Year 9 Physics

Wonderful Waves
Wonderful Waves
A wave is able to transmit energy from one place to another
without moving matter.
In a transverse wave, the particles move at right angles to
the direction of energy transfer
E.g. water waves
In a longitudinal (or compression) wave, the particles
move back and forward in the direction of energy travel
E.g. sound waves
Wonderful Waves
Wonderful Waves
Sound waves are compression waves and are caused by vibrations.
When a ruler vibrates, a compression is formed when the air
particles are compressed and a rarefaction is caused when the air
particles move apart.
Sound can travel only through a medium that contains particles
and these absorb some of the energy.
Sound cannot be transmitted in a vacuum.
Sound travels more efficiently through materials that are elastic.
The speed of sound in a particular medium depends on how close
the particles are to each other and how easy they are to push
closer together.
Wonderful Waves
The frequency of a vibration is the number of complete
waves made in one second and is measured in hertz (Hz).
High frequency vibrations produce a high pitch sound while a
low frequency produces a low pitch sound.
The distance between two crests is the wavelength.
The amplitude of a wave is the maximum distance each
particle moves from its resting position.
Prac 9.1 Page 305
Complete Qs page 305
Wonderful Waves
Wonderful Waves
Wave Equation to work out the speed of a wave
Velocity = frequency x wavelength
v = f x
v = velocity in m/s
f = frequency in Hertz, Hz
= wavelength in m

Wonderful Waves
In liquids and solids the speed is much greater. The speed of
sound in air is greater at higher temperatures.
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging) is used in ships to
detect objects underwater.
High-frequency sound is transmitted from the ship and by
measuring the time taken for the echo to return to the ship
and using the speed of sound in water, the distance to the
floor of the ocean or to the underwater object can be
calculated.
Substance Speed of sound (metres per second)
Carbon dioxide (at 0 C) 260
Dry air (at 0 C) 330
Hydrogen (at 0 C) 1300
Water 1400
Sea water 1500
Wood 40005000
Glass 45005500
Steel 5000
Aluminium 5000
Granite About 6000
Wonderful Waves
How light waves travel
Light can travel through the vacuum of space i.e. particles are
not needed.
Light can be thought to be a combination of changing electric
fields and magnetic fields to form an electromagnetic
wave.
This wave can travel through a vacuum at the speed of light
(300 000 km/s)
Wonderful Waves
Wonderful Waves
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Visible light is only a small part of the electromagnetic
spectrum.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum is a continuous series of
wavelengths(10
-12
10
5
) metres
Most of the waves cannot be seen but they can be detected
and have a variety of uses.
Wonderful Waves
Wonderful Waves
Visible light represents only a very small part of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Made up of colours of the
rainbow (ROYGBIV)
Gamma rays have even more energy than X-rays and can
cause serious damage to living cells. Also used for
radiotherapy.
X-rays have enough energy to pass through human flesh but
not bone. This gives us the ability to take x-ray images.
Ultra-violet radiation (UV) is invisible to the human eye.
It is needed by humans to help the body produce vitamin D.
Too much exposure can causes skin cancer.
Infrared (IR) radiation is associated with heat. Used in
remote control devices and heat lamps.
Wonderful Waves
Microwaves are easy to direct and are used in microwaves
ovens, satellite communication, radar and mobile phones.
Radio waves can be used for communication.
Long radio waves can travel around the earth and bend to
follow the earths surface
Medium radio waves can also travel around the earth but
bounce off the ionosphere (upper atmosphere)
Short radio waves are used for line of sight communication or
satellite communication as they can pass through the ionosphere
AM (amplitude modulation) carries information as changes
in wave amplitude
FM (frequency modulation) carries information as changes
in frequency modulation