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waves
Course
Physics

A wave is a vibration or disturbance transmitted through a medium or through space.

Waves transfer energy and information from one place to another, but they do not transfer material.

amplitude wavelength frequency period wave speed

the maximum the distance the number of the amount of time the speed that the
displacement between the same complete waves taken for a full wave moves at/
of a point on point on two passing a cycle of the wave transfers energy at
a wave from adjacent waves certain point
v = fλ
its per second
eg: from peak to
undisturbed v= wave speed m/s
peak or trough measured in
position f = frequency Hz
to trough Hertz (Hz)
λ = wavelength m

longitudinal waves transverse waves

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 the oscillations are parallel to the direction the oscillations are perpendicular to the
of energy transfer direction of energy transfer

eg:
eg: 1- EM waves

1- sound waves 2- ripples in water

2- shock waves (such as seismic waves) 3- waves on a string or rope

required practical : speed of water ripples

aim: find the effect of increasing wave frequency of the wave speed and wavelength on water in a
ripple tank

instructions:

1. set up the experiment as shown in the diagram.

2. Switch on the signal generator so that the dipper produces

waves.

3. Using the meter ruler, measure the distance between the

shadows of the waves on the screen.

4. measure the number of complete waves in that distance

5. divide the distance by the number of waves to get

IV: frequency of the signal wavelngth
generator
6. Calculate the speed of the wave using
DV: the wave speed and wavelength
v = fλ
notes: stay in a dark room so the
v= wave speed m/s
waves are clear
f = frequency Hz
and if you’re struggling to count
the waves, take a photo and count λ = wavelength m
them

required practical : speed of string waves

aim: find the effect of increasing wave frequency of the wave speed and wavelength on a string

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 instructions:

1. set up the apparatus as shown

2. measure the length of the string

3. turn on the signal generator, which will move the vibrator up

and down

4. count the number of half waves

5. divide the distance by the number of half waves to find the

distance of one half wave
IV: frequency of the signal
generator 6. double the distance of one half wave to get the wavelength

DV: wavelength and wave speed 7. Calculate the speed of the wave using
notes: get at least 4 to 5 v = fλ
half waves for a more
v= wave speed m/s
accurate wavelength
f = frequency Hz

λ = wavelength m

what happens when a wave arrives at the boundary between two mediums?

absorption reflection
the waves are absorbed
by the material it
enters

the energy of the wave

is transferred to the
energy store of the
material

eg: microwave

transmission
the wave carries on
into the second medium

often leads to
refraction
angle of incidence :

the angle between the incoming wave and the normal

angle of reflection:
the angle between the reflected wave and the normal

the normal:

perpendicular to the reflected surface (eg: mirror)

what does this depend on?

1. wavelength of the wave

2. properties of the materials involved

specular reflection diffuse reflection

when a wave is reflected in a when a wave is scattered in different directions
single direction

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 on a smooth surface by a rough surface

eg: in a mirror eg: a piece of paper

will give a clear image of rough surfaces will appear matte and you wont get a clear visual
the reflected object reflection of objects

refraction
when the wave changes direction as a response to crossing a boundary at an angle

optical density of a material is a measure of how quickly light travels through it

if the wave crosses the boundary at the normal (no angle) it will not refract

low to high density high to low density

bends towards the normal bends away from normal

wavelength decreases wavelength increases

velocity increases velocity decreases

frequency doesn’t change frequency wont change

angle of refraction is smaller than angle of angle of refraction is larger than angle of
incidence incidence

electromagnetic waves
transverse waves

aren’t vibrations of particles, but

oscillations of electric and magnetic fields

transfer energy

all EM waves can travel in a vacuum

all EM waves travel at the same speed through

all mediums electromagnetic waves are made of oscillating
electric and magnetic fields
generated by a changes in atoms and their
nuclei as alternating currents are made of
oscillating charges, they produce
electromagnetic waves with the same frequency
at the alternating current

required practical : reflection and refraction

aim: investigate the effect of different materials and their optical densities on the angle of
refraction and on the angle of reflection

instructions:

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 1. Slot the collimating slit into the ray box and turn on,
producing a narrow ray of light.

2. Place the first block of material on top of a piece of

paper. Trace around the block using a pencil.

3. Draw a normal to the block. Align the incident ray of

light with the meeting point between the normal and the
surface of the block.

