MELC 54-57 CLM 1-

General Physics 1 G12-1st Sem

Introductory Message

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needed information and skills to be learned. Engagement part has activities which will
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Greetings!

This learning material is designed especially for you. This is composed of discussions
and activities to further develop your knowledge, understanding and skills in General Physics
1. The lesson has four parts: Introduction, Development, Engagement and Assimilation.
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Happy learning!

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 Week 4 Waves
Lesson 1

Introduction

What I Need to Know

After the lesson, the learners will be able to:

1. Differentiate underdamped, overdamped and critically damped

motion
2. Define mechanical wave, longitudinal wave, transverse wave,
periodic wave and sinusoidal wave
3. From a given sinusoidal wave function infer the speed, wavelength,
frequency, period, direction and wave number.
4. Apply the inverse-square relation between the intensity of waves
and the distance from the source

What’s new?

https://pages.uoregon.edu/2mamura/102/section4/chapter19.html

Interesting Facts about Waves

✓ Waves in the ocean are mostly generated by the wind moving across the ocean
surface.
✓ The "medium" is the substance or material that carries a mechanical wave.

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 ✓ One of the most important things to remember about waves is that they transport
energy, not matter. This makes them different from other phenomenon in physics.
✓ Many waves cannot be seen such as microwaves and radio waves.
✓ The tallest ocean wave ever recorded was 1,720 feet tall and occurred in Lituya Bay
in Alaska.
https://www.ducksters.com/science/physics/waves.php

Copyright © Ducksters.

Development

What I know

Draw and describe the three categories of waves.

Waves Illustration Description

What’s in?

A simple review of the previous lesson

Period (T)- the time required for a complete to and fro motion or oscillation.
Frequency (f )- the number of complete oscillations per unit time. It is the reciprocal
of the period. f= 1/T
Amplitude- maximum displacement from the equilibrium position

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What is it?
In the previous lesson, we learned about periodic motion and its characteristics. In this
lesson, we will understand a phenomenon produced by periodic motion – waves.

Whenever we hear the word wave, we often visualized the repeated movement of the
seawater towards and away from the seashore. Wave is a phenomenon in which there is a
repeated disturbance or vibration that causes the transfer of energy through a medium from
one point to another. A medium is any material through which waves can travel. A periodic
wave is a wave with a repeating continuous pattern which determines its wavelength and
frequency.
(https://www.eeweb.com/periodic-wave/#:~:text=A%20periodic%20wave%20is%20a,lowest%20point%20of%20a%20wave.)

Nature of wave motion:

✓ A wave carries energy from its source

✓ A wave can travel only in elastic medium
✓ Waves come in many shapes and forms

https://www.miniphysics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/transverse-wave.gif

Properties of waves:
✓ Wavefront- an imaginary line that joins all identical points in a wave.
✓ Wavelength- is the length of a single cycle of a wave. It is measured between two
crests or two troughs of a wave. The symbol for wavelength is λ

Quantities needed to describe a periodic wave:

✓ Period- time taken to complete one oscillation.
Oscillation in physics is defined as the repeated motion of an object from its equilibrium
position to the maximum distance it can cover. A good example is electric field of a
light wave. Oscillation is different from vibration. Oscillation is used to indicate slower
motion. Example is pendulum.

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 Vibration is a mechanical oscillation. Vibration is used to indicate motion that is quite
fast.
✓ Amplitude- height of the crest and the depth of the trough.
✓ Frequency- in the previous lesson, it is defined as the number of cycles per second.
In waves, frequency is defined as the number of complete oscillations per second. It is
the number of waves that pass a fixed point in a certain time period.

Difference between oscillation and vibration

(https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-oscillation-and-
vibration#:~:text=Oscillation%20is%20a%20definite%20distance,the%20plucking%20of%20guitar%20string.)

• Oscillation is the definite displacement of a body in terms of distance or time whereas

vibration is the movement brought about in a body due to oscillation.

