SPH4U Assignment: The Wave Nature of Light

Due: Tuesday, June 14th. Over-rounded answers have been provided to guide you.

1. A 6.0 Hz water wave, travelling at 35 cm/s in deep water, enters shallow water. The
angle between the incident wave front in the deep water and the boundary between the
deep and shallow regions is 35°. The speed of the wave in the shallow water is 28 cm/s.
Find
a. the angle of refraction in the shallow water (~30o)
b. the wavelength in shallow water (~5 m)
c. the critical angle for water waves, initially travelling at 28 m/s in shallow water, hitting a
boundary with deeper water where the wave speed is 35 m/s. (~50o)

2. Two very small, identical speakers, each radiating sound uniformly in all directions, are
placed at points S1 and S2 as in Figure 1. The speakers are connected to an audio
source in such a way that they radiate in phase, at the common wavelength of 2.00 m.
Sound propagates in air at 338 m/s.
a. Calculate the frequency of the sound. (~200 Hz)
b. Point M, a nodal point, is 7.0 m from S1 and more than 7.0 m from S2. Find three
possible distances M could be from S2. (8,10,12 m)
c. Point N, also a nodal point, is 12.0 m from S1 and 5.0 m from S2. On which nodal line is
N located? (4th)

3. Two towers of a radio station are 5.40 × 102 m apart along an east–west line. The
towers act essentially as point sources, radiating in phase at a frequency of 1.20 × 106
Hz. Radio waves travel at 3.00 × 108 m/s.
a. In which directions is the intensity of the radio signal at a maximum for listeners 20.0 km
north of the transmitter (but not necessarily directly north of it)? (~30o, ~70o)
b. In which directions would you find the intensity at a minimum, north of the transmitter, if
the towers were to start transmitting in opposite phase? (same)

4. In an interference experiment, reddish light of wavelength 6.25 × 102 nm passes

through a double slit. The distance between the first and eleventh dark bands, on a
screen 1.55 m away, is 15.2 cm.
a. Calculate the separation of the slits. (~6x10-5 m)
 b. Calculate the spacing between adjacent nodal lines using blue light of wavelength
4.45 × 102 nm. (~1 cm)

5. The index of refraction of turpentine relative to air for red light is 1.47. A ray of red light
𝜆𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 655 𝑛𝑚) passes from air into turpentine with an angle of incidence of 45.0°.
a. Calculate the wavelength of the red light in the turpentine. (~400 nm)
b. Calculate the angle of refraction. (~30o)

6. Sunlight incident on a screen containing two narrow slits 0.25 mm apart casts an
interference pattern on a white sheet of paper 2.0 m beyond. Find the distance
separating the violet (𝜆𝑣 = 415 𝑛𝑚) in the first-order band from the red (𝜆𝑟𝑒𝑑 = 625 𝑛𝑚)
in the second-order band. (~7x10-3 m)

7. Calculate the angle for the third-order maximum of 595 nm wavelength yellow light
falling on double slits separated by 0.12 mm. (~0.9o)

8. Determine the separation between two slits for which 615 nm orange light has its first
maximum at an angle of 5.0°. (~7x10-6 m)

9. Explain how the phenomenon of polarization provides convincing evidence that light
must be a transverse wave.

10. Light from a laser pointer, with a wavelength of 675 nm, passes through a slit with a
width of 9.45 mm. A screen is placed 3.00 m away.
a. How wide is the central maximum (i) in degrees and ( ii) in centimetres? (~0.008o,
~0.04 cm)
b. What is the separation of adjacent minima (excluding the pair on either side of the
central maximum)? (~0.02 cm)

11. Monochromatic light falls onto a slit 3.00 𝜇m wide. The angle between the first dark
fringes on either side of the central maximum is 25.0°. Calculate the wavelength. (~650
nm)

12. A coating, 197.4 nm thick, is applied to a lens to minimize reflections. The respective
indexes of refraction of the coating and of the lens material are 1.65 and 1.58. What
wavelength in air is minimally reflected for normal incidence in the smallest thickness?
Draw a diagram as part of your solution. (~650 nm)

13. A transparent oil (n = 1.29) spills onto the surface of water (n = 1.33), producing a
maximum of reflection with normally incident orange light, with a wavelength of 625 nm
in air. Assuming the maximum occurs in the first order, determine the thickness of the oil
slick. Draw a diagram as part of your solution. (~200 nm)