Water Waves

Objectives:

1. Understand the concept of wave energy transfer.

2. Learn the characteristics of transverse waves, particularly in water.
3. Understand the concept of wave reflection.
4. Learn about wave superposition and its effects.

1. Water Waves and Energy Transfer

Definition: Waves transfer energy from one place to another. This is observable in
water waves at the beach.

2. Transverse Waves

Key Concept: Water waves are a type of transverse wave.

Transverse Waves: The movement of the wave is perpendicular (at right angles)
to the direction of energy transfer.
Undulations: These are the up and down movements of the wave as it travels
across the surface of the water.

• Examples:
Ocean Waves: These are typical transverse waves where the water moves up and
down while the wave energy moves horizontally.
Energy Transfer: The wave energy moves in the direction of the wave, but the
water particles move up and down.
Other Transverse Waves:
• Light waves are also transverse waves.

3. Wave Reflection
Key Concept: Waves can be reflected when they hit a surface.
Reflection: When a wave encounters a surface (like a sea wall), it bounces back,
changing its direction.

Incoming Wave: The wave approaching the sea wall.

Reflected Wave: The wave that has bounced back after hitting the sea wall.
Universal Property: All waves can be reflected, not just water waves.
Transverse waves have Crests, Troughs and Displacement.
Characteristics of Transverse Waves
Key Terms:
• Crest: The highest point of the wave.
• Trough: The lowest point of the wave.
• Displacement: The distance a point on the wave is from the middle
line (rest position).
• Amplitude: The maximum displacement from the middle line to the
crest or trough. It represents the wave’s energy.

• The diagram shows a transverse wave with labeled crests, troughs,

and amplitude. The amplitude is the distance from the middle line to either the
crest or trough.

Superposition of Waves

Definition: Superposition occurs when two waves meet, combining their

displacements briefly before continuing on their path.
Scenarios:
1.Identical Crests Meeting:

When two crests of equal height meet, their heights are added together.
Result: The crest height doubles.

2.Identical Troughs Meeting:

When two troughs of equal depth meet, their depths are added together.
Result: The trough depth doubles.

3.Crest and Trough Meeting:

When a crest meets a trough, their displacements are subtracted from each other.
Result: The combined wave may have a smaller crest or trough, and in some
cases, the wave can cancel out completely, leaving a flat surface.
Light Waves

Light is a Wave that Transfers Energy

Light is produced by luminous objects like the Sun, candles, light bulbs, flames, and
glowworms.
Light is a wave that travels in a straight line.

Light Waves and Water Waves Are Similar

Light waves are transverse waves, just like water waves. Both have undulations
(peaks and troughs) at right angles to the direction of travel.
• They both transfer energy from one place to another.
• Light waves can be reflected, similar to how water waves reflect off
surfaces. This explains how mirrors work.

Light Waves Don’t Need Particles to Travel

• Unlike water waves that need particles to move, light waves can travel
through a vacuum.
• This allows light from the Sun to travel through space to Earth.
• Light waves are only slowed down by particles when they encounter
matter (like air or water).

Light Waves Always Travel at the Same Speed in a Vacuum

• In a vacuum, light travels faster because there are fewer particles in
the way.
• The speed of light in a vacuum is constant:
(300 million meters per second).
• This means it only takes 8.3 minutes for light from the Sun to reach
Earth.
 • Nothing travels faster than light in a vacuum.
• Even though light slows down when traveling through matter, it still
appears instantaneous to the human eye.

Key Terms:

• Luminous objects: Objects that emit light.

• Transverse waves: Waves where the motion of the medium is at
right angles to the direction of the wave.
• Vacuum: A space with no particles (or very few).
• Speed of light in a vacuum: 300,000,000 meters per second.

Reflection of Waves
Definition:
Reflection is what happens when a wave hits a surface.
Mirrors Have Shiny surfaces which Reflect Light

1. Light waves (also known as light rays) can reflect off surfaces such as
mirrors and other objects.
2. Mirrors have shiny, smooth surfaces which allow each light ray to
reflect at the same angle, creating a clear reflection. This is called specular
reflection.
3. Rough surfaces appear dull because the light is reflected in many
directions (scattered). This is called diffuse reflection or diffuse scattering.

Types of Reflection:

• Specular Reflection: Occurs on smooth, shiny surfaces like mirrors.

Light rays reflect at the same angle, creating a clear image.
• Diffuse Reflection: Occurs on rough, dull surfaces. Light reflects in
multiple directions, scattering and not forming a clear image.
The Law of Reflection:

1. Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection

(Angle i = Angle r)
2. Angle of incidence and angle of reflect
Angle of incidence and angle of reflection are measured between the light ray and
the normal.
3. Normal: An imaginary line drawn at a right angle (90°) to the surface
where the light ray hits.
Refraction

• Refraction happens when light rays move between materials with

different densities (e.g., air to glass).

