Module 2

ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
Training of Trainers for Grade 10 of the K to
12 Enhanced Basic Education Program
April 27 – May 2, 2015
(Luzon Cluster)
 Outline of Presentation

 Spiraling of concepts
 Module 2 Competencies
 Module 2 activities
 Activity 2: Now you go! Now you won’t!
 Discussion
 Essential Characteristics of Science
Inquiry
 In Grade 7

EM spectrum consists of various types of waves.

The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength.
High energy EM waves have high frequency and short wavelengths.
 In Grade 8

visible light

The arrangement of colors of light shows the

Light is composed of different colors.
hierarchy of the colors’ corresponding energy.
 In Grade 10

Applications of the
different EM waves

Image Credit: http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectrum1.html

 Sample Pre-assessment
TRUE OR FALSE:
1.Electromagnetic waves carry energy.
2.An electromagnetic wave is a longitudinal
wave.
3.Electromagnetic waves can travel in an
empty space.
4. Sound waves are electromagnetic waves.
5. Different colors of light have the same
amount of energy.
 Competencies
The learners should be able to:
 compare the relative wavelengths of different

forms of electromagnetic radiation

 explain uses of the different forms of EM radiation
 create models on how materials react to EM

radiation other than light (e.g. glass is opaque to

some UV rays)
 explain the effects of EM radiation to living things
 Activities in Module 2
1. How it came about… [Contribution of different
scientist]
2. Now you go! Now you won’t! [Materials that
allow/block EM waves]
3. Sound check…[Producing and detecting radio
waves]
4. Then there was sound… [Parts of a radio
transmitter and receiver]
5. It’s getting hotter [About infrared radiation]
6. Screen the UV out [About UV radiation]
 Activity 1: How it came about…
OMG! The compass needle
move near the current-carrying
wire. This shows electric
current creates magnetic field.
Hey Hans, the opposite
could be true! A changing
magnetic field produces an
electric field.

You both got it right! An

Hans Christian Oersted
1777-1851
You got it right
Maxwell. I proved the
existence of EM waves!
Michael Faraday
electromagnetic wave exists 1791-1867
when the changing magnetic
field causes a changing electric
field, which then causes another
changing magnetic field, and so
on.

Image credit:
http://soulconnection.net/glossary_in_depth/maxwell.html
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/hans-christian-oersted/
Heinrich Hertz http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Faraday James Clerk Maxwell
1857-1894 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Hertz
1831-1879
 Electromagnetic waves
 A moving charge creates  A changing magnetic field
magnetic field. causes a changing electric
field.

Image credit: Image credit:

http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/ http://electrical4u.com/faraday-law-of-
magnetic_field_moving_charges.htm#.VThZiyaKC electromagnetic-induction/
M8
 Electromagnetic waves
 The successive production of electric and magnetic
field results to the creation EM wave.
 An EM wave propagates outward from the source.

Image credit:
http://www.astronomynotes.com/light/s2.htm
 Electromagnetic waves
 The electric and magnetic fields vibrate at right angles to the
direction the wave travels so it is a transverse wave.

Image credit:
http://www.astronomynotes.com/light/s2.htm
 The modern
understanding of
light and color
begins with Isaac
Newton.

Image credit:
http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/bh.html

Newton set up a prism near his window, and

projected a beautiful spectrum 22 feet onto the
far wall. Further, to prove that the prism was
not coloring the light, he refracted the light
back together.
Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/em
spectrum1.html
 Frederick William
Herschel
(1738 - 1822)

Image credit:
http://
coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/
cosmic_classroom/ir_tutorial/
discovery.html
In 1800 he performed a famous experiment where he
tried to measure the temperature of different colours
of the spectrum by placing a thermometer on each
colour. He found to his amazement that the hottest
part of the spectrum was in a place where there was
no colour at all. It was a spot beyond the red end of
the spectrum. For the first time it was possible to talk
about invisible light. This hot light became known as
Infra Red (below the red) because it was shown to
have longer wavelength than visible light.
[http://www.krysstal.com/spectrum.html]

Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
 Johann Wilhelm Ritter
(1776 - 1810)

Image credit:
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/
cosmic_classroom/classroom_activities/
ritter_bio.html

In chemistry at that time there was a rumour that blue light

was more efficient at initiating chemical change than red
light. Ritter tried to measure the speed at which silver
chloride broke down with different colours. He proved that
blue light was indeed more efficient that red light. He was
amazed, however, that the most vigorous reactions took
place in the region beyond the violet where nothing could be
seen.
This new radiation was originally called Chemical Rays but
is now called Ultra Violet (beyond the violet). Ultra Violet
differs from visible light only in its wavelength which is
shorter. [http://www.krysstal.com/spectrum.html]
Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
 Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
(1857 - 1894)

Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Heinrich_Hertz

He set up electric circuits that produced

oscillations and managed to produce
electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of
66cm (over a million times longer than light).
This radiation could be picked up by other
circuits set up quite a distance away. The new
radiation was first called Hertzian Waves; this
became Radiotelegraphic Waves after Marconi.
We now call them Radio Waves.
[http://www.krysstal.com/spectrum.html]

Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
 Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson

The scientists discovered the cosmic

microwave background radiation. This
radiation, which fills the entire Universe, is
believed to be a clue to it's beginning,
something known as the Big Bang.

