Wave Properties

Behaviour of Waves
Lesson 1: Types of Waves

Lesson 2: Wave Speed
Reflection
Lesson 3: Refraction
Total Internal Reflection
Lesson 4: Refraction in Water
Lesson 5: Refractive Index
Lesson 6: Refraction in Water
Lesson 7: Refractive Index
Lesson 8: Diffraction
Lesson 9: Transmitting Information
Lesson 10: Sound
Stopwatch Graph Home
Syllabus Double Award

Properties of waves
describe longitudinal and transverse waves in ropes, springs and water where appropriate
state the meaning of amplitude, frequency, wavelength and period of a wave
recall that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter
recall and use the relationship between the speed, frequency and wavelength of a wave:
wave speed = frequency wavelength
v =f
use the relationship between frequency and time period:

frequency = 1 / time period
f =1/T
use the above relationships in different contexts including sound waves and electromagnetic waves
Light and sound
recall that light waves are transverse waves which can be reflected and refracted
recall that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection
construct ray diagrams to illustrate the formation of a virtual image in a plane mirror
describe experiments to investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks,
semicircular blocks and triangular prisms
recall and use the relationship between refractive index, angle of incidence and angle of refraction
n = sin (i) / sin (r)
describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of glass, using a glass block
describe the role of total internal reflection in transmitting information along optical fibres and in prisms
recall and use the relationship between critical angle and refractive index
sin c = 1 / n
recall that sound waves are longitudinal waves which can be reflected
recall that the frequency range for human hearing is 20 Hz 20 000 Hz
describe how to measure the speed of sound in air by a simple direct method
Syllabus Separate Science

Properties of waves
describe longitudinal and transverse waves in ropes, springs and water where appropriate
state the meaning of amplitude, frequency, wavelength and period of a wave
recall that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter
recall and use the relationship between the speed, frequency and wavelength of a wave:
wave speed = frequency wavelength
v=f
use the relationship between frequency and time period:
frequency = 1 / time period
f=1/T
use the above relationships in different contexts including sound waves and electromagnetic waves
understand that waves can be diffracted through gaps or when they pass an edge, and that the extent of diffraction depends on
the wavelength and the physical dimension of the gap
Light and sound
recall that light waves are transverse waves which can be reflected, refracted and diffracted
recall that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection
construct ray diagrams to illustrate the formation of a virtual image in a plane mirror
describe experiments to investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks, semicircular blocks and triangular prisms
recall and use the relationship between refractive index, angle of incidence and angle of refraction
n = sin(i) / sin(r)
describe an experiment to determine the refractive index of glass, using a glass block
describe the role of total internal reflection in transmitting information along optical fibres and in prisms
recall the meaning of critical angle c
recall and use the relationship between critical angle and refractive index
sin c = 1 / n
understand the difference between analogue and digital signals
recall that sound waves are longitudinal waves which can be reflected, refracted and diffracted
recall that the frequency range for human hearing is 20 Hz 20 000 Hz
describe how to measure the speed of sound in air by a simple direct method
understand how an oscilloscope and microphone can be used to display a sound wave
use an oscilloscope to determine the frequency of a sound wave and appreciate that the pitch of a sound depends on the
frequency of vibration
appreciate that the pitch of a sound depends on the frequency of vibration of the source
appreciate that the loudness of a sound depends on the amplitude of vibration
Types of Waves
07/24/15
Aims
To define the properties of waves
To identify the types of waves
Starter: True or False
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Sound travels faster than light

Sound travels faster in solid objects than in liquids or air
Echoes are caused by sound waves bouncing of walls
Sound waves are caused by the vibration of molecules
Sound travels faster at the top of Mt. Everest
Light waves bounce off walls
A Wave
Waves
transfer energy from one place to

another
The disturbance moves along the wave not the
particles
A wave in the sea:

disturbance is molecules of water going up and down
medium = water
A Mexican Wave
The Disturbance is the people going up and down.