4. Draw the incidence ray, reflected ray and refracted ray, .

Remove the block and draw a straight line between the
point of reflection and the refracted ray on the other
side of the block.

5. Using the protractor, measure:

The angle of incidence

The angle of reflection

The angle of refraction

6. Repeat the experiment. using a new piece of paper for each

different material of block.

IV: material used

DV: angle of refraction

notes: carry this out in a dim room

to see the light ray/laser properly

radio waves
features:

longest wavelength

lowest frequency

producing and transmitting radio waves:

you can produce radio waves with an alternating current in an electric circuit

the electrons which create the radio waves oscillate in a transmitter

the radio waves transmitted are then absorbed by the receiver

the energy that the waves carry is transferred to the electrons in the receiver

this generates an alternating current with the same frequency as the transmitted radio wave

this is really helpful when transmitting information

communication by radio waves:

TV FM radio bluetooth

microwaves ultraviolet
features: features:

relatively long wavelength higher frequency than visible light

relatively small frequency UV radiation is produced by the sun

can be split into 2 groups gives suntans

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 absorbed by water molecules
not absorbed by water molecules
harmful in high quantities
uses:
absorbed: microwave ovens
the energy in the waves is absorbed and
transferred tot he water molecules in the
food
this cooks the food
not absorbed: communication like satellites
for satellite tv, the signal from a
transmitter is transmitted to space
it is then picked up by the satellite
receiver dish which sends it back in a
different direction
it is then picked up again by another
satellite dish on earth
there is a slight time delay due to the
long distances
fluorescence:
a property of certain chemicals where UV radiation is absorbed and visible light is emitted
this is why some colours are really bright, because they are fluorescent
infrared radiation
features:
relatively long wavelength
relatively small frequency
emitted by all objects that have thermal
energy
the hotter the object, the more IR it
emits
an object hotter than its surrounding
emits more radiation than it absorbs in
order to cool down
an objects cooler than it’s surroundings
absorbs more radiation than it emits in
order to warm up
objects at a constant temperature emit and
absorb IR at the same rate
some objects absorb and emit IR better than
others
black objects are better than white
matte surfaces are better than shiny ones
harmful in high quantities
uses:
waves
uses:
fluorescent lights
generate UV radiation, which is absorbed
by phosphorus in the bulb
the phosphorus re emits the UV radiation
as visible light
energy efficient
security pens
the ink glows under fluorescent light
it is invisible otherwise
tanning salons
UV lamps generate UV radiation to give
suntans artificially
overexposure is dangerous
causes premature skin aging
sunburn
sterilising water
destroys microorganisms
required practical :
aim: Investigate the amount of infrared
radiation radiated from different surfaces.
IV: the surface / side of Leslie cube
DV: IR detected
CV: distance of detector from each surface
notes: Leslie cube is a hollow, watertight cube
with 4 different outside surfaces
be careful with boiling water
repeat the experiment more than once for
accuracy
you should detect more IR from the blacker,
matter surfaces than the shinier, whiter
surfaces
instructions:
1. Put the Leslie cube onto the heat-proof mat.
2. Fill the cube with very hot water and put the
lid on the cube. Your apparatus should look like
this:
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 infrared cameras which help detect movement
from organisms in the dark

cooking by heating metals, which makes them

emit IR and toast food

it doesn’t get absorbed, so the object

gets toasted or grilled instead of just
warm

this is opposite to microwaves

electric heaters which heat up a metal so it 3. Use the detector to measure the amount of
emits IR to the surroundings infrared radiated from each surface.

required practical :
aim: investigate the effect of different materials and their optical densities on the angle of
refraction and on the angle of reflection

instructions:

1. Slot the collimating slit into the ray box and turn on,
producing a narrow ray of light.

2. Place the first block of material on top of a piece of

paper. Trace around the block using a pencil.

3. Draw a normal to the block. Align the incident ray of

light with the meeting point between the normal and the
surface of the block.

4. Draw the incidence ray, reflected ray and refracted ray, .

Remove the block and draw a straight line between the
point of reflection and the refracted ray on the other
side of the block.

5. Using the protractor, measure:

The angle of incidence

The angle of reflection

The angle of refraction

6. Repeat the experiment. using a new piece of paper for each

different material of block.

