Dr Arkar Win 1 Physics(IGCSE)

CHAPTER (12)
NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF WAVES
12.1: DESCRIBING WAVE MOTION
Wave
"A wave is a phenomenon in which energy is transferred through
vibrations."
 Waves are a means of transferring energy from place to place. They
can also be used to transfer information. These transfers take place
with no matter being transferred.
 Wave is a basic concept of physics.
 Waves are important because they carry ‘energy’ and ‘information’ from one place to another.
 The source of any wave is a vibration or oscillation (i.e., disturbance). If a source vibrates, particles
of the medium adjacent to the source go along with it. Subsequently, the vibrations spread out to its
neighboring particles and the wave is formed.
Types of waves
 Waves can be divided into two groups:
(i) mechanical waves (Waves that need a material medium to travel through.) and
(ii) electromagnetic (EM) waves (Waves that can travel through vacuum.).
 Mechanical waves are produced by a disturbance, e.g. a vibrating object, in a material medium and
are transmitted by the particles of the medium vibrating to and fro.
 A ‘progressive wave’ is a disturbance which carries energy from one place to another without
transferring matter. There are two types of progressive waves. They are,
(i) transverse wave and
(ii) longitudinal wave.
 Two methods of oscillation or vibration at the source are used to produce the two types of waves:
‘up-down motion’ for ‘transverse wave’ and ‘forward-backward motion’ for ‘longitudinal wave’.
The two waves can be distinguished by their waveforms.
(i) Transverse wave
“A transverse wave is a wave in which the vibrations of the particles are at right angles to the
direction of travel of the wave.”
 Water waves and electromagnetic waves such as microwaves, radio waves, infra-red, visible light,
ultra-violet, X-rays and γ-rays are examples of transverse waves.
 The waveform of a transverse wave appears as succession of ‘crests’ and ‘troughs’.
crest
trough

(i) Transverse wave

rarefaction compression

(ii) Longitudinal wave

Dr Arkar Win 2 Physics(IGCSE)
(ii) Longitudinal wave
“A longitudinal wave is a wave in which the vibrations of the particles are parallel to the direction of
travel of the wave.”
 An example of longitudinal wave is sound wave.
 A longitudinal waveform appears as a succession of ‘compressions’ and ‘rarefactions’.
12.2: WAVE TERMS
Wavelength (λ)
s (m)
“The wavelength of a wave is A λ b
the minimum distance at which a
the wave repeats itself.” c T t (s)
 The SI unit of wavelength
λ
is ‘meter’ (m).
 In transverse wave, the wavelength is the distance between any two consecutive wave crests.
 In longitudinal wave, it is the distance between two successive centers of compressions (or
rarefactions).
Frequency (f)
“The frequency is the number of waves (wavelengths) passing a point per second.”
 The SI unit of frequency is ‘hertz’ (Hz). One hertz is equivalent to one complete cycle per second.
Period (T)
“The period is defined as the time taken to produce one complete wave.”
 The SI unit of period is ‘second’ (s). It is the reciprocal of the frequency.
In symbols, Where,
T = 1f T = period (s)
f = frequency (Hz)
Amplitude (A)
“The amplitude of a wave is the maximum displacement of a particle from its resting position.”
 The displacement of a periodic wave varies back and forth between ‘A’ and ‘-A’.
 The SI unit of amplitude is ‘meter’ (m).
Wave speed (v)
“The speed of a wave is the distance travelled by the wave in one second.”
-1
 The SI unit of wave speed is ‘meter per second’ (ms ).
In symbols, Where,
v = wave speed (ms-1)
v = T λ (or) v = fλ f = frequency (Hz)
T = period (s)
λ = wavelength (m)
Wavefront
"A line joining all the crests (or troughs) of a moving
wave is called the wavefront."
 It is an imaginary line joining all the identical points
when the wave is moving.
 The distance between two successive wavefronts is
equal to one wavelength.
Dr Arkar Win 3 Physics(IGCSE)
Phase
“If the two different points on a wave are moving in the same direction with the same speed and
having same displacement from the rest position, those points are said to be in phase.”
 In figure, points ‘a’ and ‘b’ are in phase but they are out of phase with point ‘c’.

12.3: WAVE EFFECTS

Wave phenomena
 Waves travel in straight lines unless something stops or diverts them. They can reflect, refract or
diffract whenever they reach a boundary or change in properties of the medium.
 There are five common wave phenomena. They are;
(i) reflection (ii) refraction (iii) diffraction
(iv) interference and (v) polarization.
 The phenomena of waves can be studied using a ‘ripple tank’. It
is a convenient piece of apparatus for demonstrating the
properties of wave pulses and waves.
 It consists of a transparent tray containing water, having a light
source above and white screen below to receive the wave image.
 Continuous ripples are generated by an electric motor and a bar
which gives straight ripples if it just touches the water or circular
ripples if the bar is raised and a small ball fitted to it.
 Wave patterns are observed as regions of bright and dark lines
under the illumination of light.
 The faster the dipper is vibrated, the shorter the wavelength of the wave produced. That is, the
higher the frequency of a wave, the smaller is the wavelength.
Reflection
“When a series of water waves strike a barrier, they are turned back. This turning back of water waves
is called reflection of water waves.”
 A barrier is a surface in which wave energies are not easily absorbed and transferred.
 If incident plane waves meet a
straight barrier at right angles,
they bounce back the way they
come.
 If incident plane waves meet a
straight barrier at an angle, they
bounce off in another direction.
 The angle at which they leave the barrier surface is equal to the angle at which they meet the
surface (The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.).
 When the waves strike a convex
barrier, they are made to diverge
(spread out) [figure(i)].
 When the waves strike a concave
barrier, they become curved and are
made to converge [figure (ii)]. Figure (i) Figure (ii) Figure (iii)
Dr Arkar Win 4 Physics(IGCSE)
 Incident circular waves will reflect off a straight boundary as shown in [figure (iii)]. The reflected
rays appear to be expanding from a point behind the boundary.
Refraction
“When water waves pass from deep to shallow water or vice versa, the change in speed causes them to
change direction. Such changing of direction of the waves is called refraction.”
 If water waves move directly over a shallower
depth, they will slow down.
 When they returned to the deeper depth, the
waves will again speed up and continue at
their original speed [figure (i)].
Figure (i)
 If the shallower depth is inclined at an angle to
the wave direction, the waves entering the
shallower depth will change direction as part
of each wave is slowed down; refraction of
waves will occur [figure (iii)].
 When the waves enter the shallower water, Figure (ii) Figure (iii)

they bend towards the normal.

 The waves bend away from the normal as they leave the shallow water and enter the deeper water.
 In different depth, frequency of the wave remains the same as it depends only on the oscillation of
the source. Thus, changing speed causes only the change in wavelength.
 As the frequency is unchanged, a decrease in speed must cause a decrease in wavelength and thus
the wavefronts close up on each other.
Diffraction
“The spreading of waves at the edges of obstacles is called the diffraction.”
 Diffraction is the deviation of waves in a single medium by a narrow aperture or obstacle, and there
is no change in wavelength or speed.
 The extent to which the diffracted wave spreads
out depends on the ratio of the size of the gap to
the wavelength of the wave.
 When the gap is much larger than the
wavelength, there is little diffraction. The smaller
the gap, the greater is the degree of diffraction.
 But, when the opening is too small, although the
diffraction is at maximum, too little wave passes
through for it to be observable (or detectable).
 Thus, diffraction is only significant (most
observable) if the size of the gap is about the
same as the wavelength. Wider gaps produce less
diffraction.
 Diffraction also happens when waves pass a single edge. One can think of an edge as just one side
of a very large gap. Examples of diffraction around an edge include radio waves that are diffracted
as they pass over hills.
Dr Arkar Win 5 Physics(IGCSE)
Interference
“When identical sets of waves overlap, they may reinforce each other or cancel each other out,
depending on whether they are in phase or out of phase. This effect is called interference.”
 Interference or superposition is the combination of waves to give a larger or smaller wave.
 When the crests of a wave overlap
the crests of another, their individual
effects add together to produce a
wave of increased amplitude and a
‘perfect constructive interference’
results.
 When the crests of a wave overlap
the troughs of another, their
individual effects are cancelled and
a ‘perfect destructive interference’
results.
Polarization
“Polarization is a process in which a transverse wave is oscillated only in a fixed plane of vibration.”
 Polarization is a phenomenon that applies only to transverse waves.
 Light is a transverse wave,
meaning that it oscillates in a
direction perpendicular to the
direction in which it is traveling.
However, a wave is free to
oscillate right and left or up and
down or at any angle between the
vertical and horizontal.
 Some kinds of crystals have a special property of polarizing light, meaning that they force light to
oscillate only in the direction in which the crystals are aligned.
 The polarized eyeglasses many people wear restrict the intensity of the light that reaches their eyes
by using a device (polarizer) that only allows light vibrating on one plane to pass through to the eye.

