LEARNING UNIT

Selected Topics of Physics

STAGE 4: OSCILLATIONS, WAVES,

SOUND, AND OPTICS
Base presentation of Stage 4 of Selected
Topics of Physics
● In order to cover the basic contents of the Learning Unit of Select Topics of Physics,
this presentation has been prepared. We hope it will be useful to the teacher to rely
on and enrich it with additional material of the teacher’s preference, which will help
the student to complete his learning experience.

● We reiterate, it is a support material that, in addition to the instructional guidance

will serve as a fundamental and based resource, to take the academic period
January- june 2022.
STAGE 4.
A. SWINGS AND WAVES
At this final stage of the Course of Selected Topics of Physics, we will study
in a general way those phenomena that are characterized by being
repetitive, that is, phenomena in which a movement is presented and its
trajectory is repeated over and over again. This has to do with the waves,
the sound we hear (and the one we do not hear) and the light that we see
(and the one we do not see).
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Periodic motion. This movement has the peculiarity that the body
repeats its conditions of position, speed, energy. Examples include
the movement of a pendulum, that of a spring with a fastened body
swinging vertically, or the rotation and translation of the Earth. It is an
oscillating movement that repeats its conditions in a constant time.

Period (T). It is the time at which a body completes a cycle, such as

a revolution in circular motion or an oscillation in the case of a
pendulum.

Frequency (f). It is the number of times a body repeats its The relation between
conditions per unit of time. When the time unit is second, the frequency and period is:
frequency is measured in Hertz whose symbol is Hz.

Or
 A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Simple harmonic motion. In this type of movement, which is also oscillating and periodic, the
oscillating system has a restorative force that always points towards the equilibrium position and the
effects of friction are also considered negligible. The typical case of this motion is that of a simple
pendulum.
Simple pendulum. It is a system formed by a body suspended from a rope and oscillating around the
suspension point.

Notice how the pendulum moves

to each other position repeating its
conditions from time to time, the
period.

This period can be calculated

using the following expression:

Pendulum Lab
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave motion. We are now in a position to define what the wave motion is. It
is the one in which there is transport of energy without a net transport of
matter. The medium in which it moves, then returns to its initial position, but
the energy is transferred, as in tidal power generators.
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave. A wave is defined as the spread of a disturbance in space, without a
transport of matter.

Classification of waves according to the medium where they are propagated:

● Mechanical waves. They are the ones

that require an elastic mechanical
mean for them to propagate.

● Electromagnetic waves. These do

not require a mean of propagation as
they can travel even in a vacuum.
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave. A wave is defined as the spread of a disturbance in space, without a
transport of matter.

Classification of waves according to the medium where they are propagated:

• Cross-sectional waves. They are the ones

that oscillate in a direction perpendicular to
the direction of propagation.

• Longitudinal waves. In these the direction

of the oscillation is parallel to the
propagation direction.
 A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Magnitudes that characterize the waves.

• Frequency. This is the number of waves passing through one point in space
per unit of time.
• Period. This is the time it takes for the wave to move a wavelength.
• Wavelength. It is the distance traveled by a wave when completing a cycle.
It is represented by the Greek letter lambda (l).
• Amplitude. It is the maximum displacement of the wave from the equilibrium
position. Its symbol is the letter A.
• Wave speed. It is the distance traveled by the wave per unit of time (v).
• Crest. It's the top point of the wave.
• Valley. It is the bottom point of the wave.
• Nodes. These are the points that seem to be at rest because they are the
ones that coincide with the balance line
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
There are phenomena typical of the waves,
which we will quote below.
Reflection. The waves are reflected, that is,
when they move and reach an obstacle, change
direction or "bounce" and return to their original
medium. A very common example is sound
reflection, known as echo. Also the reflection of
light in mirrors is another example of this
phenomenon.
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
● Refraction. It is the phenomenon that occurs when
a wave that propagates in one medium reaches the
interface with another means of propagation and
passes into that medium, deviating from its original
trajectory.
Reflection and Light Refraction 1.1.20
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
● Superposition. Occurs when two or
more waves propagate in the same
medium and are spliced or combined
into a wave of different properties
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
• Interference. Superpositions results in
interference and there are two types of
interference
• Constructive. It is the one in which
overlapping waves form a wave of greater
amplitude than the original waves. This usually
occurs when ridge with ridge and valley
coincide with valley.
• Destructive. Occurs when overlapping waves
form a lower amplitude wave than any of the
original waves. As it can be assumed, this
occurs when the crest of one wave coincides
with the valley of the other.
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
● Stationary waves. They occur when two
waves of equal frequency and amplitude
move in the opposite direction and overlap,
or when a wave propagates and reflects
interfering with each other. As examples we
have the waves of a guitar string or any
string instrument, or the sound of a flute
that is produced by the stationary wave
within it. Stationary waves on a string
A. OSCILLATIONS AND WAVES
Wave phenomena.
● Resonance. Rigid bodies have a natural
vibration frequency. When a source of
vibrations emits waves and they match the
natural frequency of an object, the body
begins to vibrate with increasing amplitude.
This is resonance.

