Question

The term reflection refers to the bending of light rays:
(A). when they strike a mirror
(B). when they enter a different medium
(C). around a sharp edge
(D). around the boundary of a narrow aperture

Answer 1

Hint: Light shows different phenomena like wave nature as well as particle nature. The phenomenon of reflection is responsible for the fact that we can see the things around us as light gets reflected back and enters into our eyes. The conditions necessary for reflection is the presence of a smooth and shiny surface.

Complete answer:
In reflection, light rays strike a smooth shiny surface like a mirror and bounces back to reach our eyes due to which objects around us are visible to us. The reflection of light follows two laws of reflection, they are-
The angle of incidence, which is made by incident ray with normal, is equal to the angle of reflection, which is made by the reflected ray with normal.
The incident ray, normal ray and the reflected ray lie in the same plane.

The process of bending of light when it moves from one medium to the other is known as refraction
The bending of light around a sharp edge is known as diffraction
The bending of light around the boundary of an aperture is known as interference of light.
Therefore, the bending of light after striking a mirror is called reflection.

Hence, the correct option is (A).

Note:
Light ray which moves along the normal after reflection traces back the same path. There are two types of reflection; irregular reflection which takes place on irregular surfaces and regular reflection which takes place on regular surfaces. Reflection can occur on different surfaces like convex mirror, concave mirror, plane mirror etc. In refraction, light changes its path when it moves from one medium to the other.