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Dr Arkar Win 6 Physics(IGCSE)
CHAPTER (13)
ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
13.1: THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
Electromagnetic spectrum
"The electromagnetic spectrum is a family of waves, varying in wavelength and frequency. It consists
of seven kinds of waves. They are; radio waves, microwaves, infra-red radiation (IR), visible light,
ultra-violet radiation (UV), X-rays and gamma (γ) rays."

Increasing frequency (decreasing wavelength)

V-I-B-G-Y-O-R

Increasing wavelength (decreasing frequency)

 Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves; consisting of electric and magnetic waves at right
angles to each other and perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation.
 Electromagnetic waves are emitted (send out) whenever charged particles oscillate or lose energy in
some way. The higher the frequency of oscillation, or the greater the energy change, the shorter the
wavelength of the electromagnetic waves produced.
Common properties of electromagnetic waves
 All the electromagnetic waves have the following common properties:
(i) They all transfer energy from one place to another.
(ii) They all are transverse waves.
(iii) They can all be reflected, refracted and diffracted.
(iv) They can all travel through a vacuum.
(v) The equation v = f × λ applies to all of them.
(vi) They all travel at the speed of light in vacuum (c=3×108ms-1).

Dangers from electromagnetic radiation (Effects on cells and tissues)

 Exposure to electromagnetic radiation primarily causes heating effect. However, over-exposure
may result in harmful effects such as the pain of sunburn or skin cancer.
 An electromagnetic wave consists of very small packets of energy called ‘photons’. The higher the
frequency, the larger the amount of energy in each photon.

Type Wave Effect of absorption

Gamma rays o Ionization can cause DNA damage in body cells.
Ionizing o Mutating effect to future generation.
X-rays o Cause cancer.
Ultra-violet o Cause skin cancer.
Visible light
Non-ionizing Infra-red o Heating of body surface.
Microwaves
Radio waves
Dr Arkar Win 7 Physics(IGCSE)
 According to their frequency and energy, electromagnetic waves can be classified as either
‘ionizing radiations’ or ‘non-ionizing radiations’.
 Ionizing radiations are extremely high frequency EM waves which includes X-rays and gamma
rays. Non-ionizing radiations have photon energies too weak to produce ionization. They include
ultra-violet radiation, visible light, infra-red radiation, microwave and radio waves.
 Ionization is the process whereby one or more electrons are removed from a neutral atom by the
action of radiation. It is harmful to living cells. Ionization will result in the destruction of the
modification of living tissues.
Types of Frequency Wavelength
Sources Detectors Uses
wave range (Hz) range(m)
Radio and TV
Radio Radio transmitter,
105–1010 103–10-2 Radio and TV aerials broadcasting,
waves TV transmitter
telecommunication
Microwave Cooking, mobile phone
Micro 10 11 -2 -3
10 –10 10 –10 transmitters and Microwave receivers and satellite
waves
ovens communication
Skin, blackened Infra-red cookers and
Infra-red 11 14 -3 -6
10 –10 10 –10 Hot objects thermometer, special heater, remote control,
(IR)
photographic film night vision
The eye, photographic
Visible Enhance vision, optical
1014–1015 10-6–10-7 Luminous objects film, light- dependent
light fibres, photography
resistor
Skin, photographic film
Ultra- UV lamps and the Fluorescent tubes and UV
1015–1016 10-7–10-8 and some fluorescent
violet(UV) Sun tanning lamps
chemicals
Medical diagnosis,
X-rays 1016–1018 10-8–10-10 X-ray tubes Photographic film diagnosis of flaws in
machines
Gamma 1018–1021 10-10–10-14 Radioactive Geiger-Müller tube Radiotherapy, sterilising
rays materials equipment and food

13.2: APPLICATIONS OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

Radio waves
 Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the EM spectrum. They are used mainly for
communication and are grouped into bands; each band has particular nature and special set of uses.
 In order to reach greater distances than line of sight, some radio waves can be made to travel
towards the sky. The waves are then refracted by the ionosphere (layers of air stretching from 80-
500km above the Earth) and returned later to Earth. These wave signals are subsequently
intercepted by receiving ground stations.