Check the videos below:

Resonance
Tacoma bridge (resonance effect)
STAGE 4. SOUND
In these two sections (2 and 3) we will address particular cases of wave
motion. It is turn for the topic of sound, or Acoustics, which is the branch of
physics that studies sound.
B. SOUND
Sound. It is a mechanical wave that propagates through an elastic
medium, that is, a medium that deforms when the wave is passing and
recovers its original shape once the wave has passed through it. Sound
is produced by a vibrating body, such as a sheet that is hit or a drum.
Humans are able to hear sounds whose frequencies fall within the range
of 16 to 20,000 Hz.
Sounds whose frequencies are less than 16 Hz are called infrasonic or
infrasound. That is, they are sounds that are below the audible spectrum
of the human being.
Sounds whose frequency is greater than 20,000 Hz are called ultrasonic
or ultrasound. Bats, dogs, dolphins are able to perceive ultrasound at
different frequencies each.
B. SOUND
Sound speed.
Sound is a mechanical wave that spreads. Human beings hear sound normally when traveling in the
air. However, sound can also spread in solid or liquid media.
It has been found that the higher speeds of sound are obtained when moving through solid media as
vibrations are transmitted in less time since the molecules of the solids are very close together. In
aluminum the sound travels around 5,100 m/s.
In liquids the sound has average speeds of 1,500 m/s.
And in gases the speed is lower since in these media the molecules are very distant (in the order of
molecular magnitudes) from each other.
Since the most common means of perceiving sound is air, we present the following expression with
which we can calculate its speed based on temperature.
𝑣 = 330 + 0.6𝑇
In this expression 330 is the speed of sound at 0° C and 0.6 is the variation in sound speed for every
celsius degree of temperature change in the air and T the temperature of air at which we want the
speed to be calculated..
B. SOUND
Sound features.
The human ear can perceive the different characteristics or qualities
of sound.
• Pitch. The pitch refers to the treble or bass of the sound, i.e. it
refers to the frequency. Sounds with high frequencies are high
sounds and sounds with low frequencies are called bass. A violin
can emit high-pitched sounds, while a cello has ranges of bass
sounds.
• Tone. The tone is the feature that allows us to differentiate sounds
that have equal frequencies but are emitted by different sources.
The tone refers to the shape of the waves. The central C note of a
piano sounds different than the same C note of a guitar since they
have different tones.
• Loudness. This feature is associated with what we call "volume",
that is, the sound power per unit area (or intensity) and say that the
sound is loud if it has high power and is weak if it has low power.
B. SOUND
Sound intensity

Sound intensity is the relationship between the sound power and the cross-sectional area. This is
measured in W/m2 in the International System. The human ear can perceive sounds from an intensity
of 1x10-12 W/m2 , a value known as the hearing threshold and will be represented as I0, which is such
a weak sound that it is barely heard. On the other hand, when the sound intensity is so high that it
starts to cause discomfort or pain, it takes values of 1 W/m2, which is known as the pain threshold.

