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Unit 3 Physics Revision (WAVES)

unit 3 waves revision notes

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40 views12 pages

Unit 3 Physics Revision (WAVES)

unit 3 waves revision notes

Uploaded by

eltahiryasser
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UNIT 3 ; WAVES

3.1 GENERAL PROPERTIES OF


WAVES
Waves transfer energy without the transfer of matter
Waves contain;

1. Amplitude - the distance from the rest position to the


maximum displacement (the higher the amplitude the
higher the transfer of energy
2. Wavelength - the distance from one crest/compression to
another crest/compression or from one trough/rarefaction
to one trough/rarefaction
Basically the length of one wave
3. Time period - the time it takes for one complete wave
4. Frequency - the number of waves per second (Hz)

WAVE SPEED
Wave speed is related to the wavelength and the frequency of
the wave
- The formula is V=fw
- V is the speed f the wave (m/s)
- F is the frequency (Hz)
- W is the wavelength in (m)

TYPES OF WAVES
There are four types of waves :
1. Transverse - waves that are perpendicular to the direction
of wave motion
2. Longitudinal - waves that are parallel to the direction of
wave motion
3. Mechanical - these types of waves require a medium
4. Electromagnetic - these types of waves don't require a
medium for example ; light waves

TRANSVERSE LONGITUDINAL
Crests and Troughs Compressions and Rarefactions
Vibrate perpendicular of wave Vibrate parallel to wave motion
motion
Examples any wave apart from Examples sound waves or
sound; light, infrared, radio pressure waves in earthquakes

AS RAYS ARE IN CONTACT WITH SURFACE THEY ACT


ACCORDINGLY, THEY EITHER REFLECT, REFRACT OR
DIFFRACT

REFLECTION
Incoming/Incident rays carrying energy when hitting a surface can
either be REFLECTED, ABSORBED or REFRACTED

- In reflections the ANGLE OF INCIDENCE = ANGLE OF


REFLECTION always
1. Draw the incident ray
2. Draw the normal and measure the angle of incidence
3. Draw the reflected ray with same angle from the normal
4. And label reflected ray
- Wavelength, speed and frequency all remain unchanged

REFRACTION

As a wave ray passes from one medium to another the speed


of the wave changes and thus the wavelength changes but the
frequency stays the same
Waves travel at different speeds through different mediums

How a wave is affected as it passes through different mediums


:
More dense to less dense
- The speed of the wave increases and bends away from
the normal
- If the speed increases the wavelength increase
Less dense to more dense
- The speed of the wave decreases and bends towards the
normal
- If the speed decreases the wavelength decreases
1. Draw the incident ray
2. Label the angle of incidence
3. Draw the normal perpendicular to the surface
4. Draw the refracted ray depending on the medium and
speed of the wave
5. Label the angle of refraction
6. Draw the second normal
7. Draw the emergent ray
DIFFRACTION
Diffraction is the spreading of a wave as it passes
through a gap or an edge
Diffraction is affected by the wavelength of the wave and
the length of the gap
The smaller the gap or the higher the wavelength the
more the diffractions
The most diffractions occurs when the gap and the
wavelength have the same distance

3.2 LIGHT

3.2.1 REFLECTIONS OF LIGHT


The image characteristics are ;
1. Same size of image
2. Virtual image
3. Upright
4. Same distance from the mirror
The reflection contains ;
1. Incident ray
2. Point of incidence
3. Angle of incidence
4. Normal
5. Reflected ray
6. Angle of reflection
The angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of
reflection
3.2.2 REFRACTIONS OF LIGHT

As light passes through a medium its speed changes


depending on the mediums refractive index
The lower the refractive index the higher the speed

Refractive index
(n=v/c) (n=sin(i)/sin(r)) (n=1/sin(c))
n=v/c n= speed of light in a vacuum(v)/speed of
light in a medium(c)
1. The n stands for refractive index
2. The v stands for speed of light in vacuum
3. The c stands for speed of light in medium

n=sin(angle i)/sin(angle r)
1. The n stands for refractive index
2. The i stands for angle of incidence
3. The r stands for angle of refraction

Total internal reflection & Refractive


index and Critical Angle
- The angle of incidence in a more dense medium
results in a 90 degree angle of refractions in a less
dense medium this is called critical angle
- As the angle of refraction increases the angle of
incidence increases because light is travelling from
a more dense medium to a less dense medium, and
the ray bends away from the normal
- When the angle of incidence is bigger than the
critical angle then total internal reflection occurs,
this is when no refraction takes place and the ray is
reflected rather than refracted
- In order for total internal reflections to occur the
1. Light must pass from more dense to less dense
2. Angle of incidence must be greater than critical
angle

The critical angle is the angle at which a ray in a more


dense medium passes through a less dense medium
resulting in a refracted angle of 90 degrees

n=1/sin(c)
1. The n stands for refractive index
2. The c stands for the critical angle

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