ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

LESSON OBJECTIVES

• Describe the wavelength of different forms of electromagnetic

waves.
• Give practical applications of the different regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
• Display appreciation on the importance of learning the
electromagnetic spectrum by explaining the effects of
electromagnetic radiation on living things and the environment.
 LESSON ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. How do frequency and wavelength relate to the energy carried

by electromagnetic waves?
2. Why are some forms of electromagnetic radiation more
powerful than others?
3. How does electromagnetic radiation affect living things?
4. What are the benefits and hazards of using or applying the
different forms of electromagnetic radiation?
 PERFORMANCE TASK NO. 1
Suppose you are working in one of the biggest advertising
agencies in Metro Cebu. You are scriptwriters and designers in
the creative department responsible for creating advertising or
campaign materials. One of your clients is an environmental
organization that advocates the preservation of the ozone
layer. The organization commissioned your company to create
an infographic that promotes their advocacy to social media
users. This infographic will be presented to the members of the
organization. Your output will be assessed based on content,
communication,and creativity.
 ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

• Electromagnetic waves are

transverse waves.
• A transverse wave causes the
particles of a medium to
vibrate perpendicularly to
the direction of the wave
itself.
• EM waves are also called
electromagnetic radiation Figure 1. An EM wave: Both an electric field
because they carry energy and a magnetic field are perpendicular to the
called radiation. direction of propagation.
PROPERTIES OF A WAVE
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

• A crest or peak is a point

on the wave where the
displacement of the medium
is at a maximum.
• A point on the wave is a
trough if the displacement
of the medium at that point
is at a minimum.
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

• A wavelength is the
distance between two
adjacent crests or two
adjacent troughs. The
symbol for the wavelength
is λ (the Greek letter
lambda) and is measured in
meter, m.
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

• The period of a wave is

the time for a particle on a
medium to make one
vibrational cycle. Period,
being time is measured in
second, s. The period of a
wave is the time for a
particle on a medium to
make one vibrational cycle.
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE

• The frequency of a wave

refers to how often the
particles of a medium
vibrate when wave passes
through the medium. The
frequency is measured in
Hertz, H.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC
SPECTRUM
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

• Electromagnetic
spectrum represents
the family of
electromagnetic
waves.
• The EM waves in the
spectrum are arranged
according to
Low-frequency waves = Longer wavelengths frequency and
wavelength.
High-frequency waves = Shorter wavelengths
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

• Therefore, frequency is inversely proportional to

wavelength.

𝑐=𝑓𝜆
where:
𝑐 = speed of EM waves in meters per second (m/s)
𝑓 = frequency of EM waves in hertz (Hz or s -1)
𝜆 = wavelength of EM waves in meters (m)
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

• The higher the frequency of a wave, the more energy it

carries and the more hazard it poses.

𝐸 = ℎ𝑓
where:
𝐸 = energy in Joules (J) or electronvolt (eV)
ℎ = Planck’s proportionality constant between the energy
and the frequency of the EM waves
𝑓 = frequency in Hertz (Hz)
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

• The energy carried by an EM wave is directly proportional to

its frequency and inversely proportional to its wavelength.

• This means that the higher the frequency and the shorter the
wavelength of the EM waves, the higher the energy they carry.

ℎ𝑐
𝐸=
𝜆
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES
LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES
LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

EM Wave Wavelength (m) Frequency (Hz)

Radio >1x10-1 3x109

Microwave 1x10-3 to 1x10-1 3x109 to 3x1011

Infrared 7x10-7 to 1x10-3 3x1011 to 4x1014

Visible light 4x10-7 to 7x10-7 4x1014 to 7.5x1014

 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

RADIO WAVES
Characteristics:
✓ Have the lowest frequency but the longest wavelength
✓ Can travel long distances through obstacles
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Radio and television broadcasting, two-way radios,
communication receivers, mobile phones, and satellite
communications.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

RADIO WAVES
Harmful effects:
✓ Lower exposure to radio waves may not affect health because
they are low-energy waves. However, health experts say that
too much exposure to high-frequency radio waves may cause
cancer, leukemia, and other health problems.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

MICROWAVES
Characteristics:
✓ Extremely high frequency waves but very short wavelength
✓ Microwaves can be reflected and absorbed: food absorbs
microwaves but metallic objects reflect them. Hence, metallic
objects should not be used in a microwave oven.
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Mobile phones, Microwave ovens
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

MICROWAVES
Harmful Effects:
✓ According to research, prolonged exposure to microwaves can
cause cataract.
✓ Avoid staying close to a microwave while heating food.
✓ Cellphones can also affect certain parts of the brain. They emit
microwaves that can cause an increase in temperature when
absorbed by your body or brain.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

INFRARED WAVES
Characteristics:
✓ Have wavelengths between those of microwaves and visible
light.
✓ One major source of infrared radiation is the sun. More than
half of the total energy from the sun reaches the Earth in form
of infrared waves.
✓ The amount infrared radiation emitted by an object
depends on the object’s temperature.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

INFRARED WAVES
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Keeping food hot
✓ Relieve sore muscles
✓ Incubators in poultries and hospitals
✓ Projectors and search lights
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

INFRARED WAVES
Harmful Effects:
✓ Infrared radiation can cause damage to the human body,
particularly to the eyes and the skin, but its biological effects
depend on the wavelength range and the duration of
exposure.
✓ Effects are intolerable only if certain doses have been
exceeded.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

