When light strikes a highly polished surface and reflects away at the same angle as incidence, this type of reflection is called which?

• A. Diffuse reflection
• B. Back reflection
• C. Specular
• D. Polarized reflection

Answer: (C)

When light hits a very smooth, polished surface, the reflected rays follow the law of reflection: the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection. Because the surface is so smooth, the reflections stay in the same general direction, producing a clear, mirror-like image. This is known as specular reflection.

Diffuse reflection happens with rough surfaces where the light is scattered in many directions, so no single reflected angle is preserved and a sharp image isn’t formed. Back reflection isn’t a standard term for this effect, and polarized reflection concerns the light’s polarization state rather than the directions of the reflected rays.