CIE AS Physics (9702)

Waves Notes (Part-01)

Prepared By: Tonmoy khan
Contact Details: [email protected] , 01913369299
7.1 Progressive waves
Candidates should be able to:
1 describe what is meant by wave motion as illustrated by vibration in ropes, springs and ripple
tanks
2 understand and use the terms displacement, amplitude, phase difference, period, frequency,
wavelength, and speed.
3 understand the use of the time-base and y-gain of a cathode-ray oscilloscope (CRO) to
determine frequency and amplitude
4 derive, using the definitions of speed, frequency and wavelength, the wave equation v = f λ
5 recall and use v = f λ
6 understand that energy is transferred by a progressive wave
7 recall and use intensity = power/area and intensity ∝ (amplitude)2 for a progressive wave
7.2 Transverse and longitudinal waves Candidates should be able to:
1 compare transverse and longitudinal waves
2 analyze and interpret graphical representations of transverse and longitudinal waves
7.3 Doppler effect for sound waves
1 understand that when a source of sound waves moves relative to a stationary observer, the
observed frequency is different from the source frequency (understanding of the Doppler effect
for a stationary source and a moving observer is not required)
2 use the expression fο = fsv/(v ± vs ) for the observed frequency when a source of sound waves
moves relative to a stationary observer
7.4 Electromagnetic spectrum Candidates should be able to:
1 state that all electromagnetic waves are transverse waves that travel with the same speed c in
free space
2 recall the approximate range of wavelengths in free space of the principal regions of the
electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to γ-rays
3 recall that wavelengths in the range 400–700nm in free space are visible to the human eye

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Progressive Waves
Waves that move through a material (or a vacuum) are called progressive
waves. A progressive wave transfers energy from one position to another.
Waves are vibrations that transfer energy from place to
place without matter (solid, liquid or gas) being transferred.
Analogy: Think of a Mexican wave in a football crowd - the wave moves
around the stadium, while each spectator stays in their seat, only moving
up then down when it's their turn.
Illustrating wave motion in ropes or strings
Energy is transferred through moving oscillations or vibrations. These can
be seen in vibrations of ropes or springs as shown below:
There are two distinct types of wave, longitudinal and transverse.
Transverse Waves:
In transverse waves, the particles of the medium vibrate at right angles to
the direction of the wave velocity.

In longitudinal waves, the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the

direction of the wave velocity.

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The longitudinal wave shows how the material through which it is travelling
is alternately compressed and expanded. This gives rise to high- and low-
pressure regions, respectively.

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We can compare the compressions and rarefactions (or expansions) of the
longitudinal wave with the peaks and troughs of the transverse wave as
shown below:

Note: C represents compression and R represents rarefaction.

For a longitudinal wave, the displacement of the particle is along the

direction of energy travel
However, if these displacements are plotted on the y-axis of a graph of
displacement against distance, the graph has exactly same shape as
transverse wave. This is very useful, that in one type of graph both
transverse and longitudinal waves can be represented.

In the 3 diagrams below (for longitudinal wave),

Diagram (1) shows the equilibrium positions of 15 particles and their

displacements at a particular instant.
Diagram (2) shows the corresponding displacement-distance graph (+ve
displacement to the right).
Diagram (3) shows the corresponding change in pressure for air layers in
the atmosphere (for a sound wave travelling through air)

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Common Terms:
Displacement Distance Graph

Displacement: The distance of a point on the wave from its undisturbed

position, or equilibrium position, is called the displacement.
Amplitude: The maximum displacement of any point on the wave from its
undisturbed position is called the amplitude.
The wavelength of a wave is the minimum distance between two points
having the same phase.
This is the same as the distance between two adjacent peaks or troughs.

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Displacement-Time Graph

Time Period: The time taken for one complete oscillation of a point in a
wave is called the time-period (T). It is measured in seconds (s).

It is the time taken for a point to move from one particular position and
return to that same position, moving in the same direction.