Radio wave Wavelength Uses

Long wave (LW) 1 000m–10 000m Radio broadcasting
Medium wave(MW) 100m–1 000m Local radio, ship to land radio
Short wave (SW) 10m–100m Amateur and ship world-wide radio
Very high frequency (VHF) 1m–10m F.M broadcasting, police, aircraft navigation
Ultra high frequency (UHF) 1m–1cm Television, radar
Dr Arkar Win 8 Physics(IGCSE)
Microwaves
 Microwaves are used for communications because they pass through the atmosphere without
significant attenuation and can be directed in beams with much less diffraction than radio waves.
 Food placed in a microwave oven cooks more quickly than
in a normal oven. This is because water molecules in the
food absorb the microwaves and become very hot. The food
therefore cooks throughout rather than just from the outside. a microwave oven

 Microwaves can directly heat internal body tissue, so serious damage can occur before pain is felt.
 The microwaves used by mobile phones transmit much less energy than those used in a microwave
oven. However, there is still some speculation that using mobile phones may eventually cause
some harm to the brain.
Infra-red (IR)
 IR radiation is commonly used in wireless remote control units because the waves are not harmful,
they have a low penetrating power and will therefore operate only over small distances.
 Special cameras designed to detect infra-red waves can be used to create images even in the
absence of visible light.
 The human body can be harmed (can cause skin burns) by too much exposure to infra-red radiation.
Visible light
 Visible light from lasers is used to read compact discs and barcodes.
 It can also be sent along optical fibres, so it can be used for communication or for looking into
inaccessible places such as inside the body of a patient (Endoscope).
Ultra-violet (UV)
 UV radiation is used in sterilization of water, by killing off harmful living organisms present in the
water for portable uses.
 In fluorescent lamps, the inside of the tube is coated with a white powder which gives off light
when it absorbs ultra-violet. UV is produced by passing an electric current through the gas (mercury
vapor) in the tube.
 Paper money are coated with invisible chemicals that only become reflective (visible) with UV.
 UV light causes the skin to tan, but over-exposure will lead to sunburn and blistering. Ultra-violet
radiation can also cause skin cancer and blindness. Protective goggles or glasses and skin creams
can block the UV rays and will reduce the harmful effects of this radiation.
X-rays
 X-rays pass easily through soft body tissue but cannot pass through
bones. As a result, radiographs or X-ray pictures can be taken to check
a patient’s bones.
 In industry, X-ray photographs are used to check for flaws in welded
metal joints.
 Over-exposure to X-rays can cause cancer. Workers such as radiographers who are at risk of over-
exposure stand behind lead screens or wear protective clothing.
Gamma rays
 Gamma rays are used to sterilise medical instruments, to kill micro-organisms so that food will
keep for longer and to treat cancer using radiotherapy.
Dr Arkar Win 9 Physics(IGCSE)
 Gamma rays can both cause and cure cancer: a small dose of gamma rays may be enough to cause
changes to a cell, known as mutations, and make it become cancerous.
 However, large doses of gamma rays targeted directly at the cancerous growth can be used to kill
the cancer cells completely.
13.3: COMMUNICATING USING WAVES
Communication with sound wave
 Sound waves are mechanical waves. They travel in air with velocity of 320ms-1 (1/5 mis-1) and are
readily damped or attenuated. Thus sound waves themselves will not travel very far. Radio waves
are electromagnetic waves that need no medium of transport and travel with the speed of light.
 Radio waves are used to transmit sounds over long distances. They act as ‘carrier waves’ for sound
waves. Radio waves are generated by electrons oscillating in a wire or antenna.
 Sound is carried by radio waves which can be in kilohertz (kHz) and megahertz (MHz) ranges well
above the audible frequencies.
Modulation
“Modulation is the superposition of sound waves on the radio
carrier waves.”
 Impression of sound waves electrically on the radio carrier
waves is called the modulation.
 There are two types of modulation. They are (i) amplitude
modulation (AM) and (ii) frequency modulation (FM).
 With wider bandwidths, a greater range of frequencies can be
transmitted by FM. Because of high frequency, FM has a
relatively short range.
Demodulation (detection)
“Demodulation is the process of separating the audio portion of
the sound from the carrier wave.”
 The carrier pulses may carry the information as ‘digital signals’ or ‘analogue signals’.
Analogue signal
"Analogue electrical signals are continuously variable voltages.”
 Analogue signals are continuous signals, varying between two extreme
values in a way that is proportional to the physical mechanism that
created the signal.
 The information is converted into electrical voltages or currents that vary continuously.
Digital signal
"Digital electrical signals are signals represented by numbers.”
 Digital electrical signals can have either of only two possible values
(typically 0V and 5V). These represent the digits ‘0’ and ‘1’ used in the
binary number system.
 To send a message using a digital signal, the information is converted into a sequence of numbers
called a ‘binary code’.

