Extension Year 9 TRAVELLING WAVES (some of the questions are tricky!!!

There are two fundamental wave types:

 Mechanical waves which require a medium to travel through
 Electromagnetic waves which can travel through a vacuum or a medium.

Wave motion is a way to transfer energy without the transfer of matter. In a

mechanical wave the energy is passed from one point to another without any of the
particles of the medium moving very far from their initial positions. This passage of
energy is due to the effect of displacing particles which disturb neighbouring particles
which in turn pass on the energy to further particles and so on through the medium. In
electromagnetic wave it is the vibration of the electrical field and corresponding
magnetic field – more on this later.

In some cases, the transfer of energy is as a single wave pulse, such as the ripples
caused when a stone is thrown into a pond. This can be demonstrated on a slinky
spring and shown diagrammatically as below.

Other waves have a periodic nature. For example, on a slinky a series of crests and
troughs are created that move away from the source as a continuous travelling wave. If
a continuous wave train is created in a way that repeats itself in equal intervals of time
it is termed a periodic wave.

In transverse waves the vibration of the particles of the medium is perpendicular to

the direction of travel of the wave. Transverse waves can be described in terms of the
displacement of the particles of the medium from the equilibrium or resting position. It
is important to note the difference between the direction of motion of the wave, and
the direction the individual particles of the medium are travelling.

When the particles

are displaced upward they are said to form a crest; the particles displaced below the
mean position form a trough.

Label the crests and the troughs on the wave form above.
 Visit this applet (the downloadable jar file) to view a transverse wave.
http://ngsir.netfirms.com/j/Eng/Twave/Twave_js.html
List 3 examples of transverse waves:

In longitudinal waves the vibration of the particles of the medium is parallel to the
direction of travel of the wave.

La
bel
the

compressions and the rarefactions on the wave form above.

 Visit this applet to view a longitudinal wave.
http://ngsir.netfirms.com/j/Eng/Lwave/Lwave_js.htm

List 3 examples of longitudinal wave motion

Waves can be formed in 1 dimension (a wave on a slinky), 2 dimensions (circular waves

on water) or 3 dimensions (waves travelling through the crust of the earth). The
medium refers to the material in which the wave is moving, for example water.
Mechanical waves require a medium but electromagnetic waves, such as light, do not
require a medium as they can travel through a vacuum.

 When you speak, what is the medium the sound wave travels through?

 Some people confuse sound waves and radio waves. What are two differences
between them?
When a stone is thrown into water circular wave fronts are formed which travel
outward from the point where the stone hit. The circular shape of the wave is termed
the wave front. The direction each section of the wave is travelling can be shown with
an arrow, which will be at right angles to the wavefront. This is termed the direction of
propagation of the wave.

When
observing light, although it travels as a wave motion, the easiest thing to observe is the
direction the light is travelling, by observing the light rays.

Wave Characteristics

Medium: the material in which the wave is moving, for example water, air. Mechanical
waves require a medium, but electromagnetic waves, such as light, do not require a
medium as they can travel through a vacuum.

Amplitude (A) of a wave is the maximum displacement of the wave from the resting,
or equilibrium position. Unit: metre (m)

Frequency (f): the number of oscillations by the source per unit time. This is
equivalent to the number of crests (or troughs) passing a given point per unit time.
Unit: Hertz (Hz)

Wavelength (): the distance between two successive points that are in phase (ie at
the same part in the cycle) with one another. For example, the distance from one crest
to the next crest is one wavelength. Unit: metre (m)
“In phase” means that the points are at the same part of the cycle, that is, particles in
phase have the same speed in the same direction.

The period of a wave is the time taken for one complete cycle, that is the time for the
wave generator to complete one cycle, which also means the time for one complete
cycle of a travelling wave to pass a certain point.
Symbol T unit seconds

It can easily be seen that period = 1/frequency

i.e. T = 1
 f
The wave speed refers to the speed (in ms-1) at which the wavefronts pass a
stationary observer. This means the distance travelled by the wavefronts per unit time.

