Sangam school of excellence

2023-2024
Physics

Project on “reflection”

Submitted to:- Vaibhav sankhla

Submitted by:- raghvendra singh

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks
of gratitude to my teacher MR
VAIBHAV SHAKHLA as well as our
principal MS MADHU NAGPAL who
gave me the golden opportunity of this
wonderful project on the topic
REFLECTION which also helped me in
doing a lot of research and I came to
know abhout so many new things. I am
really thankful to them.
Certificate
This to certify that MR RAGHVENDRA
SINGH of class 12th science 2023-2024 Sangam
School Of Excellence has completed his project
under my supervision.
He has taken proper care and shown at most
sincerity in completion of this project.
I certify that this project is up to my expectation
and as per CBSE guideline.

Principal Signature

Internal Signature:-
External Signature:-
Reflection of Light

Reflection of light is the simple phenomenon of the light bouncing back

after falling on an object. The most common example of this is not being
able to see anything on entering a dark room but once you switch on the
lights, everything will be visible. Let’s explore more about this topic through
this detailed blog.

What is Reflection of Light?

To begin with, the reflection of light occurs whenever a ray of light falls on a
smooth polished surface and bounces back. In other words, the ray of light
approaching any surface results in the reflection of the light. Further, the ray
of light which falls on the surface is known as an Incident ray while the ray
of light which gets reflected back is called a Reflected ray. Also, if a
perpendicular is to be drawn between the two rays on the reflecting surface,
it is known as a Normal.
Incident Ray= It is the ray that falls on the surface

Reflected Ray= The ray which is reflected from the surface

Normal = Perpendicular on the polished surface

P= Point of reflection i= Angle of Incidence

r= Angle of Reflection

Laws of Reflection

After understanding the meaning of reflection, you must also understand its
two imperative laws. Using these laws, the reflection of the incident ray on
various surfaces like a plane mirror, water, metal surfaces, etc can be
determined. For instance, if we consider a plane mirror, here are the laws of
reflection:

● The incident ray, the normal and the reflected ray must lie in the same
plane.

● The angle of incidence (i) = The angle of reflection (r)

Types of Reflection

While exploring the basics of the reflection of light, it is also important to go

through the different types of reflection. Whenever we change the basic
elements or the form of basic elements involved in this phenomenon, the
result also varies. Following are the main three types of reflection:

● Regular Reflection

● Diffused Reflection

● Multiple Reflection

Regular Reflection
Regular Reflection can also be referred to as Specular Reflection and is
simply understood by using a plane mirror. This mirror used for the
reflection of light is not the regular mirror we see around us, rather it is a
glass that is heavily coated with a uniform layer of highly reflective material
such as a powder. As it is coated, the surface totally reflects all the light
which falls on it i.e, there is not much variation in both the angles of
reflection at multiple points. Due to this minimal variation, we can say that
all the haziness and the blurriness is completely gone.

Diffused Reflection

To explore the meaning of diffused reflection, let us consider reflective

surfaces other than mirrors. The common surfaces which can be used for the
diffusion of light are comparatively rough as they are made up of different
materials than glass and contain some marks, scratches, dust or dents. All
these things hamper the quality and brightness of the reflection. Thus, the
comparison of both the angles of reflection on such rough surfaces is
completely distorted. In diffused reflection, the incident ray falls on different
points and gets reflected in an entirely different direction and hence, we see
non-shiny objects.

Multiple Reflection

For both regular and diffused reflection of light, a single mirror is used while
when we take two mirrors, a single source of light can be reflected multiple
times. This type of reflection is only possible when the intensity of the light
becomes so low that we cannot see it. Infinite images will be formed in
multiple reflections, as each image is the result of another image.