Advantages of digital transmission

 Signals transmitted over large distances have two main problems: (i) they lose energy (called
attenuation) as they travel along (ii) they pick up unwanted interference or noise.
Dr Arkar Win 10 Physics(IGCSE)
 All signals become weaker during transmission and need to be amplified or regenerated.
Regeneration of digital signals creates a clean, accurate copy of the original signal. But when
analogue signals are amplified, any accompanying noise is also amplified, so the quality of
analogue signals is reduced.
 Digital systems are generally easier to design and build than analogue systems. They also deal with
data that is easy to process.
 Optical fibres allow a much wider bandwidth. This means that many different digital signals can
share the same optical fibre, so much more information can be transmitted along an optical fibre
than by using an analogue signal.

transmitted signal
transmitted signal

weakened signal
weakened signal
with noise
with noise
regenerated signal amplification of signal
amplifies noise as well

Digital signals are easy to generate, analogue signals are easily distorted.

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Dr Arkar Win 11 Physics(IGCSE)
CHAPTER (14)
SOUND WAVES
14.1: THE NATURE OF SOUND WAVES
Sound waves
"Sound is a form of energy propagated from one point to another as a wave."
 Sound is a mechanical wave and is normally associated with our sense of hearing.
 The study of the nature of sound, the production and the motion of sound is called ‘acoustics’.
 Sound waves are a series of compression (squashes) and rarefactions (stretches) that travel through
the air or other material medium.
Compression
“Compressions are places where air pressure is slightly higher than the surrounding air pressure.”
Rarefaction
“Rarefactions are places where air pressure is slightly lower than the surrounding air pressure.”

C C C C

R R R R R

The nature of sound

(i) Sound waves are caused by vibrations.
(ii) Sound waves are longitudinal waves.
(iii) Sound waves need a material to travel through (i.e. they cannot travel through a vacuum).
(iv) Sound waves can travel through solids, liquids and gases.
 The distance between two consecutive compressions or rarefactions is the wavelength (λ) of the
sound wave. The maximum pressure change gives the amplitude (A) of the sound wave.
 Sound waves can spread through gaps, or bend round obstacles, of a similar size to their
wavelength. The effect is called ‘diffraction’. Most sound waves have wavelengths between a few
centimeters and a few meters, so they are diffracted by everyday objects.
 When identical sets of sound waves overlap, they may reinforce each other or cancel each other
out, depending on whether they are in phase or out of phase. This effect is called ‘interference’.
 To visualize a sound wave, the wave can be captured by a microphone which is fed into a cathode
ray oscilloscope (C.R.O). In this process, sound energy is being converted into electrical energy.
The waveform is really a graph showing how the air pressure at the microphone varies with time.
It is not a picture of the sound waves themselves (sound waves are not transverse waves.).
 A 'tuning fork' is an instrument with two hard steel prongs. It produces a musical note when it is
struck.
 The following are necessary for the transmission of sound.
(i) ‘a source’, the vibrating object which produces the sound;
(ii) ‘a medium’, to transmit the sound;
Dr Arkar Win 12 Physics(IGCSE)
(iii) ‘a receiver’, such as the ear or a microphone to receive the sound.
Reflection of sound
 The reflection of sound can have two distinct effects. They are; (i) Echo and (ii) Reverberation.
(i) Echo
“Echo is a distinct reflected sound wave from a surface.”
(ii) Reverberation
“Reverberation is the effect in which the reflected sound is not distinctly heard, as it follows so closely
behind the original sound and prolongs the sensation of original sound.”
 A reflected sound can be heard separately from the original sound if the sound source is closer to
the receiver while the reflecting hard surface is sufficiently far from receiver. Such reflected sound
is called an 'echo'.
 If the reflecting surface is nearer than 15m from the source of sound, the echo joins up with the
original sound which then seems to be prolonged. This is called 'reverberation'.
 If the surface is rough, the incident sound waves are broken up and the original waveform is lost,
thus no reflected sounds are heard.
 Principle of echo is used in 'echo-sounder' to find the depth of a sea or the location of shoals of
fish. It can also be used to measure the speed of sound.