• Oscillation takes place in physical, biological systems and often in our society but vibrations
is associated with mechanical systems only.

• Oscillation of a body dissipates energy due to friction which slows it down and ultimately
ends the movement but it can be converted to a continuous one by applying external force.
Vibrations tend to end after the dissipation of all the energy of the atoms.

• Oscillation of a body is used to study the nature of movement and calculations of different
energy levels during movement but vibration has a varied range of applications in the industry.

• Oscillation is about a single body whereas vibration is the result of collective oscillation of
atoms.

In the wave motion such factors as wave speed, frequency, phase, wavelength and amplitude
must be considered.

https://www.miniphysics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/wavefront.gif

There are three categories of waves based on the motion of their particles and the direction
of their energy. These categories are:

✓ Mechanical waves

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 ✓ Electromagnetic waves
✓ Matter waves
https://byjus.com/physics/types-of-waves/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20orientation%20of,Matter%20waves

1. Mechanical wave- a wave that needs a medium to travel. There are two types of
mechanical waves:

Longitudinal waves – are waves that travel parallel to the direction of the vibrations.
Longitudinal waves have two major parts namely compressions and rarefactions.
Compression is the part that has the highest density because which the particles are closest
together while the rarefaction is the part that has the lowest density. It is also the section in
which the sections are furthest apart.

https://socratic.org/questions/which-part-of-a-longitudinal-wave-has-the-lowest-density

The picture shows longitudinal waves in a dot diagram and vertical line diagram
https://vidyarthiacademy.in/vidyarthiacademy/ncertsolutions/ixscience/ixscience12.int
extncertsolutions.php

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 A wavefront is an imaginary line or surface that joined all adjacent points which have
the same phase of vibration on the wave.

Transverse waves – are waves that travel perpendicular to the direction of the
vibration. The particles of a transverse wave travels in a right angle (90°) direction meaning
the particles exhibit an up and down movement. Example is light waves.

https://slideplayer.com/slide/4475046/

On the other hand, there are waves created by the combination of both longitudinal waves
and transverse waves known as surface waves. Surface waves mostly occur in circular
motion as observed in water waves. The particles of surface waves move in a circular motion.
All particles in such waves have two components of displacement, one in the direction of the
motion of the wave and other in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the motion of
the wave.
https://www.toppr.com/content/concept/basic-knowledge-of-longitudinal-vs-transverse-wave-
209087/

https://www.toppr.com/content/concept/basic-knowledge-of-longitudinal-vs-transverse-wave-
209087/

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Sinusoidal wave – AKA sine wave, it is a mathematical curve that describes a smooth
periodic oscillation. A sine wave is a continuous wave. Transverse waves are
usually sine waves. The three properties of a sine wave are the amplitude,
frequency and phase which is the shift at zero time.

Examples of mechanical waves:

✓ Sound waves
✓ Slinky waves
✓ Water waves
✓ Rope waves

2. Electromagnetic waves- these are waves created by the combination of magnetic

and electric fields. Unlike mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves do not need a
medium to travel. Light is an example of electromagnetic wave. All electromagnetic
waves travel through a vacuum at the same speed, 299,792,458 ms-
(https://byjus.com/physics/types-of-waves/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20orientation%20of,Matter%20waves )

The different types of electromagnetic waves include x-ray, radio waves, ultraviolet waves
and microwaves.

https://www.rfcafe.com/references/electrical/electromagnetic-wave-physics.htm

3. Matter waves – also known as De Broglie waves. The concept of matter waves is
part of quantum physics which tackles the dual nature of matter. Matter waves
possesses difficulty propagating through vacuum. Its speed propagation is slower
than the speed of light.

