Vincent Tran Peak science notes

Physics – Peak Science

 The wave model can be used to describe how current technologies transfer information
 Describe waves as a transfer of energy disturbance that may occur in one, two or
three dimensions depending on the nature of the wave.
o A wave is a travelling disturbance which moves through a medium and
towards a direction of propagation.
o There are 2 types of waves, these waves are: Longitudinal and Transverse.
o Examples of waves are:
 Ripples
 Sounds waves
 Light, x-rays
o Transverse waves
 They require a medium to propagate through
 The wave oscillates perpendicular to the direction of propagation
 EM (electromagnetic waves) are also transverse waves

o Longitudinal waves
 Also known as compressional waves
 They require a medium to propagate through
 The wave oscillates parallel to the direction of propagation

 Identify that mechanical waves require a medium for propagation while

electromagnetic waves do not.
o Mechanical waves require a medium to propagate through
o They involve the transfer of energy through a medium by the number of
particles of the medium itself.
o The particles move as oscillations or as vibrations around a fixed point
o Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium in order to propagate
through.
o They have electric fields that interact with magnetic fields
o Examples of this are:
 Light waves
 Microwaves
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 Define and apply the following terms to a wave model: medium, displacement,
amplitude, period, compression, rarefaction, crest, trough, transverse waves,
longitudinal waves, frequency, wavelength, velocity.
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o Transverse wave: A wave that’s particles vibrate in a perpendicular

motion to the direction of propagation.
o Medium: An intervening substance through which something else is
transmitted or carried on.
o Displacement: It is the distance in which the wave moves from the
equilibrium point/ resting position.
o Amplitude: The distance between the highest or lowest point on a wave
towards the equilibrium position.
o Period: The time that it takes for one full oscillation to occur
o Crest: The highest point of a wave
o Trough: The lowest point of a wave
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o Longitudinal wave: A waves that’s particles vibrate in a parallel motion

to the direction of propagation.
o Compression: Where the particles of the wave are more closer together
o Rarefaction: Where the particles of a wave are further spread from each
other.
o Frequency: The number wavelengths that occur in 1 second. Measured
in Hertz (Hz).
o Wavelength: The distance from 2 successive points on a wave
o Velocity: How fast the wave transfers energy away from its source

 Describe the relationship between particle motion and the direction of energy propagation in
transverse and longitudinal waves
o Transverse wave particles move in a motion that is perpendicular to the direction of
propagation
o Longitudinal wave particles move in a motion that is parallel to the direction of
propagation

 Quantify the relationship between velocity, frequency and wavelength for a wave.

v=fλ

o Velocity (v)
 It is both proportional to frequency and wavelength
o Frequency (f)
 It is proportional to velocity
 It is inversely proportional to wavelength
o Wavelength ( λ )
 It is proportional to velocity
 It is inversely proportional to frequency

 Features of a wave model can be used to account for the properties of sound
 Identify that sound waves are vibrations or oscillations of particles in a medium
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o Sound waves are mechanical longitudinal waves

o A sound wave propagates so that the vibrations of its particles create a variety of
pressure in the medium
o The frequency of a sound wave is determined by the source, not the medium
o Sound waves push the air particles and move them towards the direction of
propagation
o By doing this it creates of a variety of different air pressures
o The result of the longitudinal vibrations of sounds waves is the creation of
compressions and rarefactions in the air

 Relate compressions and rarefactions of sound waves to the crests and troughs of transverse
waves used to represent them.
o Compression: It is a location in the wave where the particles where many particles
are near each other.
o Rarefaction: it is a location in the wave where the particles are more spread out
from each other.
o Crest: It is the highest point of a wave.
o Trough: It is the lowest point of the wave.
o Compressions in a sound wave is where the particles are bunched up with high
pressure, this represents the peaks of a transverse wave.
o Rarefactions in a sound wave are where the particles are spread out with lower
pressure, representing the troughs of the transverse wave.

