SECTION C.

3
Wave Phenomena

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 Key concepts of Section C.3
• What are the basic behaviours of all waves?
• Diffraction of waves
• Superposition of waves
• Interference of waves
• Single-slit diffraction (Extra HL content)
• Two slits, multiple slits, and diffraction gratings (HL)

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Wave phenomena

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Today’s class

What are the basic

behaviours of all waves?
Today’s class

Wavefront and waves

Transmission, absorption, and scattering

Reflection

Refraction
What is a
wavefront?

What is ray?

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Wavefronts and rays

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Wavefronts and rays

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Wavefronts and rays

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Transmission, absorption,
and scattering of waves
Transmission, absorption, and scattering

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 Wave power, intensity, and amplitude
Definition: a point source is a source that emits waves in all directions
– the wavefronts from a point source are spherical

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 Wave power, intensity, and amplitude
• We know that a wave carries energy  the rate at which the energy is carried is
the power P of the wave
• Definition: the intensity is the power wave incident per unit of area
 ,

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 Wave power, intensity, and amplitude
• We know that a wave carries energy  the rate at which the energy is carried is
the power P of the wave
• Definition: the intensity is the power wave incident per unit of area
 ,

Info taken from the old curriculum

(Tsokos textbook). Same info for the new
curriculum.

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 Wave power, intensity, and amplitude
• We know that a wave carries energy  the rate at which the energy is carried is
the power P of the wave
• Definition: the intensity is the power wave incident per unit of area
 ,
• The intensity at a particular point is related to the amplitude of the wave at that
point 
• Recall from C.1:

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Wave power, intensity, and amplitude

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Reflection
What is the difference
between reflection and
refraction?

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 Info
Reflection (Tso taken f
k r
curr os tex om the
ic ul t
um. book). old cur
Sam ri
• Definition: e i n cul u m
fo fo
r th
e ne
w

Examples: an image reflected on

mirror, on a glass, or on any “reflected”
surfaces

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 Reflection (reflection in two dimensions)
• Definition:

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Reflection – in one dimension

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Refraction
 Info
ta
(Tsok ken from
Refraction o
curri s textbo the old c
c ulu m
.
ok). S ur
ame riculum
in f o
for th
e ne w
• Definition: is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to
another, or from a gradual change in the medium
• Refraction changes the direction of the incident ray – this does not happen
when the incident wave is normal to the boundary of the two media
• When a way is incident on a surface between two media, there is both reflection
and refraction

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Refraction

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Refraction and Snell’s law

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Refraction and Snell’s law

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 Refraction and Snell’s law
IMPORTANT:
1. The refractive index depends slightly on the wavelength, thus light rays with
the same angle of incidence but of different wavelength are refracted by
different angles  dispersion
2. In the process of refraction, the wave velocity of propagation in the new
medium changes but the frequency does not change  this means that
according to the relation the wavelength does change!

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 Refraction and Snell’s law
IMPORTANT:
1. The refractive index depends slightly on the wavelength, thus light rays with
the same angle of incidence but of different wavelength are refracted by
different angles  dispersion
2. In the process of refraction, the wave velocity of propagation in the new
medium changes but the frequency does not change  this means that
according to the relation the wavelength does change!

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Total internal reflection

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 Total internal reflection

Exercise: light moves from sapphire (refractive index 1.77) to water (refractive
index 1.35). What is the critical angle of incidence for total internal reflection?

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 Total internal reflection

Optical fibres are one of the most important

applications of the total internal reflection
phenomenon
 By using the total internal reflection,
signals are transmitted over big distances

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 Reflect…
Can you now answer the following questions?
1. What is the colour of an object?
2. What happens when we use coloured filters to see an object?
3. How do we perceive colours of an object when we use a coloured light?

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 Study textbook p. 350 – 362.

Classwork
Solve ex. C3.1, C3.2, C3.3, 14.1, 14.2
(from the slides).

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 Do work in pairs!

IT IS TIME TO SOLVE
EXERCISES!
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Exercise

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Exercise – Solution

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Exercise

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Exercise – Solution

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 Key concepts of Section C.3
• What are the basic behaviours of all waves?
• Diffraction of waves
• Superposition of waves
• Interference of waves
• Single-slit diffraction (Extra HL content)
• Two slits, multiple slits, and diffraction gratings (HL)

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