Perry Spencer (1894 - 1970) invented the

microwave oven
In 1945, Percy Spencer was experimenting with a new
vacuum tube called a magnetron while doing research for the
Raytheon Corporation. He was intrigued when the candy bar
in his pocket began to melt, so he tried another experiment
with popcorn. When it began to pop, Spencer immediately
saw the potential in this revolutionary process. In 1947,
Raytheon built the first microwave oven, the Radarange.
[http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/9-things-
invented-or-discovered-by-accident2.htm]

Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
 Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
(1845 - 1923)

Image credit:
http://www.two-views.com/article_Rontgen.html

On the night of 5 November 1895, he noticed a glow coming

from a chemical called barium platinocyanide. This
chemical glowed whenever the tube was on, even if he put
cardboard between it and the tube.
Roentgen went on to show that the glow was caused by a
highly penetrating but invisible radiation given off by the
tube. It passed through paper, thin sheets of metal, flesh. It
could ionise gases and had wave properties like light but
only much shorter wavelengths.
The new radiation was called X-Rays because of their
mysterious properties. Roentgen refused to patent the
discovery or make any financial gain out of it but he was
awarded the first ever Nobel Prize for Physics.
[http://www.krysstal.com/spectrum.html]

Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
 Paul Ulrich Villard
(1860 - 1934)

Image credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ulrich_Villard

Villard discovered gamma radiation in 1900, while studying

radiation emitted from radium. Villard knew that his
described radiation was more powerful than previously
described types of rays from radium, which included
beta rays, first noted as "radioactivity" by Henri Becquerel in
1896, and alpha rays, discovered as a less penetrating form
of radiation by Rutherford, in 1899. However, Villard did not
consider naming them as a different fundamental type.
Villard's radiation was recognized as being of a type
fundamentally different from previously named rays, by
Ernest Rutherford, who in 1903 named Villard's rays
"gamma rays" by analogy with the beta and alpha rays that
Rutherford had differentiated in 1899.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_ray]
Image Credit:
http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/toolbox/emspectr
um1.html
EM spectrum is a continuum of EM waves arranged according to frequency
and wavelength.

It shows a gradual progression from the waves of lowest frequency to the

waves of highest frequency or vice versa.

The different EM waves do not have exact dividing region.

 Module 2: Electromagnetic Spectrum

Motivation:
Call me maybe

Hey I just met you

And this is crazy
But here's my number (insert number here)
So call me maybe
 Cell phones uses microwaves to transmit and receive
information.
Remote control of RC cars also sends a control signal using
radio waves.
 Activity 2

Now you go!

Now you won’t!
Objectives

 Identify materials that can block or allow radio

waves.
 Compare the speed of the car when the transmitter

is without cover and when it is covered with

different materials.
Questions to be investigated

What materials allow radio waves to pass

through them?

What materials block radio waves?

 Materials

colored paper aluminum foil

wax paper transparent plastic

Latex gloves kitchen paper towel

Remote- controlled car

Procedure

1 Test the RC car if it is working.

2 Wrap the antenna around the remote

control. Secure it with a twist-tie wire or
rubber band.
Procedure

3 Use the remote control to make the toy car

run. [The car should run in a straight path. If not, place
the car between two planks of wood or meter sticks.]

Image of car:
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-photo-red-german-expensive-car-collectible-toy-cabriolet-isolated-
white-background-image40543185
Procedure

4 Choose a distance for the car to travel on.

Use a stopwatch (cell phone) to get the
time it took the car to travel the distance.
Maintain the distance between the car and
the remote control. Press once the
“forward button” and don’t release it until
the car reached the ‘finish line’ of the
distance you set.
Procedure

5 Start measuring the time it took the car to

cover the distance you set with the remote
control without cover first. Record the
time in Table 1.

6 Wrap the remote control one at a time

with the different materials. Make sure
that it is completely covered.
Make sure you know where the forward
button is.
 The materials will be used by other group.
Please unfold them carefully after each use.
Materials to test:

The materials should be of the same size so the remote control will
be wrapped with equal thickness.
Procedure

7 Record in Table 1 the time it took the car

to cover the distance you set with the
remote control covered with different
materials.
Table 1

Material covering RC car time of

Observations
the remote control travel (s)

No cover

Colored Paper

Wax Paper

Kitchen paper
towel

Transparent Plastic

Aluminum Foil

Latex gloves
 Guide Questions:
1. Which of the materials that cover the remote control allows the radio
waves to pass through? What evidence shows radio waves pass through
these materials?
2. Which of the materials that cover the remote control blocks the radio
waves? What evidence shows radio waves was blocked by these
materials?
3. What kind of materials allowed radio waves to pass through?
4. What kind of materials blocked radio waves?
5. What do the results of the activity tell about the characteristics of radio
waves?
6. Compare the time taken by the car to travel the distance you set when the
remote control was not covered to the time when the remote control was
covered with different materials. Are they the same? What does this tell
about the strength of the signal sent by the remote control when it hits the
material covering it?
 Guide Questions:
1. Which of the materials that cover the remote control allows the radio
waves to pass through? What evidence shows radio waves pass through
these materials?

colored paper kitchen paper towel Latex gloves

wax paper transparent plastic

The RC car moved.

2. Which of the materials that cover the remote control blocks the radio
waves? What evidence shows radio waves was blocked by these
materials?
aluminum foil
The RC car did not move.
 Guide Questions:
3. What kind of materials allowed EM waves to pass through?
colored paper
kitchen paper towel Paper (cellulose)
wax paper

Latex gloves Rubber (elastomers)

transparent plastic Plastic (polyethylene)

4. What kind of materials blocked EM waves?

aluminum foil Aluminum - Metallic
 Guide Questions:
5. What does the result of the activity tells about the characteristic of radio
waves?
Radio waves can be blocked by some materials.
Radio waves can pass through some materials.
6. Compare the time taken by the car to travel the distance you set when the
remote control was not covered to the time when the remote control was
covered with different materials. Are they the same? What does this tell
about the strength of the signal sent by the remote control when it hits the
material covering it?
No

The signal can be weakened by the material covering the remote

control.
 receiving antenna
(not visible outside the car) Discussion
radiowaves

transmitting
antenna

Transmitter
receiving
antenna

sends a control signal to the receiver using

radio waves

Receiver - An antenna and circuit board inside the toy receives signals from the transmitter and
activates motors inside the toy as commanded by the transmitter.
 Discussion

Transmitter:
sends a control signal to the receiver using
radio waves

Transmitter consists of several elements that

Power supply: Provides the necessary electrical work together to generate radio waves that
power to operate the transmitter. contain useful information
 Discussion
Three things happen to EM waves when it encounters a barrier.
It can bounce (reflectance or scattering), pass through
(transmittance), or just plain stop (absorbance).

Image credit:
https://sites.google.com/site/waveslightandsoundunit/03---unit-lessons/04---light-waves
 Discussion
When a radio wave reaches an obstacle, some of its energy is absorbed and
converted into another kind of energy, while another part is attenuated and
continues to propagate, and another part may be reflected.

Attenuation is when a signal's power is reduced as it is being transmitted.

Attenuation increases with a rise in frequency or in distance. Also, when a

signal collides with an obstacle, the
level of attenuation depends
strongly on which type of material the obstacle is made
of.
 Discussion

What is Attenuation Coefficient?

• The attenuation coefficient is the level by which a material will
block or interfere with radio waves.
• This coefficient depends heavily on the thickness and composition
of the material.
• Cardboard, paper, many plastics, water, and glass are all substances
with very low attenuation coefficients. In addition, wood, brick,
and cement have a limited effect on making radio waves blocked.
• However, metallic compounds, steel-reinforced concrete and the
Earth reflect signals, preventing radio signals from passing
through.
Properties of media
The weakening of signal strength is largely due to the properties of the
medium that the wave is passing through. Here is a table showing attenuation
levels for different materials:

Degree of Degree of
Materials Attenuatio Examples Materials Attenuatio Examples
n n
air none Open space bricks medium walls

wood low Door , floor, plaster medium partitions

partition
plastic low partition paper high Rolls of paper

glass low Untinted windows concrete high Load-bearing

walls, floors
Tinted glass medium Tinted windows Bullet proof high Bullet proof
glass windows
water medium aquarium metal Very high Metal cabinet,
elevator cage
Living medium Crowds, animals,
creatures people, plants

Source:
http://en.kioskea.net/contents/832-propagation-of-radio-waves-802-11
 2 Types of matter (substance) that
affect Radio waves

Conductors Insulators
Copper
(Dielectrics)
Paper
Aluminum
Plastic
Silver Teflon
Gold Glass
Ceramic
Dry wood
If the material is metal, almost all of the As the radio wave travels through the dielectric
radio waves are reflected within the first material some of the energy is absorbed
few atoms of the material. A small amount generating heat and some of the radio waves
of energy is absorbed by the silver atoms travel through and comes out of the other side.
and converted to heat.
 Extension Activity

Students can take the investigation further by

comparing the ability of the same materials in blocking
other EM Waves .

Non-ionizing Ionizing
radiation radiation
 Extension Activity

Students can take the investigation further

by controlling variables such as the
thickness of materials.
 5 Essential Characteristics of Scientific Inquiry

Characteristics Activity 2: Now you go! Now you won’t!

Engaging in scientifically-oriented
What materials allow/block radio waves?
questions

Gathering evidence
Observe the car if it moves or not

Infer that if the car moves, then the radio waves

emitted by the transmitter pass through the material
covering it

Infer that if the car did not move, then the radio
waves emitted by the transmitter did not pass through
the material covering it
 5 Essential Characteristics of Scientific Inquiry
Characteristics
Providing explanations based on
evidence and scientific knowledge
Evaluating explanations
Justifying and communicating
explanations
Activity
If the material blocking the radio wave
is metal, almost all of the EM waves
are reflected.
If the material blocking the EM wave
is dielectric, some of the EM waves
are absorbed and some are
transmitted.
THANK YOU!