GRADE 10 SCIENCE

I. CONTENT:
Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Regions of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Concept Notes No. 19
Regions of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Radio waves
 Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. These waves
can be longer than a football field or as short as a football. These correspond to frequencies of
up to 300 GHz. This range of electromagnetic waves is very broad and has many subdivisions
or bands, depending on use. Within this range are a number of frequency bands with different
names-long wave (LW), medium wave (MW), short wave (SW), very high frequency (VHF),
and ultra-high frequency (UHF). The LW, MW, and SW are used for AM radio communication,
whereas the VHF and UHF are used for FM stereo radio communications and terrestrial
television communication.

 The main application of radio waves is in communication because radio waves propagate well
through the atmosphere. Radio waves travel very long distances, making them very useful for
communications. In the case of satellites and space communication, higher frequencies of
radio waves are being used because lower frequencies can no longer penetrate the upper
atmosphere.
 Radio waves do more than just bring music to your radio. They also carry signals for your
television and cellular phones.
 The antennae on your television set receive the signal, in the form of electromagnetic waves,
that is broadcasted from the television station. It is displayed on your television screen. Cable
companies have antennae or dishes which receive waves broadcasted from your local TV
stations. The signal is then sent through a cable to your house.
 When you send or receive a text message, or place/receive a call on your cell phone, you are
using radio waves. Cellular phones also use radio waves to transmit information. These
waves are much smaller that TV and FM radio waves.

Microwaves
 Microwaves occupy the next region of the EM spectrum after the radio waves. Microwaves
have shorter wavelengths and therefore higher energy than radio waves. Their frequencies
range from about 10⁸ to around 10¹² (in the gigahertz range). Just like radio waves, the
longer-wavelength microwaves travel freely in the atmosphere and are also widely used in
telecommunications.
 Microwaves have wavelengths that can be measured in centimeters. The longer microwaves,
those closer to a foot in length, are the waves which heat our food in a microwave oven.

 Microwaves are good for transmitting information from one place to another because microwave
energy can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds, and smoke.
  Shorter microwaves are used in remote sensing. These microwaves are used for radar like the
Doppler radar used in weather forecasts. Microwaves, used for radar, are just a few inches long.
Infrared
 Infrared light lies between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Infrared light has a range of wavelengths, just like visible light has wavelengths that range from red
light to violet. "Near infrared" light is closest in wavelength to visible light and "far infrared" is closer
to the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The longer, far infrared wavelengths are
about the size of a pin head and the shorter, near infrared ones are the size of cells, or are
microscopic.

 Far infrared waves are thermal. In other words, we experience this type of infrared radiation every
day in the form of heat! The heat that we feel from sunlight, a fire, a radiator or a warm sidewalk is
infrared. Our skin is a good absorber of infrared radiation so human bodies can act like a detector.
The temperature-sensitive nerve endings in our skin can detect the difference between inside body
temperature and outside skin temperature.
 Warm bodies emit infrared radiation because of molecular vibration. The hotter an object is the
more infrared it emits. But the eyes are unable to see these rays.
 Though humans can’t see infrared, some animals are sensitive to them. Some nocturnal animals
use infrared to detect the presence of prey and predator alike.
 Infrared light is even used to heat food sometimes - special lamps that emit thermal infrared waves
are often used in fast food restaurants.
 Shorter, near infrared waves are not hot at all - in fact you cannot even feel them. These shorter
wavelengths are the ones used by your TV's remote control.
 Infrared light is even used to heat food sometimes - special lamps that emit thermal infrared waves
are often used in fast food restaurants.
 Thermal scanners and thermal imaging systems or cameras are being used to detect people with
fever.
Visible light
 The visible light of the electromagnetic spectrum, also called the optical spectrum, is a very narrow
band near the middle of the spectrum. This is the only part of the spectrum that human eyes can
see. And we see it as either white light or the colors of the rainbow. Visible light comes to us from
various light sources most notably the sun. The light from the sun is not normally separated into its
constituent colors.

 Visible light is the most familiar EM radiation that can be detected by the human eye, and it is
responsible for the functioning of our sense of sight. Specialized cells in the eye called rods and
cones are very sensitive to EM waves in this very narrow band of frequencies. These cells transmit
 electrical signals to the brain, which form the mental image. The various wavelengths of light are
generally classified by colors.

 When white light shines through a prism or through water vapor like this rainbow, the white light is
broken apart into the colors of the visible light spectrum. In the order of increasing frequency and
decreasing wavelength, the colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet with frequencies
between 4 to 7.5 x 10¹⁴ Hz or wavelengths between 400 and 700 nm.

II. OBJECTIVES:
A. Describe the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum: radio waves; microwaves; infrared; and
visible light;
B. Compare the wavelengths of the different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum;
C. Identify the uses of radio waves, microwaves, and infrared.

I. ASSESSMENT:
Activity
Identify the region of the electromagnetic spectrum being described. Write your answer on the space provided
for.
Visible Light Spectrum 1. It is the only part of the spectrum that human eyes can see.
Microwaves 2. These are good for transmitting information from one place to another because their energy
can penetrate haze, light rain and snow, clouds, and smoke.
Infrared 3. It is used by nocturnal animals to detect the presence of prey and predator alike.
Microwaves 4. Their frequencies range from about 10⁸ to around 10¹² (in the gigahertz range).
Radio Waves 5. These have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Activity
Use google or any other reference materials to fill in the table below.

EM Waves Discovered by: Uses (Give at Produced by: Natural Sources

least two.)
Radio waves Heinrich Hertz TV and navigation time-varying Lightning or
electric currents astronomical
phenomena
Microwaves James Clerk radar and satellite currents in the Sun and the
Maxwell macroscopic Cosmic Microwave
circuits and devices Background
Infrared Astronomer William electrical heaters heat or thermal Solar radiation and
Herschel and thermal radiation fire
imaging camera

IV.GENERALIZATION:
Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. The main application of
radio waves is in communication because radio waves propagate well through the atmosphere.
Microwaves occupy the next region of the EM spectrum after the radio waves. Microwaves have
shorter wavelengths and therefore higher energy than radio waves. Just like radio waves, the longer-
wavelengths microwaves travel freely in the atmosphere and are also widely used in telecommunications.
Infrared radiation (IR) is an electromagnetic radiation that occupies the region between microwaves and
visible light. "Near infrared" light is closest in wavelength to visible light and "far infrared" is closer to the
microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Infrared radiation is one of the most useful tool at
home-the remote control. Infrared light is even used to heat food sometimes.
Visible light is the most familiar EM radiation that can be detected by human eye, and it is responsible
for the functioning of our sense of sight. The various wavelengths of light are generally classified by colors.