Which statement defines the Law of Reflection?

Which statement defines the Law of Reflection?

• A. The distance between crests or troughs
• B. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
• C. A wave that moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction the wave travels
• D. The highest point of a transverse wave

Answer: (B)

When waves bounce off a surface, the incoming ray and the reflected ray make equal angles with a line drawn perpendicular to the surface (the normal). This equality of angles is what the Law of Reflection states, and it explains why mirrors and other reflective surfaces send light back at a mirrored angle. This concept matters because it gives a precise rule for predicting where the reflected wave will go after it strikes a surface. The other ideas described—like a wave’s wavelength being the distance between crests or troughs, or a wave moving perpendicular to its travel direction (a transverse wave), or the highest point of a wave (a crest)—are about other properties of waves, not how they reflect.

When waves bounce off a surface, the incoming ray and the reflected ray make equal angles with a line drawn perpendicular to the surface (the normal). This equality of angles is what the Law of Reflection states, and it explains why mirrors and other reflective surfaces send light back at a mirrored angle.

This concept matters because it gives a precise rule for predicting where the reflected wave will go after it strikes a surface. The other ideas described—like a wave’s wavelength being the distance between crests or troughs, or a wave moving perpendicular to its travel direction (a transverse wave), or the highest point of a wave (a crest)—are about other properties of waves, not how they reflect.