Teacher’s Notes:

There are 2 main sequences in this set:

1. This shows the wave-fronts arriving at a shallower area of

a ripple tank, where the waves travel more slowly.
It is shown one step at a time, as you click your mouse.
You can talk it through, moving to the next step when you are
ready.
This should help to reduce misconceptions which often arise
due to the difficulty of seeing what is happening in a ripple tank.

2. This is the same sequence, but now automated so that a single

click starts it off, and the motion is now more evident.
It ends with red rays superimposed.

Naturally it pays to have a quick practice-run first.

To start the slide-show in Full Screen mode, press Function key <F5>,
or right-click and select Full Screen
(to return to ‘normal view’ press the <Esc> key).
There is a photocopiable sheet of the same diagram in the
Physics for You Teacher Support Pack, page 245.
Refraction
of waves
1
Learning Objectives
You should learn:

• What a ‘plane’ wave is

• What happens when a plane wave travels
more slowly
• What is meant by refraction.
 Water in a ripple tank

incident wave
shallower water
 shallower water
incident wave refracted wave

fast slower
Learning Outcomes
You should now be able to:

• Explain what happens when a plane wave

enters a region where it travels more slowly
• Use the word ‘refraction’.

See Physics for You, page 168.