Frequency: The number of oscillations per unit time of a point in a wave is

called its frequency f.

In Time Period (T), no. of oscillations= 1.

∴ 1 second, no. of oscillation= 1/T

∴ f=1/T

The frequency f of a wave is the reciprocal of the period T

Wave Speed
Wave speed is the speed at which a wave travels.
Wave Speed can be calculated using 𝒗 = 𝒇
𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝟏
𝒗= = /T [𝒇 = ]
𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑻

So, 𝒗 = 𝒇
Common mistakes and misconceptions
Sometimes people forget wave speed isn't the same as the speed of the
particles in the medium. The wave speed is how quickly the disturbance

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travels through a medium. The particle speed is how quickly a particle
moves about its equilibrium position.
Wave fronts
A wave front is an imaginary line or surface that joined all adjacent points
which have the same phase of vibration on the wave.
Any two points on a wave are said to be in phase when they have completed
identical fractions of their periodic motion.

Wavefronts are at right angle to the wave-direction.

Phase Difference & Path Difference
Phase: Phase of a vibrating particle at any instance indicate its state of
vibration.
Phase difference: Phase difference is the difference between two particles,
or two waves having the same frequency and referenced to the same point
in time. It is expressed in degrees or radians.
Path: It is the length covered or the length between two points.
Path difference: It is the difference in length covered by two waves or
between two points.

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Relating Phase difference & path difference:
Path difference  corresponds to Phase difference of 𝟐𝛑 𝐫𝐚𝐝
𝟐𝛑
∴ Path difference 1 corresponds to Phase difference of 𝐫𝐚𝐝

𝟐𝛑 𝐱
∴ Path difference x corresponds to Phase difference of


In general:
The difference in the phase angle and path difference relation can be
written in various ways:

Where,
• Δx is the path difference between the two waves.
• ΔΦ is the phase difference between two waves.

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Different points along a wave have different phases.
Two particles oscillating in phase have a phase difference of 0°, 360° and so
on (or 0 rad, 2π rad and so on).
In phase particles are in exactly same state of vibrations.
Two particles oscillating in antiphase have a phase difference of 180°, 270°
and so on (or π rad, 3π rad and so on).
Anti-phase particles or 180° out of phase particles are in exactly opposite
state of vibrations.

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Phase Difference & Time Difference

Intensity of a wave
The intensity of a wave is defined as the rate of energy transmitted (power)
per unit area at right angles to the wave velocity.

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Intensity is measured in watts per square metre (Wm−2).
The intensity of a progressive wave is also proportional to its amplitude
squared and frequency squared

Intensity is proportional to the frequency2

This means that if the frequency is doubled, the intensity increases by a
factor of 22 (i.e:4 times)
Similarly For Amplitude:
Intensity is proportional to the amplitude squared

Example Question:

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Spherical waves
• A spherical wave is a wave from a point source which spreads out
equally in all directions
• The area the wave passes through is the surface area of a sphere: 4πr2
• As the wave travels further from the source, the energy it carries
passes through increasingly larger areas as shown in the diagram
below:

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Intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the
source (I ∝ 1/r2).
• Assuming there’s no absorption of the wave energy, the
intensity I decreases with increasing distance from the source
• This means when the source is twice as far away, the intensity is 4
times less.
• The (I ∝ 1/r2) relationship is known in physics as the inverse square
law.

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Doppler Effect:

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Note that a Doppler effect can also be heard when an observer is moving
relative to a stationary source, and when both source and observer are
moving. Doppler effect in EM waves will be discussed later in Astronomy.
There is more about the Doppler effect which will NOT be covered in AS
Level.
WORKED EXAMPLE

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Electromagnetic Waves
Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves consisting of electric and
magnetic fields which are perpendicular to each other and are also
perpendicular to the direction of propagation of waves.