Crest refers to the peak amplitude above the mean. Trough refers to the peak
amplitude below the mean position.
When sound waves are formed it is a by a process where the particles in the medium,
for instance air, are moved in a longitudinal direction so that the pressure created is
above normal air pressure. This pressure maximum is called a compression. The
oscillatory motion of the air particles will transmit the compression through the air
volume. As a consequence of this there will be a region behind the high pressure where
the pressure will be less than the normal air pressure. This is a rarefaction.

The wave equation

Waves have a speed which is characteristic of the medium through which they travel.
This wave speed is independent of the frequency. Note that the wave speed is distinct
from the speed of the particles moving in the medium.

Light travels at 2.997 x 108 ms-1 in a vacuum and at 2.0 x108 ms-1 in a type of glass
called crown glass. Sound travels at about 330 ms -1 in air and this also changes with
changes in the medium. For instance, sound travels faster in air at higher temperature,
due to the decreased density of the air. Sound travels faster in solids than liquids, and
faster in liquids than in gases.
The wave speed is linked to the frequency and wavelength by the wave equation.
v = f

Consider the periodic motion as shown below.

Direction the
wave travels
X

The point marked X on the wavefront will have moved one wavelength in time T (the
period). Thus the speed of the wave can be given by
speed = distance travelled
time taken
=  You need to be able to
T reproduce this derivation
And, as f = 1/T of the wave equation.

 v = f
 Note that:
 wavespeed is independent of amplitude and frequency
 frequency is determined by the source
 wavespeed is determined by the properties of the medium

Wave motion can be represented graphically. A displacement-time graph shows the

displacement of one particle in the wave medium with regard to time.

displacement

period time

The period and amplitude can be read off this graph.

In contrast a displacement-distance graph shows a wavetrain at a certain time. The
displacement of each part of the medium along the wavetrain can be seen.

displacement

distance
Wavelength
The wavelength and amplitude can be read off the graph.
It is important to distinguish between the wavespeed and the speed of the individual
particles of the medium.
Consider the wave shown above. After a short while later the wave will have moved, as
shown with the dotted line.

Y
X

Point X on the original wave shows a part of the medium which is moving upwards.

What direction is particle Y moving? _________ How does the speed of particle Y
compare to the speed of particle X? ___________________

Mark in, and label points A,B and C on the original wave, which are moving downwards.

The particles on the medium would undergo simple harmonic motion.

THE WAVE EQUATION- Worksheet 1

1. A wave is propagated along a coiled spring with a frequency of 25 cycles per
second. The distance between successive crests along the spring is 24 cm. Calculate
the speed of the wave.

2. Waves are moving along a beach with a speed of 3.3 ms -1. The distance between
their crests is 6.6 m. How many waves strike the shore in a day?

3. The range of frequencies of the audible spectrum is from 20 Hz to about 20 kHz. To

what range of wavelengths in air do these frequencies correspond if the speed of
sound in air is 340 ms-1.

4. A sound wave of frequency 2000 Hz has a wavelength of 0.75 m in water.

a) What is the period of the sound wave in water?

b) What is the speed of the sound wave in water?

c) What is the period of the sound wave in air?

5. A sound is fed into a cathode ray oscilloscope.

The trace is shown in the figure below. If one
division is 100 millisecond what is the:
a) Period

b) frequency of the waves?

Answers: 1. 6 m s-1 2. 4.32

x104 3. 17 m to 1.7 cm
4. a) 5 x10-4 s b) 1500 ms-1
c) 5 x10 –4 s 5. a) 400 ms b)
2.5 Hz WAVE PROPERTIES – WORKSHEET 2
As sound moves out from a source the motion of the particles in the medium can be
represented graphically. For sound waves the particles move in a longitudinal manner.
One type of graph shows the displacement of the particles of the medium, at
one particular point in the medium, over time.
1. The graph below shows the displacement-time graph of a periodic sound wave.
a) What is the amplitude of the wave?

b) What is the period of the wave?

c) Give the displacement of the wave at a time 0.025 seconds after the start.

d) At what time(s) does the wave have maximum negative displacement?

e) At what time(s) does the wave have a displacement of 0?


