GENERAL WAVE PROPERTIES

Wave
 A wave is a disturbance in a medium.
 Waves transfer energy without transferring particle or matter;
particles oscillate about a fixed point.
 TYPES OF WAVE
Transverse waves
 Has crests and troughs
 Vibrations are at right angles to the direction of travel
 An example is light
Longitudinal waves
 Consists of compressions (particles pushed together) and
rarefactions (particles moved apart)
 Vibrations are in the same direction as the direction of travel
 An example is sound.
 Amplitude
 Amplitude – the distance from the mean position to
the maximum displacement. Unit of amplitude is
metre.
 Wavelength
 Wavelength (λ) – the distance between a point on one wave
and the same point on the next wave. The wavelength of a
wave, represented by the Greek letter λ (‘lambda’). Unit is
metre.
 FREQUENCY & speed
 The frequency (f) is the number of waves
generated per second. Unit of frequency is Hertz
(Hz).

 Speed (v)– Total distance travelled by a wave in

one second. Unit is (m/s)
 WAVE EQUATION
There is a relation between f, λ and v, which is for all
types of wave.

𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒅=𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 × 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉
𝒗=𝒇𝝀
 Past Paper question
The waves travel towards the gap at a speed of 3 x
10^8 m/s and have a frequency of 0.5 x 10^14 Hz.
Calculate the wavelength of these waves.

wavelength = ................................
 TASK 1 (QUIZZ)
1. Which list contains only transverse waves?
A infra-red waves, light waves, sound waves
B infra-red waves, light waves, ultraviolet waves
C infra-red waves, sound waves, ultraviolet waves
D light waves, sound waves, ultraviolet waves
2. What is the unit wavelength?
A hertz B metre C metre per second D second
3.Which of these waves is longitudinal?
A infra-red B radio C sound D water
4. The frequency of a wave is doubled. The speed of the wave does
not change. What happens to the wavelength of the wave?
A It becomes four times as large. B It does not change.
C It doubles. D It halves.
5. Which row correctly defines a type of wave and gives a correct
example?
On Figure, show
1. a distance, labelled λ, corresponding to the wavelength of the
wave,
2. a distance, labelled A, corresponding to the amplitude of the wave
State one example of 
a longitudinal wave, ..................................................
a transverse wave…………………………………….
1. Explain what is meant by the terms longitudinal and
transverse.
longitudinal.......................................................................................
transverse.........................................................................................

2. Explain how a compression differs from a

rarefaction. .......................................................................................
....................
 1. A seismic wave has a speed of 7.2 km / s and a frequency of 30 Hz.

Calculate its wavelength.

Wave length =.................................................

2. A tsunami is a giant water wave. It may be caused by an earthquake below the

ocean.

Waves from a certain tsunami have a wavelength of 1.9 × 10 5 m and a speed of

240 m/ s.

Calculate the frequency of the tsunami waves. 

Frequency =...........................................................
 WAVE FRONTS
 Wave fronts are lines marking the location of the crests
in a Transverse wave or compression in a longitudinal
wave.
 each wavefront is used to represent a
single wave.
 REFLECTION AT A PLANE SURFACE
 Reflection is bouncing of waves from the surface.
 Waves cannot pass through surface so bouncing back.
 Angle of incidence = angle of reflection
 Rough surfaces scatter the light in all directions, so
they appear matte and unreflective
 Frequency, wavelength, and speed are all unchanged.
WORKSHEET - REFLECTION
 Reflection in a Plane Mirror

When an object is placed in front of a

mirror, an image of that object can be
seen in the mirror
•The image will be:
• The same size as the object
• The same distance behind the
mirror as the object is in front of
it
• Directly in line with the object
• Light from the object hits the mirror, reflecting
from it (i=r)
• To an observer, the reflected ray appears to
have come from the right-hand side of the
mirror
• The reflected ray can be traced back in this
directions, forming a virtual ray
• An image of the object will appear where
these two virtual rays cross
• The type of image formed in the mirror is
called a virtual image.
 REFRACTION AT A PLANE SURFACE
 Refraction is bending of waves when it enters from
one medium to another medium.
 It is because different speed in different mediums.
 The speed of a wave changes when it enters a new
medium
 If the wave enters a more optically dense medium,
its speed decreases and it bends towards the normal
 If the wave enters a less optically dense medium, its
speed increases and it bends away from the normal
 In all cases, the frequency stays the same but the
wavelength changes.
 The refractive index
 The refractive index n of a medium is defined as the ratio between the
speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in the medium:

