What term describes waves bouncing off a surface, such as in a mirror?

What term describes waves bouncing off a surface, such as in a mirror?

• A. Conduction
• B. Convection
• C. Radiation
• D. Reflection

Answer: (D)

When waves meet a boundary and bounce back, that behavior is called reflection. In a mirror, light rays strike the shiny surface and bounce off in a predictable way, with the angle at which they arrive (the angle of incidence) equal to the angle at which they reflect (the angle of reflection). This is what lets you see a clear image in a mirror. Conduction is heat transfer through direct contact, convection is heat transfer by moving fluids, and radiation is energy transfer through space by electromagnetic waves. Those processes describe how energy moves, not how waves bounce off a surface, which is why they aren’t the behavior described here.

When waves meet a boundary and bounce back, that behavior is called reflection. In a mirror, light rays strike the shiny surface and bounce off in a predictable way, with the angle at which they arrive (the angle of incidence) equal to the angle at which they reflect (the angle of reflection). This is what lets you see a clear image in a mirror.

Conduction is heat transfer through direct contact, convection is heat transfer by moving fluids, and radiation is energy transfer through space by electromagnetic waves. Those processes describe how energy moves, not how waves bounce off a surface, which is why they aren’t the behavior described here.