Physics REVISION General Properties of Waves

Waves Properties
Property

Longitudinal

Transverse

Examples

Sound, Primary
Waves

Light, EMS, Water waves,

Secondary Waves

Direction of
movement
Direction of
movement
of energy

Properties of waves: All waves transfer

energy. Longitudinal waves vibrate back
and forth and their direction of travel is
parallel to the movement of energy.
Transverse waves oscillate up and down
and move perpendicular to the flow of
energy.
The amplitude, a, of a wave is the distance from the centre
line (or the still position) to the top of a crest or to the bottom
of a trough. Be careful with this quantity - the centre line is
not always given in a diagram. Amplitude is measured in
metres (m). The greater the amplitude of a wave then the
more energy it is carrying.
The wavelength, , of a wave is the distance from any point
on one wave to the same point on the next wave along. (The
symbol is a Greek letter, 'lambda'.) To avoid confusion, it is
best to measure wavelength from the top of a crest to the top
of the next crest, or from the bottom of a trough to the
bottom of the next trough. Wavelength is also measured in
metres (m) - it is a length after all.
The frequency, f, of a wave is the number of waves passing

Wave Speed (v) = frequency (f) x

Wavelength
(m/s)
(Hz)
(m)

Speed of light =
(3 x 108 million
m/s).

v
f

Physics REVISION General Properties of Waves

All waves
Transfer energy and information
from one place to another
But do not transfer matter in the
direction they are travelling!!
Waves create vibrations!

Sea Waves
Transfer energy to the shore. When
the waves hot a cliff, the energy is
transferred to the cliff and can wear it
away.
Water particles just move up and
down they arent carried to the
shore. The wave particles move at
right angles to the direction the wave
is going, showing it is a transverse
wave.
Wave energy travels as the water
particles "undergo a back-and-forth
vibratory cycle about a fixed
position, These particles bump into
one another to transfer the energy,
but the force of the bump pushes
them back to their original position
Another example are seismic waves
through the Earth's crust, can make
it easier to understand how energy
transfers without actually moving the
particles. The energy of a seismic
wave begins due to an earthquake.
Energy is transferred to the soil
surrounding the fault line and then

Suppose you were

holding the end a
rope at one end and
you gave it a shake.
You would create a
pulse that would
travel along the
rope to the other
end, then the rope
Properties
of again.
would be still

wavefronts:
Wavefronts can either
reflect (bounce back)
at the same angle.
Refract change
direction as they slow
down or speed up due
to a change in
medium. Diffract
spread out due to a
single obstacle or a
gap between 2
obstacles.

a gap much larger than the

wavelength causes little
spreading and a sharp shadow
eg light through a doorway

a gap similar to the

wavelength causes a lot of
spreading with no sharp
shadow eg sound through a
doorway

Reflection in
water waves: is
caused by a flat
barrier such as a
sea wall.
Refraction in
Water waves: Is
caused by a
change in depth.
In shallow water
the water slows
down and the
wavelength
shortens as the
frequency
remains
constant.
Diffraction in
Water waves: Is
caused by a
barrier or gap
between 2
barriers causing
the wave front to
spread out.

Physics REVISION Electromagnetic Spectrum

Similar Properties
All EM waves travel through space at speed
of light (300 million m/s).
They all transfer energy and are transverse
waves.
The dont need a medium to travel through so
can travel in a vacuum.
You can apply the wave equation to work out
frequency and wavelength.
Wave speed= Frequency X Wavelength
(m/s)

(Hz)

(m)

Gamma rays
Have the shortest wavelengths and the most
ionising.
used to kill bacteria in food, sterilise surgical
equipment and kill cancer cells.
The can damage and mutate cells, causing cancer.
This is often a result of exposure to small doses.
They must not be touched and
very few things such as thick
concrete or lead can stop them
causing harm.

Radio waves
Have the longest wavelengths
Used in communications
Radio waves - smallest long waves 300,000Hz+
Carry radio, TV, mobile phone signals
Alternating voltage ariel receiver
Frequency of radio wave = alternating
voltage of carrier wave
High frequency radio waves Carry more information
Have a shorter range
Less diffraction
X-rays are used
in hospitals to
take radiographs.

Radio waves are

reflected by the
IONOSPHERE.
The use of radio
waves depends on
the frequency of
the waves

X-rays and gamma

rays damage living
tissue when they
pass through it.
Large doses can kill
cells completely!

