Physics 1 - Chapter 29 - Part 1

Law of Reflection & Plane Mirrors

Terms & Objectives

New Terms in Ch. 29 (part 1):

acoustics	angle of incidence	angle of reflection
diffuse reflection	echo	frequency
Law of Reflection	medium	normal
parallax	plane mirror	ray
ray tracing	real image	reflection
reverberation	specular reflection	transmission
virtual image	wave

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Chapter 29 (Part 1 - Reflection) Objectives:

After completing this part of Chapter 29, you should be able to:

1. ... explain what happens to a light ray when it passes from one medium to another, and relate this to the reflection/transmission of light.
   
2. ... state the law of reflection.
   
3. ... use the law of reflection to predict the direction of a light ray after reflection from a surface.
   
4. ... distinguish between diffuse and specular (mirror-like) reflection.
   
5. ... explain why an image in a plane mirror is a virtual image.
   
6. ... predict the position of the image of some object in a plane mirror, or images in two plane mirrors.
   
7. ... explain the occurrence of multiple images in two adjacent plane mirrors.
   
8. ... distinguish between reverberations and echoes, and explain their causes.
   
9. ... give examples of ways to control reflected sound.

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Common Misconceptions About Reflection:

Do you believe that any of the following statements are true? They AREN'T! When you finish Chapter 7, you should understand that each of these statements is FALSE, and WHY.

• Wrong: You can see light that doesn't enter your eye.
  
• Wrong: The Law of Reflection applies only to smooth, mirror-like surfaces.
  
• Wrong: Images aren't really things that occupy a definite location.
  
• Wrong: The image you see in a mirror is on the surface of the mirror.