The medium is the crowd.
Count the number of complete

vibrations
in ten
Frequency
= 1 Hertz
seconds and then work out the frequency of this wave
Frequency = 1.4 Hertz
Ten second timer
Frequency = 0.5 Hertz

Note that the waves are carrying energy from one

place to another but the water particles are not
transferred.
previous
next
Frequency
Number of waves per second

Either passing one point or generated
Symbol: f
Units: Hz (s-1)
Period
This is the duration of a wave

How long it takes for one wave to occur
Symbol: T
Units: s
We often need to analyse waveforms produced b

scientific instruments.
For example:- A Cathode Ray Oscilloscope (CRO)
is used to monitor heartbeats.
Steady Steve
1 second
0.5seconds Helen Heart-attack
David Deadman
Heart monitor
time
Pictures of waves (waveforms)

1 mains voltage waveform
2 tuning fork
0.02 seconds
2.5milliseconds (0.0025second
3 Ultrasonic scanner 10 micro seconds
(0.00001 seconds)
Work out the frequency for these 3 waveforms
Which animals made these sounds?
1 Cow
0.004 seconds
2 Baby crying
0.5milliseconds (0.0005seconds)
3 Bat
10 micro seconds
(0.00001 seconds)
Wavelength
Wavelength
The length of one complete wave

peak to peak or trough to trough
Symbol:
Units: m
Which of the points is exactly one wavelength

away from point A?Answer is E
A
The next 5 tasks will test to see if you have

understood the idea of wavelength
1 Match the highlighted letter to one which is ex

one wavelength away from it.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V WX
2 Match the highlighted letter to one which is e




Amplitude
maximum disturbance caused by a wave

measured from the middle to a peak or trough
symbol: a
units: m
Questions about amplitude

Match the waveforms to the sounds
D
1 an echo
2 a crescendo
3 a weak regular heartbeat
4 a strong regular heartbeat
5 a symbol being struck
Click for
answers
Transverse Waves
Transverse Wave
Transverse Wave
The disturbance is perpendicular to the direction of

movement
Example Light
Longitudinal Waves
Longitudinal Waves
The disturbance is parallel to the direction of movement

Aka: pressure, compression waves
Example sound
Sketch on board
Wave Behaviour
recap
Aim
To define the properties of waves
To identify the types of waves
Wave Speed
24/07/15
Aim:
To calculate the speed of waves
To Revise Reflection
Starter:
Draw a transverse wave in rough and label the

wavelength and amplitude
The frequency of a wave is 5 Hz what is its Period?
(check back in your book if you need to)
How fast the wave is travelling

Symbol v
Units m/s
ENERGY
speed
VIBRATIONS
The speed is how fast the disturbance travels
(how fast the energy is transferred)
speed
ENERGY
speed
Notice that both waves have the same speed bu

different wavelengths and frequencies. The wav
equation can explain this mathematically.
Calculating the Speed of Wave

Speed = Distance
Time
An explosion happens 1000m away and takes 3
seconds to reach you what is the speed of sound?
Speed = Distance
Time
Speed = 1000
3
= 333 m/s
Wave speed, wavelength and frequency are

related by the wave equation
The Wave Equation

The wave equation relates the speed of the wave to its
frequency and wavelength:
Wave speed (v) = frequency (f) x wavelength ()
in m/s
in Hz
in m
Worksheet
Practice Questions:
Write out the variables (ie frequency = ) and the equations used
1.
A water wave travels through a pond with a frequency of 5Hz and they are 10
m apart. How fast are they travelling?
2.
Ricky hears a thunderclap that makes his ear drum vibrate at 165 Hz. The
wavelength of the sound is 2 m how fast is the sound wave travelling?
3.
Hannah sings an A, she knows the wavelength of the sound wave is 1.5m. How
many times does her vocal chords vibrate per second? (hint: you need the
answer to question 2)
4.
Hannah plays another note on her guitar, the string vibrates with a frequency
of 300 Hz what is the duration (the period) of each vibration of the string?
5.
Jon has been running his heart is beating 180 times a minute. What is the
frequency and period of his heart beats.
6.
Jack throws a stone into the centre of a pond. The pond has a radius of 4m.
He notices that it takes 2 seconds for the wave to reach the edge. He thinks
the wavelength of the ripple is about 1m. What is the frequency of his
ripple? What is the period of the ripple?
7.
Purple light has a wavelength of around 6x10 -7m. If its frequency is 5x1014
Hz what is the speed of light?
8.
Red light travels at the same speed. Work out its frequency if its wavelength
is about 4x10-7m.
Reflection
Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

