Wave Motion

- A wave is a disturbance which transfers energy from one point to another point

- A displacement- position graph represents the position of a particle

- Crest: highest point of a wave

- Trough: lowest point of a wave
- Displacement, X -is the vector distance of a wave particle from its equilibrium position.
- Amplitude, a – is the maximum displacement of a wave particle from its equilibrium position
- Wavelength, λ: Is the distance between two consecutive crests or troughs of a wave or any two
points that are in phase.
- Frequency, f – Is the number of complete waves produced per second. The SI unit is the Hertz
(Hz)

Eg.

From the displacement -position graph above determine the wavelength and amplitude
Electro Magnetic Waves

Electromagnetic waves arise from oscillating electric and magnetic fields.

The electromagnetic spectrum

EM spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared (IR) radiation, visible light, ultraviolet (UV)
radiation, X-rays and Gamma rays.

- EM waves can travel through a vacuum at a speed of 3 x 10 8 m/s or ms-1

- EM waves can transfer energy from one place to another.
- EM waves obey the wave equation: V= f x λ, where V is velocity, f is frequency and lambda, λ is
the wavelength. Note as the frequency of the wave increases the wavelength decreases.
- The frequency of EM waves does not change in any medium.
- EM waves can be reflected, refracted, diffracted or exhibit interference pattern.
Light Rays

- Light appears to travel in a straight line

- The straight and narrow path taken by light through a medium is called a light ray
- A light ray is represented by a straight line and the direction of travel by an arrow.
- A collection of light rays is called a beam of light.

Umbra

The Umbra is a sharp shadow which is formed when light is blocked by an opaque object.

An Umbra alone is obtained on the screen when the opaque object is illuminated by a point source of
light

Penumbra

The penumbra is a partial shadow which is formed where light is partially blocked by the opaque object.
Eclipse

A lunar Eclipse occurs when the shadow of the earth falls on the moon.

A solar eclipse occurs when the shadow of the moon falls on the earth.

A Pinhole camera

A Pinhole Camera a one that form an image via a tiny aperture or pinhole (opening) with no lens. Note

- The image formed is upside down and laterally inverted (left to right reversed)
- Smaller the pinhole the clearer the image
Laws of Reflection

1. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane.
2. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

Properties of the Image formed by a plane mirror

- The image obtained is virtual.

- The image is laterally inverted.
- The image is upright.
- The size of the image is the same as the size of the object.
- The distance between the image is the same as the distance between the object from the
mirror.
Refraction

Refraction is the bending or change in direction of a wave such as light due to its speed changing, when
it goes from one medium to another for example when light goes from air to water. Note the
wavelength of the light changes but its frequency remains the same.

Laws of Refraction.

1. The incident ray, refracted ray and normal at the point of incidence all lie in the same plane.
2. The ratio of the sines of the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction of a wave is a
constant called the refractive index. This is also snells law.

N 1 Sin θ1 = N2 Sin θ2

Example: calculate the angle of refraction in water using snell’s law. Note the refractive index of airor
vacuum is = 1

Eg1. Find the refractive index of a material Q, if the angle of incidence in air is 20 o and the angle of
refraction is 18o .
Eg2. Calculate the angle of refraction in glass θ2 given the refractive index of glass is1.51 and the angle
of incidence in air 42o .

Ex3. The mass of the block above is 350g.

1. Calculate its weight --- W=mg

2. Calculate its Density---- p =m/V
3. Calculate the pressure exerted on the ground by the object. ----P=F/A