The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of electromagnetic waves arranged

according to frequency and wavelength. It is a gradual progression from the waves of lowest
frequencies to the waves of highest frequencies. According to increasing frequency, the EM
spectrum includes: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and
gamma rays. These waves do not have exact dividing region.

The different types of electromagnetic waves are defined by the amount of energy carried
by/possessed by the photons. Photons are bundles of wave energy. The energy of a photon is
given by the equation:
E=hf
where h is the Planck’s Constant and f is the frequency of the EM wave. The value of the
Planck’s constant is 6.63 x 10-34 joules per second.

From among the EM waves, the gamma rays have photons of high energies while radio
waves have photons with the lowest energies.

With regards to wavelength, radio waves can be likened to the size of a football field
while gamma rays are as small as the nuclei of an atom.

Table 1 shows the relative wavelength, frequency, and energy of each of the different types of
electromagnetic waves.

Arrange the EM waves in the table according as indicated.

Increasing Frequencies Increasing Wavelength Decreasing Energies

Guide Questions:
A. What is EM Spectrum?
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B. How will you describe the different regions of EM Spectrum?
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 Figure 2 will give you a clearer idea of the characteristics of the electromagnetic
waves as their sizes are compared with visible materials.

COPY

Figure 2. The Electromagnetic Spectrum

RUBRIC FOR THE ACTIVITY

Criteria 5 3 1
Content All answers are Some answers are not All answers are not
accurate. accurate. accurate.
Neatness of Work Output is well- Output is not clearly Output is not organized.
presented and organized.
organized.
Timeliness The group finished The group exceeded the The group exceeded the
the task on time. time limit given for 1to 5 time limit given for
minutes. more than 5 minutes.
Teamwork All members of the Two or Three members More than 3 members
group participated in did not participate in the did not participate in
accomplishing the task. accomplishing the task.
task.