X

The other type of graph shows the displacement of the particles of the medium along a
line away from the source, at a particular time.
2. The graph below shows the displacement-distance graph for a periodic wave.
a) What is the wavelength of the periodic wave?

b) What is the amplitude of the wave?

c) If the frequency of the wave is 10 Hz, what is the period of the wave?

d) Sketch a graph of the wave 0.1 seconds later.

e) Sketch a graph of the wave 0.05 seconds later.

f) For the point marked X, sketch a graph of the motion of this point over two cycles.
X


3. The diagram below illustrates a pulse which is moving along a stretched spring at a
speed of 0.50 ms-1.
Upwards displacement (m)
direction of movement of pulse
0.20

0.10
P
0 
1.5 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 Distance along spring (m)
1.0
-0.10

-0.20
(a) Draw a displacement-time graph for the particle P taking zero time at the instant
for which the graph above was drawn.
 (b) What will be the velocity of the particle P after 3s, 4.5 s, 5.5 and 6.5 s
respectively?

4. A pulse is moving to the right along a stretched spring at a speed of 10 ms -1, as

shown below.

Upwards displacement (m)

direction of movement of pulse

0.20

B
0.10 
C
0 A
2 3 4 5 6 Distance along spring (m)

1.
-0.10

-0.20

(a) What is the direction of motion (up or down, right or left) of the particles
marked A, B and C in the instant for which the pulse is shown?

(b) Which of the points, A,B or C, has the greatest speed at the instant shown?

(c) Draw the displacement-time graph for the particle marked P, taking zero time
as the instant for which the graph was drawn.

(d) What is the instantaneous speed of the particle marked B in the graph?

Answers: 1. a) 5.0 cm b) 0.02 s c) 5.0 cm d) 0.15s, 0.35 s e) 0 s, 0.01s, 0.02 s,

0.03s, 0.04 s 2 a) 4 m b) 10 cm d) 0.1 s
3 (b) 0 ms-1 0.3 ms-1 0.1 ms-1 0 ms-1 4. a) A up, B down C up b) B d) 3.0 ms -1

THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

Electromagnetic waves consist of as oscillating electric field with an oscillating
magnetic field at right angles to the electric field. The EM wave travels in a direction
that is at right angles to the two fields.
Many types of energy with which we are familiar are part of the electromagnetic
spectrum, for example:
________________ ___________________ ________________ _____________ ________________

These waves all travel at the same speed in a vacuum (free space) but have different
wavelengths and energies. EM waves do not need a medium through which to travel.

The highest energy part of the EM spectrum are ___________ and the lowest energy part
is _____________

Name of Typical Uses

radiation wavelength

travelling waves MC Qs
1. [1 mark]
A transverse travelling wave has an amplitude x 0 and wavelength λ . What is the minimum distance
between a crest and a trough measured in the direction of energy propagation?
A. 2 x0
B. x0
C. λ
λ
D.
2
2. [1 mark]
A wave on a string travels to the right as shown. The frequency of the wave is f . At time t=0 , a
small marker on the string is in the position shown.
1
What is the position of the marker at t= ?
4f

3. [1 mark]
A wave of period 5.0m s travels through a medium. The graph shows the variation with distance d of
the displacement x of points in the medium.

What is the average speed of a point in the medium during one full oscillation?
A. 0m s–1
B. 4.0m s–1
C. 16m s–1
D. 400m s–1

4. [1 mark]
The diagram shows, at a particular instant in time, part of a rope along which a wave is travelling.
Which arrow shows the direction of motion of the rope at the point shown?
A. W
B. X
C. Y
D. Z
5. [1 mark]
Which of the following correctly relates the direction of oscillation of the particles in a medium to
the direction of energy propagation for transverse and longitudinal waves?

6. [1 mark]
Gas particles are equally spaced along a straight line. A sound wave passes through the gas. The
positions of the gas particles at one instant are shown below.
Which of the distances shown is equal to the wavelength of the wave?

7. [1 mark]
Which of the following correctly describes the direction of a ray drawn relative to a wavefront for
longitudinal and transverse waves?

8. [1 mark]
What region of the electromagnetic spectrum includes waves of wavelength 5 ×10–8 m?
A. X-ray
B. Ultraviolet
C. Infrared
D. Microwave

1D 2A 3C 4B 5B 6B 7D 8B