• The refractive index is a number that is always larger than

1 and is different for different materials
• Objects which are more optically dense have
a higher refractive index, eg. n is about 2.4 for diamond
• Objects which are less optically dense have
a lower refractive index, eg. n is about 1.5 for glass
• Since refractive index is a ratio, it has no units.
REFRACTION AT A GLASS BLOCK – snell’s law
• When light enters a denser medium (such as glass) it
slows down and bends towards the normal
• How much the light bends depends on the density of
the material
• If light travels from a less dense to a high denser
medium (e.g. air to glass), r < i (bends towards the
normal)
• If light travels from a high denser to a less dense
medium (e.g. glass to air), r > i (bends away from the
normal)
 Snell’s law
 The angles of incidence and refraction are
related by an equation known as Snell's Law:
 Total Internal Reflection
• Sometimes, when light is moving from a denser medium towards a less
dense one, instead of being refracted, all of the light is reflected. This
phenomenon is called total internal reflection.
• As the angle of incidence is increased, the angle of refraction also
increases until it gets closer to 90°
• When the angle of refraction is exactly 90° the light is refracted along the
boundary
• At this point, the angle of incidence is known as the critical angle c
• When the angle of incidence is larger than the critical angle, the refracted
ray is now reflected. This is total internal reflection
 conditions for total internal reflection
• The angle of incidence > the critical angle
• The incident material is denser than the second
material.
 Refractive Index & Critical Angle Equation
• The critical angle, c, of a material is related to its refractive index, n
• The relationship between the two quantities is given by the equation:

• The larger the refractive index of a material, the smaller the critical

angle
• Light rays inside a material with a high refractive index are more
likely to be totally internally reflected.
(a) The angle of incidence of another red ray is 65°. The refractive index of the glass of
block is 1.62.
Calculate the angle of refraction in the glass for this ray.

angle = ........................................................ [2]

(i) The speed of light in air is 3.0 × 108 m / s.

Calculate the speed of the red light in the glass.

speed = ........................................................ [2]

1. The refractive index n of glass in air is 1.5.
(a) State the equation that relates the speed of light in air va, the speed of light in
glass vg and n.
 .............................................................................................................................
[1]

 The speed of light in air is 3.0 × 108 m / s. Calculate the speed of light in glass.

speed = ......................................................................................................... [1]

2. The material of an optical fibre has a refractive index of 1.52. Calculate the
critical angle.

Critical angle =................................................ [2]

 RESEARCH TOPICS

1. explain the reason behind sparkling of diamond.

Draw the diagram.
2. Optical fibre in communication.
3. Optical fibre in medicine.
4.Why do we use prisms in a binocular ?
5. Mirage
 Investigating Reflection
Aims of the Experiment
• To investigate reflection by a plane mirror
Variables
• Independent variable = angle of incidence, i
• Dependent variable = angle of reflection, r
Control variables:
• Distance of ray box from mirror
• Width of the light beam
• Same frequency / wavelength of the light
 Total internal reflection is utilised in:
• Optical fibres e.g. endoscopes
• Prisms e.g. periscopes
 Prisms are used in a variety of optical
instruments, including:
• Periscopes
• Binoculars
• Telescopes
• Cameras
A periscope is a device that can be used to see over tall objects
• It consists of two right-angled prisms
Single and double reflection through right-
angled prisms
Total internal reflection is used to reflect light along
optical fibers, meaning they can be used for
• Communications
• Endoscopes
Light travelling down an optical fiber is totally internally reflected each time it hits the edge
of the fiber.