. The arrowhead should be
pointing towards the mirror since light travels from the object to the mirror.

4) After completing steps 2 and 3, you have only shown how light travels from a single extreme on
the object to the mirror and finally to the eye. You will also have to show how light travels from the
other extremes on the object to the eye. This is merely a matter of repeating steps 2 and 3 for each
individual extreme. Once repeated for each extreme, your ray diagram is complete.

QUESTIONS: DRAW THE IMAGE AND THE REFLECTED RAY DIRECTIONS .

1. Six students are arranged in front of a mirror. Their positions are shown below. The image of
each student is also drawn on the diagram. Make the appropriate line of sight constructions to
determine that students each individual student can see.

Here are completed diagrams for the two examples given above.
What Portion of a Mirror is Required?
2 TYPES OF MIRRORS

The focal point is the point in space at which light incident towards the mirror and traveling parallel
to the principal axis will meet after reflection.

Reflection of Light and Image Formation

For a concave mirror, the normal at the point of incidence on the mirror surface is a line that
extends through the center of curvature. Once the normal is
drawn the angle of incidence can be measured and the
reflected ray can be drawn with the same angle. This
process is illustrated with two separate incident rays in the
diagram at the right.
Two Rules of Reflection for Concave Mirrors
Light always reflects according to the law of reflection, regardless of whether the reflection occurs
off a flat surface or a curved surface.

The simpler method relies on two rules of reflection for concave mirrors. They are:

• Any incident ray traveling parallel to the principal axis on the way to the mirror
will pass through the focal point upon reflection.
• Any incident ray passing through the focal point on the way to the mirror will
travel parallel to the principal axis upon reflection.
These two rules of reflection are illustrated in the diagram below.

Ray Diagrams - Concave Mirrors

Step-by-Step Method for Drawing Ray Diagrams

1. Pick a point on the top of the object and draw two incident rays traveling towards the mirror.

Using a straight edge, accurately draw one ray so that it passes exactly through the focal point on
the way to the mirror. Draw the second ray such that it travels exactly parallel to the principal axis.
Place arrowheads upon the rays to indicate their direction of travel.

2. Once these incident rays strike the mirror, reflect them according to the two rules of reflection for
concave mirrors.

The ray that passes through the focal point on the way to the mirror will reflect and travel parallel
to the principal axis. Use a straight edge to accurately draw its path. The ray that traveled parallel
to the principal axis on the way to the mirror will reflect and travel through the focal point. Place
arrowheads upon the rays to indicate their direction of travel. Extend the rays past their point of
intersection.
3. Mark the image of the top of the object.

The image point of the top of the object is the point where the two reflected rays
intersect. This is merely the point where all light from the top of the object would
intersect upon reflecting off the mirror.

4. Repeat the process for the bottom of the object.

The goal of a ray diagram is to determine the location, size, orientation,

and type of image that is formed by the concave mirror.

OBJECT Located beyond

C
A virtual image is formed if the object is located less than one focal length from the concave
mirror. To see why this is so, a ray diagram can be used.
Ray Diagram for the Formation of a Virtual Image

A ray diagram for the case in which the object is located in front of the focal point is shown in the
diagram at the right. Observe that in this case the light rays diverge after reflecting off the mirror.
When light rays diverge after reflection, a virtual image is formed.All
virtual images
produced by mirrors (both plane and curved) is that they are
always upright and always located on the other side of the
mirror.

wcw
Image Characteristics for Concave Mirrors
The L of L•O•S•T represents the relative location. The O of L•O•S•T represents the orientation
(either upright or inverted). The S of L•O•S•T represents the relative size (either magnified,
reduced or the same size as the object). And the T of L•O•S•T represents the type of image
(either real or virtual).
image (either real or virtual). The best means of summarizing this relationship between object
location and image characteristics is to divide the possible object locations into five general areas or
points:

• Case 1: the object is located , real image the center of curvature (C) inverted
image, reduced in size, magnification is less than 1.
• Case 2: the object is located at the center of curvature (C) inverted,same
size,equal magnification,real image
• Case 3: the object is located between the center of curvature (C) and the focal
point (F) inverted,same size,equal magnification,real image
• Case 4: the object is located at the focal point (F) no image
formed
• Case 5: the object is located in front of the focal point (F)
upright,magnified,virtual