Normal
Reflected ray
Incident ray
Angle of
incidence
Movie
Worksheet
Angle of
reflection
Mirror
Ultrasound
generator
high frequency
electrical signal
transducer
changes the
electrical
signal into
an ultrasonic
pulse
Contact
gel
monitor
Echoes are changed back into
electrical
signals. These are
processed and imaged on the
monitor
Ultrasound
generator
(4.5 months)
monitor
speed of ultrasound inside the body
time for the ultrasound to travel
and partly reflected ultrasonic waves from
boundaries can be processed to produce an
image of the foetus
Click to start the scan
Wave Speed
recap
Aim:
To calculate the speed of waves
To Revise Reflection
Refraction
24/07/15
Aims:
To demonstrate refraction
To explain the cause of refraction
To observe total internal reflection
Starter:
Why does the magic trick of the Disappearing Coin work?
Home
Refraction at a Boundary
Refraction
Refraction is when waves ____ __ or slow down due to
changing _________. A medium is something that waves
will travel through.
Movie
Method:
Refraction
through
a
glass
block:
1) Place a rectangular block of glass or Perspex in the middle
of a page on your book and draw around it.
2) Draw a normal line a third along one of the long sides
3) Draw a line at 20 to this normal to mark the incident ray.
4) Use a ray box and single slit to shine a ray of light along
the path you have marked for the incident ray.
5) Mark two dots on the path of the refracted ray with a
pencil. Join the dots with a ruler to show the path of the
refracted ray.
6) Remove the block and draw the
path taken by the ray of light
inside the block.
This wheel continues to

move fast
This wheel
slows first
The cars
direction
changes
This wheel
speeds up
The car
travels
slower on
the sand
than tarmac
The cars direction
changes
Refraction through a glass block:

Wave slows down and bends
towards the normal due to
entering a more dense medium
Wave slows down but is

not bent, due to entering
along the normal
Wave speeds up and bends

away from the normal due to
entering a less dense medium
Movie Worksheet
Stopwatch
Graph Home
What is total internal reflection?

Method:
1) Place a semi circular block of glass or
Perspex in the middle of a sheet of
plain paper and draw around it.
2) Draw a normal line at the middle of the
flat side
3) Use a ray box and single slit to shine a
ray of light to the normal line
4) Change the angle of the ray of light
until total internal reflection if found.
5) Then change the angle until the light is
refracted along the horizontal side.
6) Mark two dots on the path of the
refracted ray with a pencil. Join the
dots with a ruler to show the path of
the refracted ray.
6) Measure the critical angle
Total internal reflection simulation
Why is angle of incidence important?
If the angle of
incidence is
smaller than the
critical angle,
then the light
ray is refracted.
If the angle of
incidence equals the
critical angle, then
the light ray is
refracted along the
boundary.
If the angle of
incidence is greater
than the critical angle,
then total internal
reflection occurs.
Is the critical angle always the same?

The critical angle is the smallest angle of incidence at which total
internal reflection occurs.
Different materials have a specific value for the critical angle:
Material
Critical angle
water
49
acrylic plastic
42
glass
41
diamond
24
Diamond has the lowest critical angle at 24.

This means that diamond reflects more light than the other
materials and accounts for its characteristic sparkle.
Total Internal Reflection
How do optical fibres carry light?

Optical fibres do not have to be straight to carry light and can even
carry light around corners.
This curved Perspex

rod shows how light
travels in an optical
fibre.
Light travels through the Perspex rod, and optical fibres, by a
process called total internal reflection.
Total Internal Reflection recap

Aims:
To describe the effect of the critical angle
To know some uses of the critical angle
Home
Refraction in Water
24/07/15
Aim
Experimentally determine the effect of water depth
on speed and establish if there is a relationship
between the two
Experiment: Wave Speed

You are expected to:
Write a method
Draw a graph of results
Write a analysis / conclusion
Write an evaluation
Overview:
Work out what you are going to do before you start
You need at least 6 different depths for a graph
The effect is only noticed on small depths (mm not cm)
You need to make sure that the effect is not drowned out by
your reaction time
You need to make sure that one mistake does not ruin your
results
Refractive Index
24/07/15
Aim
Experimentally determine the refractive index of glass
describe an experiment to determine the refractive
index of glass
Finding the Refractive Index of Glass

