Which term is the angle at which a ray of light strikes a surface, measured from the normal?

Which term is the angle at which a ray of light strikes a surface, measured from the normal?

• A. Angle of incidence
• B. Angle of reflection
• C. Annealing
• D. Bast

Answer: (A)

The angle of incidence is defined as the angle between the incoming light ray and the normal to the surface at the point where the ray meets the surface. The normal is simply a line perpendicular to the surface. This definition is what we use to describe how oblique the light hits the boundary and is the quantity involved in laws of reflection and refraction. The angle of reflection, by contrast, describes the outgoing ray, measured from the same normal. The other two terms aren’t related to light behavior at surfaces. So the term that fits the description is the angle of incidence.

The angle of incidence is defined as the angle between the incoming light ray and the normal to the surface at the point where the ray meets the surface. The normal is simply a line perpendicular to the surface. This definition is what we use to describe how oblique the light hits the boundary and is the quantity involved in laws of reflection and refraction. The angle of reflection, by contrast, describes the outgoing ray, measured from the same normal. The other two terms aren’t related to light behavior at surfaces. So the term that fits the description is the angle of incidence.