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 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogj6of6DIbE

Underdamped, Overdamped and Critically Damped Motion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuH2Ul27lqE

We often hear guitar players say that they can play the instrument using either plucking
or strumming. While playing, one can observe that there are times the sound will become
louder when the guitar player struck the string harder and softer sound when less pressure is
put on the string. This happens because of damping. Damping in physics is defined as the
restraining of vibratory motion. When a spring is pulled, it will undergo several cycles of
expansion and compressions before returning to tis original position. The same goes for
stringed musical instruments. When the string is struck, it will oscillate, but in a damped
system, the oscillation’s amplitude will decrease overtime due to factors like air resistance and
friction.

https://learnengineering.org/theory-of-vibration.html

Three Types of Damping (https://slideplayer.com/slide/8437476/)

1. Underdamped – this happens when there is large amount of damping. There will
be few oscillations before the oscillator returns to rest.
2. Critically damped – the system will go back to equilibrium as quickly as possible.
3. Overdamped – the system returns to equilibrium without oscillating.

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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_harmonic_motion

https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-applications-of-overdamped-underdamped-and-
critically-damped-RLC-circuits

The above graph shows the three types of damping. Critically damped and overdamped graph
did not overshoot the equilibrium position. However, there are times when critically damped
systems can undershoot/ overshoot the equilibrium position, but it will reach the equilibrium
position in a longer period of time.
• (https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/302904/rlc-response-overdamped-
underdamped-and-critically-damped)
• (https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-physics/chapter/16-7-damped-harmonic-
motion/#:~:text=As%20with%20critical%20damping%2C%20it,overdamped%20harm
onic%20oscillator%20(B).)

Examples of damping:
Source: https://www.quora.com/What-are-over-damped-critically-and-under-damped-
systems#:~:text=In%20simple%20words%2C,position%20WITHOUT%20any%20oscillations%20QUICKLY.

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Consider a door that uses a spring to close the door once open. This can lead to any of the
above types of damping depending on the strength of the damping.
If the door is undamped it will swing back and forth forever at a particular resonant
frequency.
If it is underdamped it will swing back and forth with decreasing size of the swing until it
comes to a stop.
If it is critically damped then it will return to closed as quickly as possible without
oscillating.
Finally, if it is overdamped it will return to closed without oscillating but more slowly
depending on how overdamped it is.

Advantages of damping:

In many instances, periodic motion is desired such as in concerts. Damping in these

situations must be minimized. But there are systems where oscillations can be a problem,
hence the system must return to equilibrium as quickly as possible. Example of these systems
are car shock, building supports.

Inverse-square Law- intensity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from
1
the source. I= (https://music.arts.uci.edu/dobrian/maxcookbook/amplitude-
𝑑2
inversely-proportional-distance)

https://www.nde-
ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Radiography/Physics/inversesquare.htm

Wave Calculations

How fast does a wave travel?

Wave speed is defined as the distance the wave travels in a given time specifically, distance
traveled by a given point on the wave (such as a crest) in a given interval of time. The
formula for computing wave speed is the same as the general equation for computing speed
of moving objects which is

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 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Speed = 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

If the crest of an ocean wave covered a distance of 20 meters in 10 seconds, then the ocean
wave speed is 2.0 m/s.

Wave Speed, Wavelength, and Wave Frequency

Another way to compute for the wave speed is by multiplying the wavelength and the wave
frequency since wave speed is related to both wavelength and wave frequency. The
equation shows how the three factors are related:

Speed = Wavelength x Wave Frequency

In this equation, wavelength is measured in meters, while frequency is measured in hertz

(Hz) or the number of waves per second. Therefore, the unit for wave speed is
meters/second.

Increasing the wavelength will not change the speed of the wave. How is this so?