Method:
Draw around the semi circular block.
Draw a normal line in the middle of the straight edge of the block.
Draw Incident lines every 10 from 0 to 70
Use a ray box to send incident rays into the semi circular box and
mark out the refracted rays.
Measure the refracted angles
Results:
Create a table of the incident, refracted angles, sin i, and sin r.
Plot a graph of sin i (x) against sin r (y)
Work To Do:
Results:
Create a table of the incident, refracted angles, sin i,
and sin r.
Plot a graph of sin i (x) against sin r (y)
Analysis
What shape is your graph?
Add an extra column to your table with the heading
refractive index (n)
n = sin(i) sin (r)
Calculate the gradient of your graph
The critical angle of glass (c) = 41
Calculate sin(c)
Equations to Learn:
A measure of how much light is refracted (bends) in a

material.
glass n = 1.6
Diamond n = 2.5
Refractive index (n):
n = sin i
sin r
Critical Angle (c):
sin c = 1
n
incident angle
refracted angle
Critical angle
Refractive Index
recap
Aim
Experimentally determine the refractive index of glass
describe an experiment to determine the refractive
index of glass
Diffraction
24/07/15
Separate Science
Aims:
To define diffraction
To see reflection and refraction in water waves
Starter:
Worksheet
Separate Science
Separate Science
Water waves
are reflected
by the barrier
Barrier
Separate Science
Ripple tank
model
Separate
Science
The waves slow
down
when they reach the
shallow water
Deep water
The wavelength gets

shorter
But the frequency
stays the same
Shallow water
Can you understand

what is happening
here? HINT remember
the wave equation
Water waves
Deep water
Separate
Science
If the waves
reach
the
shallow water at an
angle the waves still
slow down.
The waves also

change direction.
We call this effect
refraction.
Shallow water
Separate Science
Separate Science
Diffraction is the spreading out of waves at

edges and gaps.
All types of waves can be diffracted.
The amount of diffraction is affected by the
size of the gap and the wavelength.
Separate Science
Separate Science
Separate Science
Separate Science
Small amount of
spreading (diffraction)
The wavelength of the

waves is much smaller
than the size of the gap
Separate Science
The wavelength is the

same size as the gap
so there is very good
spreading (diffraction)
Separate Science
For Edges
Long wavelengths diffract more than short
wavelengths.
For Gaps
The wavelength should be the same size
as the gap to get good diffraction.
Separate Science
Speed of sound in air = 330m/s

Typical frequency = 440Hertz
Work out the wavelength of these sound waves
Speed = wavelength x frequency
Wavelength = speed/frequency
Wavelength = 330/440
= 0.75metres
About the same size as the width of a door

Separate Science
To get spreading (diffraction) of the light

the gap it passes through has to be very
small-because the wavelength of light is
very small
Separate Science
Separate Science
Separate Science
The aerial is on a pole

to try and improve the
reception of radio waves.
Separate Science
Separate Science
Separate Science
There is very little diffraction of short wavelength

radio waves when they pass between two hills
Separate Science
Long wavelength radio waves are more likely to be

diffracted when they pass between hills and are
more likely to be detected by the aerial.
Separate Science
Separate Science
Copy and complete this email:
To mrsmith@poorreception.co.uk
You are having difficulty with the signal strength on your
short wave radio because
Helpful words/phrases to use: long wavelength

short wavelength, diffracted, gap, edge.
Copy and complete the diagrams to illustrate your
answer.
Separate Science
A
C
D
Which of these show how rays are
(a) reflected?
(b) diffracted at a gap?
(c) refracted?
(d) diffracted at an edge?
Separate Science
Which of these show how waves are

(a) reflected?
(b) diffracted at a gap?
(c) refracted?
(d) diffracted at an edge?
Diffraction
recap
Aims:
To define diffraction
Worksheet
Home
Separate Science
Transmitting Information 24/07/15
Aim
To explain the difference between analogue and digital
signals
Separate Science
What is an analogue signal?
Most of the signals sensed by humans are analogue signals. Everyday

examples include sound, light and temperature.
voltage
An analogue signal may have any value within a

continuous range.
time
What is a digital signal?
Separate Science
Modern communication systems carry information from

analogue signals as digital signals.
current
A digital signal only contains two values: 0 (off) and 1 (on).

These are used to encode analogue information.
time
Separate Science
Converting analogue to digital
Separate Science
Why do analogue signals lose quality?
All types of signals lose strength as they travel. This is called

attenuation and means that signals often have to be amplified so
they can be used.
Signals can also pick up noise (interference).
original
attenuated
amplified
Separate Science
Why dont digital signals lose quality?