Electromagnetic waves can travel in a vacuum, which distinguishes them

from mechanical waves which require a medium.
The electromagnetic spectrum
Electromagnetic waves can be classified and arranged according to their
various wavelengths/frequencies; this classification is known as the
electromagnetic spectrum. The following table shows us this spectrum,
which consists of all the types of electromagnetic radiation that exist in our
universe.

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Gamma rays:
f > 1019 Hz
X-rays:
1016 <f < 1019 Hz
Ultra Violet (UV):
8×1014 <f < 1016 Hz
Visible light:
4×1014 <f < 8×1014 Hz
Infrared (IR):
1011 <f < 4×1014 Hz
Microwaves:
109 <f<1011 Hz
Radio Waves:
4×103 <f<109 Hz

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Electromagnetic waves have many uses. The main ones are summarized in
the table below:

Visible Light
• Visible light is defined as the range of wavelengths (400 – 700 nm)
which are visible to humans.
• Visible light is the only part of the spectrum detectable by the human
eye.
• However, this is only 0.0035% of the whole electromagnetic spectrum
• In the natural world, many animals, such as birds, bees and certain
fish, are able to perceive beyond visible light and can see infra-red
and U.V wavelengths of light.
Polarization will be covered separately and notes on polarization will be
provided separately.

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7.5 Polarization
Candidates should be able to:
1 understand that polarization is a phenomenon associated with transverse
waves
2 recall and use Malus’s law (I = I0 cos2θ) to calculate the intensity of a
plane polarized electromagnetic wave after transmission through a
polarizing filter or a series of polarizing filters.

Unpolarized Light:
A light wave that is vibrating in more than one plane is referred to
as unpolarized light.

In general, it is helpful to picture unpolarized light as a wave that has an

average of half its vibrations in a horizontal plane and half of its vibrations
in a vertical plane as shown below

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It is possible to transform unpolarized light into polarized light.
Transverse waves are waves with their displacement perpendicular to their
direction of travel. These oscillations can happen in any
plane perpendicular to the propagation direction
Transverse waves can be polarised, this means:
Vibrations are restricted to one direction
These vibrations are still perpendicular to the direction of
propagation/energy transfer
Longitudinal waves cannot be plane polarised because the direction of
vibration and direction of propagation are the same.
Polarized light waves are light waves in which the vibrations occur in a
single plane. The process of transforming unpolarized light into polarized
light is known as polarization.
There are a variety of methods of polarizing light. The four methods are
mentioned below:
• Polarization by Transmission
• Polarization by Reflection
• Polarization by Refraction
• Polarization by Scattering

Polarization by Use of a Polaroid Filter

The most common method of polarization involves the use of a Polaroid
filter. Polaroid filters are made of a special material that is capable of
blocking one of the two planes of vibration of an electromagnetic wave.
(Remember, the notion of two planes or directions of vibration is merely a
simplification that helps us to visualize the wavelike nature of the
electromagnetic wave.) In this sense, a Polaroid serves as a device that
filters out one-half of the vibrations upon transmission of the light through
the filter. When unpolarized light is transmitted through a Polaroid filter, it
emerges with one-half the intensity and with vibrations in a single
plane; it emerges as polarized light.

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A Polaroid Filter has a unique axis of transmission for light as shown
below:

What would happen when you view unpolarised light using two
Polaroids? Figure 12.19 shows plane polarised light produced by the first
Polaroid. This plane polarised light is incident at the second Polaroid,
whose transmission axis is initially vertical. The second Polaroid is often
known as the analyser. The incident light passes straight through. Now
rotate the analyser through 90°, so its transmission axis is horizontal. This
time, the analyser will absorb all the light. The analyser will appear black.
Turning the analyser through a further 90° will let the light through the
analyser again.
Investigating Light Intensity with Two Polarisers
• If an unpolarised light source is placed in front of two identical
polarising filters, A and B, with their transmission axes parallel:
o Filter A will polarise the light in a certain axis
o All of the polarised light will pass through filter B unaffected
o In this case, the maximum intensity of light is transmitted