X-rays and gamma rays are absorbed by

dense material such as bone and metal
but pass through soft tissue

Telescopes and Satelites

Observations are made
using telescopes in the
atmosphere on earth that
detect light, radio and xrays. Easy to fix but not
all e.m waves reach earth.
In space all e.m.waves can
be detected using
satellites. The atmosphere
does not get in the way
but this is very expensive.

Infrared-IR
All objects emit IR. The
hotter the object the
more IR it emits
IR heat objects.
Uses: heaters, IR
scanners, IR
cameras, remote
controls, optical fibres
and communications.

Microwaves
Short waves
Can pass through
atmosphere for
satellite
communications
Use for mobile phones
and in cooking,
microwave ovens heat water molecules.

Physics REVISION Sound Waves

Sound travels quicker through
solids and slowest through gases.
This can be explained by atomic
theory of matter, solids are the
densest and gases are the least
dense of the 3 states. Since sound
travels by oscillating atoms
(propagated through collisions), the
denser the medium, the faster the
speed.

Sound is a form of energy that is produced a vibrating

object. The vibrating object moves back and forth and
causes nearby air molecules to vibrate.
Sound from vibrating sources.
Also the air molecules that are vibrating influence other
air molecules to vibrate.This causes the sound to travel
through the air in the form of compression waves.The
frequency of air molecules around the object is the same
frequency as the object that is vibrating.
Sound travels as a wave because the mechanical
disturbances (back and forth) cause a periodic disturbance
in space and time, producing a wave.
These compressions are a periodic disturbance (oscillation)
that travels parallel to the direction of the wave.
(longitudinal wave)
Compressions and rarefactions
Vibrations from the source of the sound compress the air,
giving it kinetic energy. The KE in the air particles cause
them to move from its original position, exerting a force on
its neighbouring air particles.
The vibrations are passed on through a series of perfectly
elastic collisions. This is why sound is a form of energy.
After KE is transfered, the original particles experience a
resultant force (cf. Newtons 3rd law) and move back to its

Speed of Sound
Solids = 3000 5000 m/s
Liquids = 1400-1500 m/s
Air = 330-340 m/s

Loudness and Pitch

The loudness and pitch of sound waves to amplitude and
frequency
Amplitude: the maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation,
measured from equilibrium. The higher the value, the more
kinetic energy in the atom, which causes higher pressure in
the medium, which translates to loudness when it reaches the
ear.
Frequency: the number of occurances of a repeating event
per unit time (e.g. 1 compression and 1 rarefraction). For a
given wave, all particles in the medium vibrate in the same
frequency. Since these vibrations cause pressure in the
medium, the higher the frequency, the faster the pressure
fluctuation. The human ear detects these fluctuations as pitch.
The pitch depends on how fast the particles vibrate, and
therefore how often a cycle of compression-rarefraction
happens (frequency)
The waveforms above show D with the highest
frequency and C with the lowest amplitude.

Physics REVISION Sound Waves

The approximate human range of
audible frequencies 20Hz to 20,000
Hz. Ultrasound is a high frequency
sound above 20KHz.
Echoes
When a sound wave is reflected, it has the same
magnitude and different direction (sometimes moving
back to the source). Since the wavelength and frequency
is still the same, the observer perceives this as the same
sound as the original. This is an echo.
An echo can be used to measure
the speed of sound.
Stand a measured distance from a wall x
(in this case 480m)
Make a short, loud burst of sound, start
timing exactly as the clappers hit.
When you hear the echo, stop timing.
let the value obtained be y
The sound wave has travelled distance
2x in y time.
Since Speed =distance/time
substituting values
v = 2x/y = ~330 ms^-1
You can also halve the time y.

Alternative method to measuring the speed of Sound

Equipment:
A stopwatch
A visual item to make noise such as cymbals or a
starting pistol
A tape measure
Instructions:

Find a large empty area, such as a field or large

court.

Choose two spots on opposite ends of the area

where each person will stand.

Measure the distance between the two spots

using a tape measure. Alternatively, you can
count off measured steps between the two
spots.

Have your friend take the cymbals or starting

pistol and stand at one spot, holding them up
high.

Take the stopwatch and stand at the other spot.

Make sure you have a clear view of the blocks.

Signal your friend to bang the two cymbals

together hard or fire the pistol.

Start the stopwatch as soon as you see the

cymbals hit each other or puff of smoke.

Press stop as soon as you hear the sound from

the blocks.
Calculate the speed of the sound by dividing the
distance between you and your friend by the
elapsed time. To get a more accurate measurement,
repeat the above steps a few times and then take an
average of the results