What is Refraction?

• Refraction is when light bends as it crosses the boundary between two

different mediums (materials).
• Light will travel through transparent material, but if it moves between
two mediums, it bends.

Rules of Refraction:

1. From less dense to more dense material (e.g., air to glass):

• Light bends towards the normal line.
2. From more dense to less dense material (e.g., glass to air):
• Light bends away from the normal line.

Light Hitting a Glass Block is Like a Car Hitting Sand:

1. Light hitting at an angle behaves like a car hitting sand. The part of the
car (or light) slows down and bends.
2. As one wheel hits the sand first, the car turns towards the right
(towards the normal), and this is similar to how light bends towards the normal.
3. When the light exits, it behaves like the car leaving the sand, speeding
up and bending away from the normal.
4. If both wheels hit the sand (or the light hits directly), the car goes
straight without turning, just as light goes straight through without bending.
Reflection vs. Refraction:

• Reflection happens when light bounces off a surface.

• Refraction is when light bends as it moves between different materials.

How We See

We See Things Because Light Reflects into our Eyes

1. Luminous objects produce light (like the sun, light bulbs). This light
reflects off non-luminous objects (like books, trees, people).
2. Some of this reflected light enters our eyes, and that’s how we see!

The Pinhole Camera

• The light travels in a straight line through the small hole (pinhole).
• Only a tiny amount of light enters through each point, forming an
upside-down image on the film.
• This happens because light rays cross over as they pass through the
hole.

Lenses Can Be Used to Focus Light

1. A lens refracts (bends) light.

2. A convex lens curves outward, making light converge to a focus point.
3. In the eye, the cornea and lens work together to focus light onto the
retina.
4. The iris controls how much light enters by changing the size of the
pupil.
5. The image forms on the retina, which has cells that are sensitive to
light.
Energy is Transferred from a Light Source to an Absorber by Light

1. Light energy is carried by waves.

2. Objects that absorb light energy are called absorbers (like the retina in
our eye or a camera sensor).
3. The light energy transfers to the absorber when it hits it.
4. In the eye, this creates chemical and electrical changes, which send
signals to the brain.
. White Light is Not Just a Single Colour

• White light is a mixture of all colours, not just one.

• This can be seen when white light passes through a prism or a
raindrop, causing it to disperse (split up) into a spectrum of colours.

• The proper name for this rainbow effect is called a spectrum.

• The order of colours in the spectrum is:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
To help you remember, use this mnemonic:
Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain.
• Frequency of light:
The frequency is the number of complete waves passing a point per second.
Light with higher frequencies moves from red (which has low frequency) to
violet (which has high frequency).

Coloured Filters Only Let Their Colour Through

 • Filters only allow one particular colour of light to pass through and
block the rest.
• Example: A red filter will only let red light pass and absorb the other
colours.
• Other colours get absorbed by the filter.

Coloured Objects Reflect Only That Colour

• Blue objects appear blue because they reflect blue light and absorb all
other colours.
• White objects reflect all colours of light.
• Black objects absorb all colours of light, reflecting none.

Objects Seem to Change Colour in Coloured Light

• When you view an object under different coloured lights, its

appearance changes because it only reflects or absorbs specific wavelengths.
• In White Light:
• A red boot will look red because it reflects red light and absorbs other
colours.
• A green lace will look green because it reflects green light and absorbs
other colours.
• In Red Light:
• The red boot will look red as it reflects the red light.
• The green lace will look black because there is no green light for it to
reflect, and it absorbs the red light.
• In Green Light:
• The red boot will look black because there is no red light to reflect.
• The green lace will look green because it reflects green light.

Key Terms:
• Spectrum: The band of colours produced when white light is
dispersed.
• Filter: A material that only lets certain colours of light pass through.
 • Reflect: When an object bounces back a specific colour of light.
• Absorb: When an object takes in light and does not reflect it.

Sound
Sound is a longitudinal wave that propagates through a medium like air, water, or
solids.

What is a Longitudinal Wave?

Sound waves are longitudinal, meaning the particles of the medium vibrate parallel
to the direction of wave propagation.
Examples of longitudinal waves include:
 Sound waves
 A slinky spring when you push the end.
Does sound need medium to travel?
It requires a medium because it is caused by the vibration of particles in that
medium.
Sound can’t travel in space because it’s mostly vacuum (there are no particles).