IV: material used

DV: angle of refraction

notes: carry this out in a dim room

to see the light ray/laser properly

required practical :
aim: investigate the effect of different materials and their optical densities on the angle of
refraction and on the angle of reflection

instructions:

waves 7
 1. Slot the collimating slit into the ray box and turn on,
producing a narrow ray of light.

2. Place the first block of material on top of a piece of

paper. Trace around the block using a pencil.

3. Draw a normal to the block. Align the incident ray of

light with the meeting point between the normal and the
surface of the block.

4. Draw the incidence ray, reflected ray and refracted ray, .

Remove the block and draw a straight line between the
point of reflection and the refracted ray on the other
side of the block.

5. Using the protractor, measure:

The angle of incidence

The angle of reflection

The angle of refraction

6. Repeat the experiment. using a new piece of paper for each

different material of block.

IV: material used

DV: angle of refraction

notes: carry this out in a dim room

to see the light ray/laser properly

visible light
features:

the light we use to see

different colours have different wavelengths: the primary colours are pure red, green and
blue

they cant be made by mixing

when all the colours are put together, they

create white light

transparent
opaque white black and
objects objects objects translucent
objects

do not do not do not transmits

transmit transmit transmit some of the
light light light light

absorb some can reflect

uses: reflect all
wavelengths absorbs all or absorb
wavelengths
communication like optical fibres and reflect wavelengths specific
equally
others wavelengths
thin glass or plastic which visible light
pulses travel along by reflection colour colour is colour is colour is
depends on white black due to related to
the light rays bounce back and forth along which waves because you lack of the
the optical fibre are most see all the visible wavelengths
strongly colours light, as it that are
must ensure that the material will reflect
reflected equally, as is all either
the light totally, and the reflection is absorbed

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 specular transparent
opaque white black and
can transmit more information than
objects objects objects translucent
electrical copper wires, and are more
objects
reliable (less corruption)
they’re all transmitted
reflected or reflected

colour filters:

filter out different wavelengths of visible light

allows only specific colours to be transmitted. the rest are absorbed by the filter

primary colour filter non primary colour filter

transmits the colour and the primary wavelengths that

transmits only the primary colour
make it up

x rays gamma rays

features features

short wavelength short wavelength

high frequency high frequency

uses: uses:

x ray machines radiography- cancer treatment

to see broken bones because bones are more high doses of gamma can kill all living
dense so they absorb X- rays more easily cells, including tumors

the image produced is a negative image- they have to be carefully directed towards
its originally white and the parts cancer cells to avoid being dangerous to
radiation pass through turn black healthy cells

dangerous to x ray staff, so they must medical tracer

wear a lead apron and leave the room
a gamma emitting source is injected into
radiography- cancer treatment the patient

high doses of X ray can kill all living it has high penetration so it can pass out
cells, including tumors the skin and be detected

they have to be carefully directed towards but it must have a short half life to
cancer cells to avoid being dangerous to leave the body quickly
healthy cells

dangers of EM waves
high frequency waves are more dangerous

radiation dose is a measure of the risk of harm from the body being exposed to radiation

measured in sieverts

risk depends on amount of radiation AND TYPE OF RADIATION

1Sv = 1000mSv

when using radiation on the body, the radiation dose also depends on the body part

eg: radiation to the chest is 4x more dangerous than the head

convex lens concave lens

bulges outwards caves inward

causes rays of light parallel to the axis to causes rays of light parallel to the axis to
converge at the principal focus diverge

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 the axis is the line passing the middle of
the lens
principal focus is the point where all the
rays hitting the lens parallel to the axis
all meet
there is a principal focus on each side
of the lens
the focal length is the distance from the
centre of the lens to each principal focus
3 rules for convex lens refraction
1. an incident ray parallel to the axis
refracts passes through the principal
focus on the other side
the principal focus of concave lens is the
point where the parallel rays appear to come
from
3 rules for concave lens refraction
1. an incident ray parallel to the axis
passes in line with the principal focus
on the same side
2. an incident ray passing towards the
principal focus refracts and travels
parallel to the axis
3. and incident ray passing through the
centre carries on in the same direction

