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Reflecting Surface Definition

A reflecting surface causes waves to bounce off in a new direction. For example, a mirror reflects light waves, making visible reflections.

View Lesson on Wave Reflection, Absorption & Transmittance
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Wave Reflection, Absorption & Transmittance

LESSON MATERIALSmove

Fun Facts

  • When a wave is reflected, it bounces off a surface and moves in a different direction than it was originally traveling.
  • Angle of incidence equals angle of reflection on surfaces.
  • When sound waves reflect off a surface, an echo is created.

Why Do We Need To Know About Reflecting Surface

Learning about reflecting surfaces helps us know how light and sound waves bounce off materials. This is really important for many jobs. For example, making solar panels better depends on understanding how they catch and bounce off light, which helps with creating clean energy.

This knowledge is also useful for making quiet music studios, improving microphones, and for making things like cameras and glasses work better. So, knowing about how surfaces reflect light and sound is useful for a lot of everyday stuff and different careers.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a sound wave different from a light wave?
Sound waves needs to travel through matter, but light does not need to travel through matter.
What happens when light is shined on an object?
Light can be absorbed, reflected, or transmitted through an object, depending on the object’s materials and the wavelength of light.
What properties do all waves have?
All waves have amplitude, wavelength, and frequency.
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