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When both polarisers have the same transmission axis, the intensity of the
transmitted light is at its maximum

As the polarizer B (also called the analyser) is rotated, the intensity of

the light observed changes periodically depending on the angle B is rotated
through
When A and B have their transmission axes perpendicular to each other:
This time none of the polarised light will pass through filter B
In this case, the minimum intensity of light is transmitted

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Malus’s law
Figure 12.21 shows plane polarised light incident at a Polaroid. The
transmission axis of this Polaroid is at an angle θ to the plane of the
incident light. Now you already know that when θ = 0, then the light will go
through the Polaroid, and when θ = 90°, there is no transmitted light. The
intensity of the transmitted light depends on the angle θ.

Figure 12.21: The amplitude, and hence the intensity of light, transmitted
through the Polaroid depends on the angle θ.
Consider the incident plane polarised light of amplitude A0. The
component of the amplitude transmitted through the Polaroid along its
transmission axis is A0 cos θ. You know that the intensity of light is directly
proportional to the amplitude squared. So, the intensity of light transmitted
will be given by the expression: I = I0 cos2θ where I0 is the intensity of the
incident and I is the transmitted intensity at an angle θ between the
transmission axis of the Polaroid and the plane of the incident polarised
wave.
The relationship is known as Malus’s law.
Note that the fraction of the light intensity transmitted is equal to cos2θ.
This means that a graph of I against θ is a cosine squared graph, see Figure
12.22.

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Figure 12.22: Variation of transmitted intensity I with angle θ. Notice
maximum intensity when θ = 0°, 180° and so on, and zero when θ = 90°,
270° and so on.

Example Question.

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Polaroid Sunglasses
• Polaroid sunglasses are glasses containing lens with polarising filters
with transmission axes that are vertically oriented
o This means the glasses do not allow any horizontally
polarised light to pass through

Polaroid sunglasses contain vertically oriented polarising filters which

block out any horizontally polarised light
• When light is reflected from a reflective surface e.g. the surface of
water or a wet road, it undergoes partial plane polarisation
o This means if the surface is horizontal, a proportion of the
reflected light will oscillate more in the horizontal plane than
the vertical plane
• Therefore, polaroid sunglasses are useful in reducing the glare on the
surface of the water (or any reflective surface) as the partially-
polarised light will be eliminated by the polarising filter
• As a result of this, objects under the surface of the water can be
viewed more clearly

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When sunlight reflects off a horizontal reflective surface, such as water, the
light becomes horizontally polarised. This is where polaroid sunglasses
come in useful with their vertically aligned filter

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Extended Reading (Not required as per the syllabus)
A Polaroid filter is able to polarize light because of the chemical
composition of the filter material. The filter can be thought of as having
long-chain molecules that are aligned within the filter in the same
direction. During the fabrication of the filter, the long-chain molecules are
stretched across the filter so that each molecule is (as much as possible)
aligned in say the vertical direction. As unpolarized light strikes the filter,
the portion of the waves vibrating in the vertical direction are absorbed by
the filter. The general rule is that the electromagnetic vibrations that are in
a direction parallel to the alignment of the molecules are absorbed.
The alignment of these molecules gives the filter a polarization axis. This
polarization axis extends across the length of the filter and only allows
vibrations of the electromagnetic wave that are parallel to the axis to pass
through. Any vibrations that are perpendicular to the polarization axis are
blocked by the filter. Thus, a Polaroid filter with its long-chain molecules
aligned horizontally will have a polarization axis aligned vertically. Such a
filter will block all horizontal vibrations and allow the vertical vibrations to
be transmitted (see diagram above). On the other hand, a Polaroid filter
with its long-chain molecules aligned vertically will have a polarization axis
aligned horizontally; this filter will block all vertical vibrations and allow
the horizontal vibrations to be transmitted.

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