Hearing Threshold = 1x10-12 W/m2 Pain threshold = 1 W/m2

B. SOUND
Observing the values of intensity range of sound that can be perceived by human being, we see that it covers
12 orders of magnitudes which is difficult to manage at mathematical level. Therefore, there is a more manage
value scale called Noise Intensity Level (NI). In a logarithmic relation that reduces the range of magnitudes
and are represented by the equation below.

However, is commonly used this other relation which result are expressed in decibels (dB).

As example of this we use the example below:

A student hears music in his mobile phone using headphones so the intensity of noise is 0.35 W/m 2.
What is the intensity level of that sound expressed in decibels?
Data:
B. SOUND

The following table shows

the intensity levels of
ordinary sounds.

Based on this graph, what do

you conclude about the
outcome of the previous
example about the level of
intensity the student hears?

Source: http://www.cochlea.org/es/so nidos/campo -auditivo -humano

B. SONIDO

Doppler Effect.
Another waving phenomenon that is easily noticeable by the human ear is the
so-called Doppler effect.
The Doppler effect occurs when there is relative motion between a wave source
(emitter) and a receiver (or observer).
When an observer perceives a sound, it may be that he himself, the sound source,
or both are in motion. In either case, this effect occurs.
There is no Doppler effect when both emitter and receiver are at rest.
B. SOUND
Let's look at the following situation: A person is at rest on the sidewalk and observes a car
approaching, passes in front of her, and it moves away. How is the apparent frequency of
the sound emitted by the car, that the person on the sidewalk hears as it approaches and
then as it moves away. How is the apparent frequency of the sound emitted by the car, that
the person on the sidewalk hears as it approaches and then as it moves away?
As seen in the figure, the sound waves generated by the car are distorted due to its
movement. When the car approaches the person, the sound waves are compressed
because they move in the same direction the car is moving, so the frequency is higher than
it would be if it were at rest. Then, as they move away, the waves travel in the opposite
direction to the movement of the car, so they lengthen and decrease the frequency
perceived by the person. Notice the following link explaining this phenomenon.
B. SOUND

The Doppler effect also occurs when the observer is moving and the emitting
source is at rest. In the same way, this phenomenon takes place when both the
emitter and the receiver move. To characterize the apparent frequency that the
observer hears, we will apply the following expression of the Doppler effect:

In this formula:
f´ = apparent frequency listened by the observer
f = frequency emitted by the source of sound
vs = speed of sound on air (we will take 340m/s as the speed in this topic
vo = speed of the observer (if he/she moves)
vf = speed of the source of sound (if it moves)
B. SOUND
Example of application of the Doppler effect

A train advances on the track with a speed of 180km / h and approaches a person who is watching it on the side of
the track. The train blows its whistle and emits a sound with a frequency of 750 Hz.
What is the apparent frequency that the person on the side of the road hears...
a) when the train is approaching to him?
b) when the train is leaving him?

Data: a) f´ = ? when it approaches b) f´= ? when it leaves?

f = 750 Hz
vf = 180 km/h = 50 m/s
vo = 0
vs = 340 m/s
C. OPTICS
To complete Stage 4 we will address the basic topics corresponding to
Optics which is the part of Physics that studies light and its characteristics
such as its nature, its propagation rate, and the wave phenomena it
presents.

Optical classification.

• Geometric optics. It is the study of light by its representation based on

rays moving in a straight line. This easily explains phenomena such as
reflection and refraction of light.

• Physical optics. It is the study of light taking into account its waving
characteristics.

