Pickles AcademyStart for freeReflection of light – practice for Years 7–8
Sample questions on Reflection of light with the right answer and a worked solution, from easy to hard. In the Pickles Academy app a child gets new questions of the same kind every time, so they can't just learn the answers by heart.
- Subject
- Physics
- Year
- Years 7–8
- Curriculum area
- Electricity, magnetism and light
Question types: The law of reflection
Rule: Reflection of light
The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence. Both are measured from the normal, not from the mirror.
If you know the angle between the ray and the mirror, take it away from 90°.
Example: The ray makes 40° with the mirror: angle of incidence = 90° − 40° = 50°, angle of reflection is also 50°
Watch out: The angle with the mirror (40°) is not the angle of reflection: that is measured from the normal (50°).
Sample questions
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Question 1 Easy
A ray hits a plane mirror with an angle of incidence of 60° (from the normal). What is the angle of reflection?
Show the solution
Answer: 60 °How it works: The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence; both are measured from the normal. 60°.
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Question 2 Normal
The ray makes an angle of 30° with the surface of the mirror. What is the angle of reflection (from the normal)?
Show the solution
Answer: 60 °How it works: The angle of incidence is = 90° − 30° = 60°. The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence; both are measured from the normal.
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Question 3 Hard
The ray makes an angle of 30° with the surface of the mirror. What is the angle between the incoming and the reflected ray?
Show the solution
Answer: 120 °How it works: 90° − 30° = 60°; 60° + 60° = 120°. The angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence; both are measured from the normal.
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