14.2: THE SPEED OF SOUND

Speed of sound
 Any medium with vibrating particles can transmit sound.
 The more closely packed the particles, the faster the speed of transmission of sound.
 Thus, the speed of sound is slowest in gases, faster in liquids and fastest in solids. At 0ºC, speed of
sound is 330ms-1 in air, 1400ms-1 in water, 5000ms-1 in concrete and 6000ms-1in steel.
 The speed of sound depends on the temperature of the air. The waves travel faster through hot air
than through cold air. The speed of sound in air at 0ºC is about 330ms-1. At room temperature the
speed of sound is faster, about 340ms-1.
 The speed of sound does not depend on the pressure of the air.

Determination of the speed of sound in air

 To determine the speed of sound in air, there are two main simple methods. They are:
(i) direct method and (ii) indirect (echo) method.
 It can also be measured by oscilloscopic or electronic methods.

(i) Direct method

Apparatus: a starting pistol, a measuring
tape, a stopwatch.
Procedure:
(i) Observers ‘A’ and ‘B’ are positioned
at two ends in an open field (more
than 1km apart). Measure and record
the distance with the measuring tape.
(ii) ‘A’ lifts up his hand slowly (a signal to ‘B’) and then fires the starting pistol.
Dr Arkar Win 13 Physics(IGCSE)
(iii) ‘B’, on seeing the flash of the pistol, starts the stopwatch and on hearing the gun shot, stops it.
(iv) The time interval is recorded and the speed of sound is calculated by;
Where,
v = d v = speed of sound (ms-1)
t d = distance apart (m)
t = time interval (s)
Improvement:
(i) Repeat the experiment and find the average speed.
(ii) Interchange the positions of observers ‘A’ and ‘B’ when the experiment is repeated. This is to
minimize the effect of the direction of wind.

(ii) Indirect method (Echo method)

Apparatus: Two blocks of wood for clapping, a measuring tape, a stopwatch.
Procedure:
(i) Observers ‘A’ and ‘B’ stand at equal
Distance ‘d’
distance from a large flat wall.
Measure and record the distance with
the measuring tape.
(ii) The task of observer ‘A’ is to clap
the two blocks of wood to produce a
loud sound.
(iii) Whenever she hears an echo, she makes another clap (the new clap must coincide with the echo of
the previous clap). She makes 50 claps altogether.
(iv) Observer ‘B’ starts the stopwatch at the first clap and also starts counting the number of claps. He
stops at the 50th clap. The time taken ‘T’ is recorded.
(v) Calculate the time interval, ‘t’, between successive claps (t = T/50).
(vi) The speed of sound can be calculated by the formula;
Where,
v = 2× d v = speed of sound (ms-1)
t
d = distance apart (m)
t = time interval (s)
(iii) Oscilloscopic method
Apparatus: An oscilloscope, a loudspeaker, a signal generator and two microphones.
Procedure:
oscilloscope
(i) A loudspeaker connected to a signal generator loudspeaker
microphones
is used to produce sound waves. Microphones A B
'A' and 'B' are connected to Y-inputs of the
'double beam oscilloscope' to detect the sound
waves from the loudspeaker. signal generator
Dr Arkar Win 14 Physics(IGCSE)
(ii) Initially, the microphones are placed at the same distance from the speaker. The screen ought to
show two sets of sine waves, and it ought to be possible to arrange one set above the other (in
phase), using the Y-shift control.
(iii) Move the microphone 'B' away from the speaker and the trace from it ought to move relative to
the other trace. When the two waves set back in phase again, the wave peaks of one wave have
then caught up with the adjacent wave peaks of the other wave-sets. The microphone 'B' has then
been moved through exactly one wavelength.
(iv) Using the time base calibration, the time for one cycle (i.e. time period) can be determined.
Hence, frequency can be calculated.
(v) Finally, the speed of sound in air can be calculated using the equation 'v = f × λ' .