VISIBLE LIGHT
Characteristics:
✓ Enables one to see the physical world.
✓ The only wave that can be seen by the naked eye.
✓ The sun is the main source of light in our planet.
✓ One of the raw materials in photosynthesis.
✓ Visible light goes through a phenomenon called dispersion where a
beam of light is allowed to pass through a prism and is separated
into its component lights of different wavelengths: ROYGBIV.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

VISIBLE LIGHT
Dispersion
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

VISIBLE LIGHT
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Used in visible LASER (light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation) – A device that emits light through
amplification. It emits a very narrow and focused beam of light.
LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

FIELD OF
FUNCTIONS
APPLICATION
• Pointing and directing
Military
• Measuring range and speed
• Cutting and welding materials
• Compact disks and DVD players
Industry
• Laser printers
• Barcode scanners
• Removal of cataract
 FIELD OF
FUNCTIONS
APPLICATION
LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES
• Pointing and directing
Military
• Measuring range and speed
• Cutting and welding materials
• Compact disks and DVD players
Industry
• Laser printers
• Barcode scanners
• Removal of cataract
• Correcting vision
• Skin treatments or conditions
Medicine
such as skin cancer and skin
lesion, removal tattoo, removal
unwanted hair and spots on skin.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

VISIBLE LIGHT
Harmful Effects:
✓ Since light is amplified in a laser, it contains a high
concentration of light and is very powerful. Failure to hit the
target spot could cause severe burns on neighboring areas.
 LOW-FREQUENCY WAVES

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING!

1. How would you compare radio waves and television waves?
2. Why is more exposure to microwaves more hazardous than
exposure to radio waves?
3. When does infrared radiation become a health hazard?
4. What is white light?
5. Why is the band of colors that represents the visible light
spectrum not visible to the eyes?
HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS

Characteristics:
✓ Sunlight is the main source of ultraviolet rays. The amount of
sunlight that reaches Earth depends on the sun’s position in
the sky.This means that the amount of radiation varies with
the time of the day.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS

Beneficial Effects:
✓ Exposure to early-morning sunlight provides low doses of UV
radiation, which has an important role in the production of
Vitamin D which helps in the production and absorption
of calcium necessary for healthy and strong bones.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS

Harmful Effects:
✓ Overexposure of skin to sunlight results in absorption of a
higher dose of UV rays which poses great risk to one’s health.
✓ Recent studies reveal that too much exposure to UV rays is
the main cause of two health problems: skin cancer and
cataract.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS

Classification of UV rays
✓ Wavelength
UV-C>UV-B<UV-A

✓ Energy
UV-C>UV-B<UV-A
HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES
HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES
HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES
HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

ULTRAVIOLET (UV) RAYS

Simple protective measures to prevent short- and long-term effects of UV
rays:
✓ Avoid sun exposure between 10AM and 2PM.
✓ Wear protective materials such as light-colored clothes, which can
reflect some UV rays, and a wide-brimmed hat to protect the eyes,
face, and neck.
✓ Use eyeglasses with clip-on sunglasses to protect your eyes.
✓ Apply a broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of
15 or higher after every two hours.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

X-RAYS
Characteristics:
✓ Have frequencies ranging from 3x1016 to 3x1019
✓ May originate in the nuclear power plants and in the radioactive
substances in rocks and other Earth materials.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

X-RAYS
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Used for medical purposes
✓ Used for x-ray scanners in airports
✓ Used for dental examination and computerized tomography (an
examination that uses x-rays to give a more detailed image of
an object, especially the brain)
✓ Used in radiation therapy to kill malignant tumors or cancer
cells
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

X-RAYS
Harmful Effects:
✓ Using x-ray radiation is still considered a health hazard despite
of its medical advantages because of its ionizing property.
✓ In the reproductive system, x-ray can cause genetic damage
or mutation, which may lead to birth defects or disease.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

GAMMA RAYS
Characteristics:
✓ They have the shortest wavelength and the highest
frequency among the EM waves.
✓ Gamma rays are released spontaneously by certain heavy
nuclide of radioactive materials through radioactive decay.
✓ They are also released when a heavy nuclide of a radioactive
element undergoes nuclear reaction. The resulting nuclide
releases energy in the form of gamma rays.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

GAMMA RAYS
Beneficial Effects:
✓ Can kill cancer cells and shrink malignant cells
✓ Used to sterilize medical equipment in hospitals
✓ Used to pasteurize food, drinks, and medicines
✓ Used for measuring the thickness of materials such as metallic
sheet, paper, film, and other products
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

GAMMA RAYS
Harmful Effects:
✓ Once absorbed by the human body through external and
internal exposures, gamma rays can cause mild to severe
damage to the human tissue, leading to serious illnesses such as
cancer.
 HIGH-FREQUENCY WAVES

COSMIC RAYS
Characteristics:
✓ High-energy radiation from energetic cosmic events in space.
✓ Produce by stars such as the sun.
✓ These highly energetic particles are very dangerous but they
never reach Earth.
✓ Manifested in Northern lights (aurora borealis) and
Southern lights (aurora australis)
 LESSON ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. How do frequency and wavelength relate to the energy carried

by electromagnetic waves?
2. Why are some forms of electromagnetic radiation more
powerful than others?
3. How does electromagnetic radiation affect living things?
4. What are the benefits and hazards of using or applying the
different forms of electromagnetic radiation?