Digital signals also lose strength and need to be amplified.
original
attenuated
amplified
threshold
regenerated
Digital vs Analogue
Analogue signals are continually changing.

Digital signals are either zero or one
This means if the signal gets distorted you can work out
the digital signal (it should either be zero or one) but
you will not be able to tell the original analogue signal
Analogue or digital?
Separate Science
Separate Science
Communications matching activity
Separate Science
Opinions on analogue and digital
Separate Science
Whats in a cable of optical fibres?
Separate Science
How do messages travel along optical fibres?
Sending messages
Separate Science
Separate Science
Optical fibres true or false?
Transmitting Information
recap
Aim
To explain the difference between analogue and digital
signals
Sound
24/07/15
Aim
Measure the Speed of Sound
Know the human hearing range
Which animals hear the lowest and the highest

frequencies?
Which animal has the largest hearing range?
100,000
10,000
1,000
frequency
100
(Hz)
10
1
0
human
dog
bat elephant mouse
dolphin
Sound
The human hearing range is from 20 20 000 Hz

Its best range is at age 8
the pitch of a sound depends on the frequency of vibration of the
source
the loudness of a sound depends on the amplitude of vibration
Which sound is:

The quietest
The loudest
The highest
The lowest
Speed of sound experiment

This investigation to calculate the speed of sound
should be carried out in a quiet open space.
START
STOP
0 0 :0 0 30 04
100 m
1. When you see the cymbals crash, press START.
2. When you hear the cymbals crash, press STOP.
Speed of sound experiment results table

Look at the results of the sound experiment.
Experiment
distance
(m)
time
(s)
speed
(m/s)
100
0.34
294
How are these values used to estimate the speed of sound?
distance
100
=
speed =
time
0.34
= 294 m/s
Speed of Sound Experiment
Write a method for our speed of sound experiment

Write out the results
Calculate the speed of sound
Are our results accurate?
Why might they not be?
Movie CB

Wave Properties

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Behaviour of Waves

Lesson 1: Types of Waves

Syllabus Double Award

state the meaning of amplitude, frequency, wavelength and period of a wave

use the relationship between frequency and time period:

recall that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection

describe experiments to investigate the refraction of light, using rectangular blocks,

semicircular blocks and triangular prisms

recall that the frequency range for human hearing is 20 Hz 20 000 Hz

Stopwatch Graph Home

Syllabus Separate Science

state the meaning of amplitude, frequency, wavelength and period of a wave

wave speed = frequency wavelength

use the relationship between frequency and time period:

frequency = 1 / time period

recall that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection

recall the meaning of critical angle c

understand the difference between analogue and digital signals

recall that the frequency range for human hearing is 20 Hz 20 000 Hz

appreciate that the loudness of a sound depends on the amplitude of vibration

Stopwatch Graph Home

Sound travels faster than light

transfer energy from one place to

Stopwatch Graph Home

A wave in the sea:

Stopwatch Graph Home

The Disturbance is the people going up and down.

Stopwatch Graph Home

Count the number of complete

Frequency = 1.4 Hertz

Ten second timer

Frequency = 0.5 Hertz

Note that the waves are carrying energy from one

Stopwatch Graph Home

Number of waves per second

Stopwatch Graph Home

This is the duration of a wave

Stopwatch Graph Home

We often need to analyse waveforms produced b

0.5seconds Helen Heart-attack

Pictures of waves (waveforms)

3 Ultrasonic scanner 10 micro seconds

Which animals made these sounds?

Pictures of waves (waveforms)

Stopwatch Graph Home

Pictures of waves (waveforms)

Stopwatch Graph Home

Stopwatch Graph Home

The length of one complete wave

Stopwatch Graph Home

Which of the points is exactly one wavelength

The next 5 tasks will test to see if you have

1 Match the highlighted letter to one which is ex

Stopwatch Graph Home

2 Match the highlighted letter to one which is e

Stopwatch Graph Home

3 Match the highlighted letter to one which is e

Stopwatch Graph Home

4 Match the highlighted letter to one which is e

Stopwatch Graph Home

5 Match the highlighted letter to one which is e

Stopwatch Graph Home

maximum disturbance caused by a wave