Compression and Rarefaction

Sound waves consist of alternating compressions regions where particles are
closer together and rarefactions regions where particles are spread apart.

Speed of Sound
The speed of sound depends on the medium; it travels faster in solids, slower in
liquids, and slowest in gases.

HEARING
Sound waves are vibrations that travel through the air or other mediums as
compressions and rarefactions. When sound waves reach the ear, they are
funneled by the outer ear into the ear canal, where they create vibrations on the
eardrum. These vibrations are then transferred through the middle ear and
eventually reach the inner ear, where they are converted into electrical signals for
the brain to interpret as sound.

The Process of Sound Transmission Through the Ear.

Outer Ear: The pinna (outer ear) collects sound waves and directs them into the
ear canal.
Middle Ear: The eardrum vibrates in response to sound waves, transferring these
vibrations to the three tiny bones in the middle ear (the malleus, incus, and
stapes), amplifying the vibrations and passing them to the inner ear.
Inner Ear: The vibrations reach the cochlea, a fluid-filled structure in the inner ear.
Tiny hair cells (sensory receptors) within the cochlea move in response to the
vibrations, converting them into electrical impulses that are sent to the auditory
nerve. The brain then interprets these signals as sound.
Definition of the Auditory Range
The auditory range is the range of frequencies that an organism can detect through
hearing.
For humans, this range typically spans from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz (20 kHz),
though it may vary slightly between individuals.

Comparison of Auditory Range in Different Species

Humans: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Dogs: 40 Hz to 60 kHz – Dogs can hear much higher frequencies than humans,
which helps them detect ultrasonic sounds.
Cats: 48 Hz to 85 kHz – Even higher than dogs, allowing them to detect high-
pitched sounds made by rodents.
Bats: 20 kHz to 120 kHz – Bats rely on echolocation and can detect frequencies well
beyond human hearing.
Elephants: 16 Hz to 12 kHz – Elephants can hear lower frequencies, which helps
them communicate over long distances.
Dolphins: 20 Hz to 150 kHz – Dolphins use high frequencies for echolocation.

Why Humans Cannot Hear Very Low-Pitched or Very High-Pitched Sounds?

Humans have a limited range of hair cell receptors in the cochlea, each sensitive to
a specific range of frequencies. Low-pitched sounds below 20 Hz are outside this
range and cannot trigger a strong response in human hair cells. Similarly, high-
pitched sounds above 20 kHz exceed the capacity of human receptors, making
these sounds inaudible.

Information can be Transferred by Pressure Waves:

Information can be transferred using pressure waves.
These are mechanical waves that travel through a medium like air, water, or solid
materials.

Detection of Sound Waves:

Microphones detect sound waves using diaphragms.
The diaphragm vibrates when sound waves hit it, converting pressure changes into
electrical signals.

Sound Reproduction:
Loudspeakers recreate sound waves by converting electrical signals into vibrations.
These vibrations generate pressure waves in the air, allowing us to hear sounds.

Ultrasound:
Ultrasound refers to high-frequency sound waves that are above the range of
human hearing typically greater than 20,000 Hz.
Humans cannot hear ultrasound, but it has many practical uses.

Uses of Ultrasound:
a) Medical Imaging: Ultrasound is used to create images of internal body
structures e.g., during pregnancy or to examine organs.
b) Ultrasound Cleaning: High-frequency ultrasound waves are used to clean
delicate instruments or items. The vibrations create tiny bubbles, which
remove dirt and debris.
Measuring The Speed of Sound
To measure the speed of sound in air, you can make a noise at a known, large
distance from a solid wall and record the time for the echo (reflected sound) to be
heard, then use
Speed = distance / time where the distance is 2x length- taking into account
the fact that the sound had to go there and back.
An Oscilloscope connected to a microphone can be used to display a sound wave
and find its frequency and amplitude.
 The greater the amplitude of a sound wave, the louder it is.
 The greater the frequency of a sound wave, the higher its pitch
ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS
What is an electric current?
Electric current is the flow of electric charge through a conductor or
circuit.
It is measured in amperes (A), and its direction is conventionally defined as the
flow of positive charge, even though in most cases, the actual charge carriers are
negatively charged electrons moving in the opposite direction.
Electric Current in a Circuit:
Electric current occurs when charges (typically electrons) flow through a complete,
closed circuit.
This requires a potential difference (voltage) provided by a power source e.g., a
battery or generator to drive the charges.
Moving Electrons and Conventional Current:
In a metallic conductor, the charge carriers are electrons, which move from the
negative terminal to the positive terminal.
However, by convention, electric current is considered to flow from the positive
terminal to the negative terminal, opposite to the flow of electrons.