 Explain qualitatively that pitch is related to frequency and volume to the amplitude of sound
waves.
o The pitch of a sound is directly proportional to the frequency of the sound wave
o The higher the frequency of the sound, the higher the pitch

 Explain an echo as a reflection of a sound wave

o An echo is formed when a sound wave reflects off a hard surface
o It is then reflected back towards the original source
o They are used in many appliances and also used by animals with poor eyesight such
as bats. Echoes are used for SONAR as a method of sensing outlying flora and fauna
underwater.
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 Describe the principle of superposition and compare the resulting waves to the original
waves in sound.
o Superposition is also known as wave interference
o When 2 waves pass through the same medium they interfere with each other
o During the interference, a resultant wave would be formed during that time period.
o The superposition of waves is the sum of the amplitudes of the waves added.
o There are 2 types of resultant waves:
 Constructive:
 Crest + Crest
 Trough + Trough
 Destruction
 Crest + Trough

3. Recent technological developments have allowed the greater use of the

electromagnetic spectrum.
 Describe electromagnetic waves in terms of their speed in space and their lack of
requirement of a medium for propagation.
o Electromagnetic waves all have the same speed in space or vacuum (3x10^8 m/s)
o They do not require a medium to propagate through
o This is because they have electric fields which interact with a magnetic field
perpendicular to each other.
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o Note: All electromagnetic waves are transverse waves

 Identify the electromagnetic wavebands filtered out by the atmosphere especially UV, X-
Rays, and gamma rays.
o Most of EM waves from space are absorbed by the Earth’s atmosphere and
ionosphere.
o Though the few exceptions that aren’t filtered out are Visible light, Microwaves and
Radio waves
 These EM waves are mainly used for communication
o The other EM waves that are filtered out by the atmosphere are considered
hazardous to humans. This is due to the short wavelength and high frequency cause
the wave to be more penetrable and harmful towards the human body.
o Too much UV radiation results in mutations otherwise known as cancer
o Gamma and X-Rays are very energetic and continuous exposure to the radiation may
lead to death.

 Identify methods for the detection of various wavebands in the electromagnetic spectrum

Electromagnetic waves Wavelength Detection

Gamma waves <10^-11 m  Bubble chambers

 Geiger Counters
 Photographic plates
X-Rays 10^-11 m  10^-9 m  Photographic plates
 Fluorescence of certain
chemicals
 Ionization chambers
(similar to the Geiger
counter but at a higher
pressure)
UV light 10^-9 m  3.5 x10^-7 m  Photographic plates
 Fluorescence of
chemicals
 Photocells
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 Photoelectric devices
Visible light 3.5x 10^-7 m  7.5x10^-7 m  Photographic plates
 Photocells
 Human eye
Infrared 7.5x10^-7 m  10^-3 m  Photographic plates
 Heat sensitive detectors
 Thermopiles
Microwaves 10^-3 m  10^-1 m  Resonance in similar
special electrical circuits
Radio waves 10^-1 m  10^4 m  Receivers containing
inductance and
capacitance which are
set into resonance of
the wave.

 Explain the relationship between the intensity of electromagnetic radiation and distance
from a source is an example of the inverse square law
1 k
Iα I=
d² d²

o Intensity is the energy that is received per square meter per second at a distance
away from the source
o The inverse square law is applied to electromagnetic waves.
 Intensity is inversely proportional to d² (distance squared)
 Hence the name, inverse square law.
 Measured in (J/s)/m² or W/m²

Examples a) the intensity of a sound wave is 3x10⁻⁵ W/m² at 2m. What is the intensity of the
sound wave at a distance of 16m? Then compare the intensity with that of the intensity 16m away
from the source.

 Outline the modulation of amplitude or frequency of visible light, microwaves and/or radio
waves can be used to transmit information
o The process of adding information into electromagnetic waves is called modulation
o There are two types of modulations. These are:
 AM (Amplitude Modulation)
 FM (Frequency Modulation)
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Amplitude Modulation

Used in Radio
Involves the adding of amplitudes together using superposition
Remain constant in frequency but the amplitude varies

Frequency Modulation

The frequencies of the audio signals and the carrier wave are added together by
superposition
Has a close to constant amplitude but it varies in frequency.