2. an incident ray passing through the

principal focus refracts and travels
parallel to the axis

3. an incident ray passing through the centre

carries on in the same direction

real images virtual images

when light from an object comes together to when the rays diverge, so an object appears
form an image on a screen from a different place

eg: the image formed on the retina of the eye eg: in a mirror or a magnifying lens

concave lens always create virtual images

distance from a convex lens how to describe images

farther than 2F) real, smaller, inverted virtual or real
2F) real, same size, inverted size
between 2F and F) real, larger, inverted upright or inverted
nearer than F) virtual, larger, upright
for a concave lens, no matter where the image is
it’s virtual, smaller and upright

magnifying glasses
use convex lens only

magnified object must be closer than focal length

produces a virtual magnified image

you cannot project a virtual image onto a screen

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 this means if you place a screen behind the virtual image it doesn’t show the object

magnification is calculated by

black body radiation

all objects emit radiation (not just IR)

intense it's a power per unit area

this means how much energy is transferred to a given area in a certain amount of time

as the temperature of an object increases, the intensity of the wavelength is emits increases

however, intensity increases more rapidly for shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies

this means the peak wavelength is lower (the wavelength that is emitted at the highest
intensity)

this graph shows the intensity of each wavelength and the top part is the peak wavelength

as temperature increases, peak wavelength decreases (shifts to the left) and intensity increases
(moves up) as you can see

temperature of earth in terms of radiation

the overall temperature of the Earth depends on the amount of radiation it reflects absorbs and
emits

during the day more radiation is absorbed than emitted causing an increase in the local
temperature

at night more radiation is emitted than absorbed causing a decrease in the local temperature

overall, the temperature of the earth stays fairly constant

global warming

When changes to the atmosphere cause a change to overall temperature on Earth

If the atmosphere starts to absorb more radiation without emitting the same amount

the overall temperature will rise until emission and absorption are equal again

sound

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 sound waves ears
longitudinal waves sound waves reach ear drums

caused by vibrating objects ear drum vibrates

needs to be passed through a medium to the vibrations passed to ossicles

surroundings, in a series of compressions and
vibrations travel through semicircular ear
rarefactions
canals
travels faster in more dense objects, as the
vibrations reach cochlea
particles in the object need to vibrate to
make the sound cochlea turns vibrations to electrical
signals
cannot travel in space
electrical signals sent to brain
when it reaches your eardrum, you can hear it
human ears can hear 20Hz to 20kHz

this is limited by the shape, size and

internal structure of the ear

reflection of sound ultrasound

sound is reflected by HARD and FLAT surfaces sound with a frequency above 20kHz

sound reflection is just an echo can be easily made by controlling the

refraction of sound
refracts as it enters different media
the denser the media, the sound waves will
speed up
because wavelength increases but frequency
is the same
frequency of electrical oscillations, and
converting them to mechanical oscillations
when a wave reaches a new medium, partial
reflection happens
this means that some of the wave is
reflected and some is
refracted/transmitted at the boundary

refraction of sound is hard to spot
because sound waves always spread around
anyways
the time it takes for a wave to be reflected
can determine the distance of the
object/boundary from the wave source

uses of ultrasound
medical imagine eg: pre natal scanning of a foetus

ultrasound waves can travel through the body

when ultrasound reaches the boundary between the womb fluid and skin of the foetus for example

it gets partially reflected

the TIMING and DISTRIBUTION of the echo is used by a computer to produce a video image of the
foetus

we are not sure about ultrasound safety yet

industrial imaging eg: finding flaws in materials such as pipes, wood and metal

if there is a crack in the object being checked, the ultrasound will be reflected sooner than
usual

echo sounding eg: submarines and boats

submarines can locate the depth of water they are in

boats can locate objects in deep water

seismic waves uses of seismic waves

produced by an earthquake

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 travel out the earth to the surface understanding how and where seismic waves are
absorbed and refracted, we can work out where
detected all over the surface of the earth
properties of earth change
using seismometers
this way we can understand the internal
seismologists work out the time taken for the
structure of earth and the size of its core
shock wave to reach the seismometers

they also note the parts which receive no

shock waves

when the seismic waves cross the boundary

between to layers of material inside the
earth, some are refracted and some are
absorbed

most of the time the refraction is gradual so

the path is curved

when properties change suddenly, speed

changes abruptly, and the path changes

types of seismic waves

p waves s waves

longitudinal transverse

pass through solids and liquids only pass through solid

faster slower

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