Welcome Year 8

Sit in your allocated seat, get out your equipment and

write the title and date, and
begin the starter.
03/03/23

Title: Waves
Starter: 5 MINS
Discuss with your partner:
What is a wave?
What do all waves have in
common?
I will learn: Identifying types of wave
What a wave is and how to
describe it. Recalling that waves
transfer energy not matter
I will apply my
learning by: Describing longitudinal and
transverse waves

Use Key words: Investigating the

Waves, Oscillation, relationship between the
Transverse, frequency and wavelength
Longitudinal
I will evaluate my learning by:
Using the mini-white boards
 What is light? Copy and complete:
Light is produced by the ___, and by
objects such as light bulbs and matches.

Light transfers _______ and travels as a

_____ although it always travels in
_____ lines!

Light travels at a speed of

300,000,000 metres per second,
which is much faster than the
speed of _______.

Sun, sound, straight,

energy, wave,
 What is light? Copy and complete:
Light is produced by the Sun, and by
objects such as light bulbs and matches.

Light carries energy and travels as a

wave although it always travels in
straight lines!

Light travels at a speed of

300,000,000 metres per second,
which is much faster than the
speed of sound.

Sun, sound, straight,

energy, wave,
 Light energy

Light transfers energy from one place to another. It is a type of

radiation – for example infra red light transfers heat from one
storage place to another. (Remember the first module – heat
transfers!)
Light can be used to make store other forms of energy. It can be used
to generate electricity in a solar cell or changed into a chemical store
in the leaves of plants.
What is a wave?
• Waves are transfers of energy, not matter.
• They involve vibrations (oscillations)
Transverse
The oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of
energy transfer.

Longitudinal
The oscillations are parallel to the direction of
energy transfer.
Transverse Waves
• Light

• On a rope/slinky

• Earthquake

Video
Transverse waves on a slinky
Longitudinal waves
• Sound

• Slinky

• Earthquake

Video
Longitudinal wave on a slinky
 Longitudinal & Transverse
Watch the demonstration with the slinky and complete the sentences
•Longitudinal waves vibrate _________________ the direction of
travel, e.g. ________________ waves
•Transverse waves vibrate at ______________ _____________
to the direction of motion, e.g. _______________ waves

longitudinal

transverse

Words: along, light, sound, right angles

How do we measure waves?
Amplitude - A
The maximum displacement from the mean
position.

amplitude
 Waves

Label the wavelength, amplitude, peak and trough

Note that amplitude is

half the height of the full
wave and the
wavelength is from the
tip of one peak/crest to
the next!
Period - T
The time taken (in seconds) for one complete oscillation.
It is also the time taken for a complete wave to pass a
given point.

One complete wave

 Periodic Phenomena
Phenomena (or events, or motion) that recur (in the exact
same manner) at regular intervals.

Time Period (T)

Time needed for a periodic motion to complete itself once.

What are the time periods of the

Hands of a clock?
Seconds hand: 1 min = 60 seconds
Minutes hand: 1 hour = 60 min = 3600 s
Hour hand: 12 hours
Frequency - f
The number of oscillations in one second.
Measured in Hertz.

50 Hz = 50 vibrations/waves/oscillations in one second.

Think!!!
What do you think happens to the time period of a
wave when we change the frequency of a wave?

Answer: When the frequency increases the time

period gets shorter, and when the frequency
decreases the time period gets longer:

1
T 
f
Wavelength - λ
The length of one complete wave.

wavelength
Great Video!
!
 Amplitude and Frequency
Low amplitude, high frequency:

High amplitude, high frequency:

Low amplitude, low frequency:

High amplitude, low frequency: