Reflection and refraction of light - CCEALaw of reflection

• the hatched vertical line on the left represents the plane mirror;
• the dashed line is called the normal, drawn at 90° to the surface of the mirror;
• the angle of incidence, i, is the angle between the normal and incident ray;
• the angle of reflection, r, is the angle between the normal and reflected ray.

The law of reflection states that: angle of incidence i = angle of reflection r.

For example, if a light ray hits a surface with an angle of incidence of 45°, it will be reflected with an angle of reflection of 45°.