• Quantum optics. In this, light is considered to have a corpuscular nature,

that is, it is formed by small particles that by influencing objects can
produce certain types of phenomena such as the photoelectric effect.
C. OPTICS
Nature of light.
Throughout history there has been debate about the nature of light. Many characters who
have contributed to the development of Physics thought that light has eminently waving
nature and others were inclined towards its corpuscular or material nature.
It is currently accepted that light has a dual nature, that is, in many cases it exhibits
waving behavior as in the case of reflection, refraction, diffraction or interference. All
these waving phenomena are presented in light.
But light also exhibits quantum or corpuscular characteristics because there are
phenomena in which light behaves as if it were formed by particles that collide with
objects and produce material effects, such as the radiometer, which when exposed to
light causes its paddles to rotate even when they are enclosed in a glass bulb.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx5WPdMlwZ0
C. OPTICS
Speed of light.
In the old years it was thought that the light traveled with infinite speed and that it reached anywhere
immediately. Today it is known that the light moves with a speed that is very high, but not infinite.
Many scientists took on the task of measuring the speed of light. Galileo was one of the first and he
concluded that its speed was infinite, since at the end of the 17th century there were no adequate
instruments and infrastructure for it.
It was Albert Michelson who based on methods of other scientists such as Foucault and Fizeau, in
1850 was able to find the value that is now accepted as the most accurate being this:

𝑐 = 2.997925x108 𝑚/𝑠

Physics uses the symbol "c" to represent the speed of light in a vacuum
C. OPTICS
Electromagnetic spectrum.
A very important mention within the subject of optics is the electromagnetic spectrum. This
is the different kinds of electromagnetic radiation that are known. All of them are formed by
an electric field and a magnetic field oscillating perpendicularly to each other as they move.
Visible light is a small region of the electromagnetic spectrum within a range of
approximately 400 nm of violet to 700 nm corresponding to the red color.
C. OPTICS
Reflection of light.
Within its waving behavior, light exhibits the phenomenon of reflection. We can easily visualize it by
seeing ourselves in a mirror, in a lake with the water still, in the reflection of light in metals, and many
other cases. The phenomenon of reflection is explained in geometric optics by straight lines called
rays.
A law of reflection states that "the angle of the incident ray is equal to the angle of the reflected ray".
In the figure the ray on the left is the incident ray and the one on the right is the reflected ray.
C. OPTICS
Mirrors.
A mirror is a flat surface that completely reflects the
ray of light it receives.

Types of mirrors.
• Flat mirror. It's the most common kind of mirror. Its
surface has no curvature. This type of mirror forms
virtual images as they appear as if they are inside the
mirror and at the same distance. In the figure you will
find a link that takes you to a simulator that you can
manipulate to observe the reflection in the flat mirror.
C. OPTICS
Spherical mirrors. These are formed by a section of a reflective sphere.
There are two types:
• Concave or converging mirrors. They are the ones that form on the inside of a reflective sphere
section. This type of mirror can form real or virtual images depending on the distance from the object
to the mirror. If the object is further away from the focal length of the mirror, the image will be real and
inverted. If placed within the focal length the image will be virtual and right

. A concave mirror is convergent as

the parallel rays that affect it are
reflected and concentrated or
converged in focus. In the figure on
the right there is a link to enter a
simulation of the concave mirror,
study it, manipulate it and get
conclusions about the type of images
formed.
C. OPTICS
• Convex or divergent mirrors. They are the ones that form on the outside of a reflective sphere
section. This type of mirror can only form virtual images regardless of the distance from the object to
the mirror.

A convex mirror is divergent so the

parallel rays that affect on it reflect
and separate but its extension to
the back side of the mirror forms
the virtual image.
In the figure at the right there is a
link to access to a virtual
simulation of a convex mirror.
Study and handle it to obtain
conclusions of the formed images.
C. OPTICS
Refraction of light.
Within its waving behavior, light exhibits the phenomenon of refraction. We can easily visualize it by
placing a spoon in a glass filled with water. The spoon appears to be broken or distorted by the effect
of light refraction. The phenomenon of refraction occurs when light travels in one medium such as air
or another, and reaches the separation surface with another transparent medium and penetrates that
medium. Then the light deflights from its original trajectory due to the change in its speed and is
refracted. This phenomenon is also explained in geometric optics by straight lines and rays.
To quantify the refraction of light, the Snell’s Law, who discovered the relationship between the angles
of incidence and refraction using the following mathematical model, is applied:

In the following link you will find a Light Reflection and Refraction Simulator
so you know more about these phenomena:

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/bending-light/latest/bending-light_es.
html
We have complete the basic content regarding this course.

We recommend to complete your study by consulting your textbook,

researching in another texts and other sources of the web.

We wish you the best of luck when ending this educative level as well as
your subsequent studies.