A wave directed toward the surface of a mirror is called what?

A wave directed toward the surface of a mirror is called what?

• A. Incident
• B. Reflected
• C. Transmitted
• D. Refracted

Answer: (A)

When a wave moves toward a boundary, the wave approaching the surface is called the incident wave. It’s the one that meets the mirror’s surface and interacts with it. In a mirror, most of that incident wave is reflected back into the original medium, producing the reflected wave. The terms transmitted and refracted describe other scenarios: transmitted is the part that passes into a second medium, and refracted is the bending that occurs when a wave changes speed as it enters a different medium. But for a wave directed toward a mirror, the correct term is the incident wave.

When a wave moves toward a boundary, the wave approaching the surface is called the incident wave. It’s the one that meets the mirror’s surface and interacts with it. In a mirror, most of that incident wave is reflected back into the original medium, producing the reflected wave. The terms transmitted and refracted describe other scenarios: transmitted is the part that passes into a second medium, and refracted is the bending that occurs when a wave changes speed as it enters a different medium. But for a wave directed toward a mirror, the correct term is the incident wave.