 Discuss the problems produced by the limited range of the electromagnetic spectrum
allowed for communication purposes.
o There is a limited spectrum that is allowed through the atmosphere and ionosphere
o This limits the amount of waves that are available for use in communication
o Because of this there is a battle for bandwidth due to the lack of bandwidth.
o Therefore there are great demands and competitions due to the limited amount of
bandwidth.
o For FM, there are a limited number of transmitters allowed in an area because
different transmitters must be allocated different frequency bands for transmission
to avoid interference with each other.
o The government also needs to use part of the FM bandwidth for their own purposes
such as war etc. This further reduces the amount of bandwidth that may be used.

4. Many communication technologies use applications of reflection and refraction of

electromagnetic waves.
 Describe and apply the law of reflection and explain the effect of reflection from a plane
surface on waves.
o The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection
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o Where the incident ray, reflected ray and normal must all lie on the same plane
o Reflection allows waves to travel in another direction and not just a straight line
o This allows waves to travel around the earth due to the curvature of the earth’s
surface or earth’s spherical shape.

 Describe waves in applications of reflection of light, radio waves, and microwaves have
assisted in information transfer
o Waves can only travel in one direction and can be reflected of surfaces
o The reflection of light, radio waves and microwaves assists in information transfer by:

Light

o Allows light to be concentrated into a point, otherwise known as the focal point or
focus.
o Used in car’s lights

Radio Waves

o Reflection of radio waves allow the transmitting of the waves for longer distances
o Allow radio waves to be collected in a parabolic satellite dish and “re-sent” as a much
stronger signal due to the weakening of the waves by the inverse square law.

Microwaves

o Used in telephone communication worldwide.

o Due to the curvature of the earth waves may not reach the other side of Earth without
the use of reflection
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 Describe the following application of reflection for each of the following: Plane surfaces,
concave surfaces, convex surfaces, radio waves being reflected by the ionosphere.

Plane Surfaces
o Mainly used for dressing purposes
o These include dressing, shaving and washing up

Concave mirrors
o Reflection off parabolic concave mirrors is used in many different appliances. These
include:
 Torches
 Headlights of cars etc.
o Reflection in this manner is used in microwave repeating stations and airport control
towers boosting the intensities of the EM waves received by reflecting the waves
into an area call the focal point or focus.

Convex Mirrors
o Used in security mirrors due to the larger range of sight and to reduce shop lifting
o Also used in the side windows of car’s.

 Explain that refraction is related to the velocities of a wave in different media and outline
how this may result in the bending of a wavefront.
o In Snell’s law it states that the Sin of the angle of incidence over the sin of the angle
of refraction is equal to the velocity of the first medium over the velocity of medium
2
o This means that Velocity is proportion to the angle that refracts in the wave
o This results in the bending of wavefronts as shown in this diagram.
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 Define Snell’s Law

sin i v ₁ λ ₁ n ₂
= = =
sin r v ₂ λ ₂ n ₁

o Velocity, angle of incidence and refraction, and wavelengths are all directly
proportional to each other
o Refractive index is inversely proportional to all these values.

 Identify the conditions necessary for total internal reflection with reference to the critical
angle.
o What is the critical angle?
 The critical angle is the minimum angle that a ray can be incident at the
boundary of two media such that no wave energy passes into the second
medium.
 In other words it is the angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is
90 degrees.
 Occurs when travelling from a dense medium into a less dense medium.
o Total internal reflection occurs when the angle of incidence is greater than that of
the critical angle. Hence the ray will not escape from medium from the medium.

 Identify the types of communication data that are stored or transmitted in digital form.
o Fibre optics communication data – phone calls, computer data
o Mobile telephone calls
o Sound and picture recordings on magnetic tape, Compact Discs (CD’s) and Digital
Versatile Discs (DVD’s)
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o Computer data – the huge volume of data available on the internet, computerized
records kept by businesses, banks, governments, local councils, the police and
military and so on.
o Digital TV signals & Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) signals - DAB combines two
technologies – digital sound recording & data compression.
o Communications satellites utilise very small aperture terminals (VSATs) which relay
digital data for a multitude of business services.
o “Smart” weapons – Example. tomahawk missiles can be launched over 1000 km
from the target and follow precise directional instructions to reach its target.