The number of images varies as per the angle between two mirrors. If we
decrease the angle, the number of images get increased. The number of
images becomes infinite when the angle between the two mirrors is zero i.e,
they are parallel. Here is a formula to calculate the number of images for
diffused reflection of light:

Concave Mirror

A spherical mirror, whose reflecting surface is curved inwards, that is, faces
towards the centre of the sphere, is called a concave mirror. A concave
mirror can be compared to the inside of the spoon. Concave mirrors are the
reflecting objects that are used in reflecting telescope.
Convex Mirror

A spherical mirror whose reflecting surface is curved outwards is called a

convex mirror. A convex mirror can be compared to the outside of a balloon.
A convex mirror is used as a rearview mirror and for security purposes.

A number of parallel rays hit a convex mirror, they reflect outwards and
travel directly away from an imaginary focal point (F).

Scattering of Light

When light hits very small gas particles or water droplets or even dust
particles, it scatters the light. The amount of scattering of the light depends
on the wavelength of light and the size of the particle. Light on the sky is
filled with all the colours of the rainbow i.e. VIBGYOR. So, the question is
‘Why is the Sky Blue?’

It is because light hits different particles in the atmosphere and it scatters in

all directions. Since blue has a smaller wavelength than Red, it is scattered
more than red. That is why the sky looks blue.

Examples of Reflection of Light in daily life

Some of the most interesting examples of reflection of light in daily life are:

The Blue Sky is because light hits different particles in the atmosphere and it
scatters in all directions. Since blue has a smaller wavelength than Red, it is
scattered more than red. That is why the sky looks blue.
● The Sunset is Red because when the sunset happens, the sky has already
scattered most of the blue light as it has travelled around the atmosphere
since the day. So, the red light dominates during a Sunset.

● Clouds look White because the cloud’s water droplets are much larger
than the wavelength of light. So, all the colours get scattered in different
directions to create white colour.

Light Reflection and Refraction

Light Reflection and Refraction are two different properties of light. The
major difference between the two is:
The reflection of light occurs whenever a ray of light falls on a smooth
polished surface and bounces back. In other words, the ray of light
approaching any surface results in the reflection of the light. The refraction
of light occurs when a ray of light moves from one medium to another and it
changes its direction of travel.

Reflection of Light Important Questions

● A concave lens has a focal length of 20 cm. At what distance from the lens
a 5 cm tall object be placed so that it forms an image at 15 cm from the lens?
Also, calculate the size of the image formed.

● The refractive index of diamond is 2.42”. What is the meaning of this

statement in relation to the speed of light?

● Draw the following diagram in your answer book and show the formation
of the image of the object AB with the help of suitable rays.

● An object 2 cm in size is placed 30 cm in front of a concave mirror of focal

length 15 cm. At what distance from the mirror should a screen be placed in
order to obtain a sharp image? What will be the nature and the size of the
image formed? Draw a ray diagram to show the formation of the image in
this case.

● A ray of light, incident obliquely on a face of a rectangular glass slab

placed in the air, emerges from the opposite face parallel to the incident ray.
State two factors on which the lateral displacement of the emergent ray
depends.

● What is the minimum number of rays required for locating the image
formed by a concave mirror for an object? Draw a ray diagram to show the
formation of a virtual image by a concave mirror.

● “The refractive index of carbon disulphide is 1.63.” What is the meaning of

this statement in relation to the speed of light?

● The outer surface of a hollow sphere of aluminium of radius 50 cm is to be

used as a mirror. What will be the focal length of this mirror? Which type of
spherical mirror will it provide?
● A girl was playing with a thin beam of light from her laser torch by
directing it from different directions on a convex lens held vertically. She was
surprised to see that in a particular direction the beam of light continues to
move along the same direction after passing through the lens. State the
reason for this observation.

● A ray of light enters a rectangular glass slab of refractive index 1.5. It is

found that the ray emerges from the opposite face of the slab without being
displaced. If its speed in air is 3 x 108 ms-1 then what is its speed in glass?

● The speed of light in a transparent medium is 0.6 times that of its speed
in vacuum. What is the refractive index of the medium?