It should be remembered that wavelength is the distance between two points of adjacent
waves that is, between two crests or two troughs. Wave frequency is the total number of
waves passing a fixed point in a given amount of time. As the wavelength increases, the
frequency decreases.

https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/223513

Speed of a wave = wavelength x frequency The speed of a wave depends on the

v = λf medium that it is travelling through.
v = velocity (speed), measured in
meters/second (m/s) f = 1/T
λ = wavelength, measured in meters (m) f = frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz)
f = frequency, measured in Hertz (Hz = 1/s) T = period, measured in seconds (s)

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https://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/GA01000549/Centricity/Domain/7044/Wave%20Calculations%20
Worksheet.pdf

Propagation of Sound
https://vidyarthiacademy.in/vidyarthiacademy/ncertsolutions/ixscience/ixscience12.intextncer
tsolutions.php

Sound- vibrations that travel through the air or another medium and can be heard when they
reach a person's or animal's ear (Wikipedia)
Sound travels through a medium from the point of generation/ production to the listener
through alternate compressions and rarefactions.
When the vibrating object moves forward, air in front of it is pushed and compressed
resulting in high pressure which is called compression.
When the vibrating object moves backward, it creates a region of low pressure. This low
pressure is called rarefactions.

https://vidyarthiacademy.in/vidyarthiacademy/ncertsolutions/ixscience/ixscience12.int
extncertsolutions.php

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 Engagement

What’s More?
PERFORMANCE # 1
USE A GRAPHING PAPER.
Illustrate the following.
1. Dot diagram for longitudinal waves where compression and rarefaction occur every 5
seconds in 20 seconds.
2. Vertical line diagram for longitudinal waves where compression and rarefaction occur
every 5 seconds in 20 seconds.
3. Create a graph illustrating the distance traveled by two waves. The first graph has an
amplitude of 5 and a wavelength of 4 within 21 cm. The second graph has ½ the
amplitude of the first graph and 2x the wavelength. (1 box = 1 amplitude and 1
centimeter)
4. Create a graph illustrating the frequency of two waves. The first frequency has an
amplitude of 6 and a wavelength of 3 within 21 seconds. The second graph has ½
the amplitude of the first graph and 2x the wavelength.

Assimilation

Generalization
✓ Wave is a phenomenon in which there is a repeated disturbance or vibration that
causes the transfer of energy through a medium from one point to another.
✓ Three categories of wave are mechanical waves, electromagnetic waves, and matter
waves
✓ Damping is defined as the restraining of vibratory motion.
✓ Increasing the wavelength will not change the speed of the wave.
✓ Longitudinal waves are waves that travel parallel to the direction of the vibrations.
✓ Transverse waves are waves that travel perpendicular to the direction of the
vibration.

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Assessment

Compute for the following. Show you solutions.

1. The speed of sound in the air is about 340 m/s. what is the wavelength of sound
waves produced by a guitar string vibrating at 490 Hz?

Given Equation/ rearranged Computation Answer

equation

2. Along a guitar string, a wave’s wavelength is 2.5 meters, and its frequency is 540 Hz.
What is the speed of the wave?

Given Equation/ rearranged Computation Answer

equation

3. What is the frequency of microwaves with a wavelength of 0.01 meter if the speed of light is
300,000,000 m/s?

Given Equation/ rearranged Computation Answer

equation

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 4. An FM radio station broadcasts electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 94.5
megahertz (MHz). The produced radio waves have a wavelength of 3.17 meters.
Calculate for the speed of the wave.

Given Equation/ rearranged Computation Answer

equation

5. A certain sound has a 220 Hz frequency and a speed of 340 m/s. what is its
wavelength and frequency in Megahertz?

Given Equation/ rearranged Computation Answer

equation

Reflection:
Sometimes you just have to go with the waves
-anonymous
https://www.quoteambition.com/wave-quotes/

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References:
http://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio301/content/erlast.htm
https://byjus.com/physics/types-of-
waves/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20orientation%20of,Matter%20waves
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-oscillation-and-vibration
https://en.ppt-online.org/45845
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuH2Ul27lqE
https://www.slideserve.com/clive/damped-harmonic-motion
https://learnengineering.org/theory-of-vibration.html
https://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/GA01000549/Centricity/Domain/7044/
Wave%20Calculations%20Worksheet.pdf
https://vidyarthiacademy.in/vidyarthiacademy/ncertsolutions/ixscience/ixscience12.int
extncertsolutions.php
https://circuitglobe.com/difference-between-electromagnetic-wave-and-matter-
wave.html

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