(iv) Electronic methods

Apparatus: A bell or a hammer, two microphones, an electronic timer (control unit).
Procedure:
(i) A sound is made by ringing a bell or by hitting a metal
block with a hammer.
(ii) When the timer receives a pulse of sound from
microphone 'A', it starts the clock. When it receives a
pulse from microphone 'B', it stops it.
(iii) If the distance between 'A' and 'B' is measured, the speed
of sound can be calculated by the simple equation.

Where,
v = d v = speed of sound (ms-1)
t
d = distance apart (m)
t = time interval (s)

14.3: ULTRASOUND
Audibility
“The range of frequencies which a listener can hear is known as
the range of audibility.”
 The top and bottom values of the range are known as limits
of audibility.
 For the human ear, the lower limit is approximately 20Hz and
the upper limit is 20,000Hz.
 The ability of ear-drum to respond to sound decreases with
age.
 Our ears cannot hear sound of either very high frequencies
(ultrasound, f > 20kHz) or very low frequencies
(infrasound, f < 20Hz).
Dr Arkar Win 15 Physics(IGCSE)
Ultrasound
“Sound with frequencies above the upper limit of human audible frequency range is known as
ultrasound.”
 Their frequency is too high to be detected by the human ear but they can be detected electronically
and displayed on a 'cathode ray oscilloscope'.
 Ultrasound can pass through many substances that audible sound cannot.
 Examples of ultrasound are oscillating quartz crystals and sound produced by bats.
Applications of ultrasound
 Ultrasound can be used to obtain images of the internal parts of the body. It is commonly used in
pre-natal examination to examine the development of the foetus.
 Using ultrasound is much safer than using X-rays because X-rays can cause cell damage inside a
growing baby. Also, ultrasound can distinguish between different layers of soft tissues, which an
ordinary X-ray machine cannot.
 In a similar way, ultrasound is used to detect flaws in metal joints.
 The shock waves of ultrasound are very strong. These short pulses can be used to clean spectacles
and jewellery. They can also be used to smash kidney stones.
 Sonar instruments emit ultrasound in water and detect the corresponding reflected echoes from
different [Link] can be used to determine the depth of seabed or to locate shoals of fish.

14.4: CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND WAVES

Musical note
“A musical note is any tone with characteristics such
as controlled pitch and timbre. The sounds are
produced by instruments in which the periodic
vibrations can be controlled by the performer.”
 Musical notes are described conveniently by four
characteristics of sound.
 They are (i) loudness, (ii) pitch, (iii) timbre (quality)
and (iv) duration.
 The wave forms in figure may be regarded as
longitudinal sound waves.
 The wave forms in parts (a), (b) and (e) have the
same frequency, as do those in parts (c) and (d).
Dr Arkar Win 16 Physics(IGCSE)
Loudness
“The loudness of a note depends upon the amplitude of the wave that produces it. The greater is the
amplitude, the louder is the note, because more energy is used to produce a larger amplitude.”
Pitch
“The pitch of any sound depends on how quickly the sound producing system is vibrating.”
 The pitch of a note depends on the frequency of the sound wave reaching the ear, i.e. on the
frequency of the source of sound. The higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.
 Musical scales are based on ‘octaves’. If the pitch of a note increases by one octave, the frequency
doubles.
Duration
“Duration is the length of time that a tone persists.”
Timbre
“Timbre is defined as the quality of auditory sensations produced by the tone of a sound wave.”
 The timber of a sound depends on its waveform, which varies with the number of overtones that are
present, their frequencies and their relative intensities.
 The same note on different instruments sounds different. This difference arises because no
instrument (except a tuning fork and a signal generator) emits a pure note (i.e. of one frequency).
 Notes consist of a main or fundamental frequency mixed with others, called 'overtones', which are
usually weaker and have frequencies that are exact multiples of the fundamental.
 The number and strength of the overtones decides the quality of a note.

Δ▼Δ▼Δ▼Δ▼Δ
Dr Arkar Win 17 Physics(IGCSE)
CHAPTER (15)
LIGHT
15.1: THE NATURE OF LIGHT
Light
"Light is a form of energy which stimulates our sense of vision."
 We can see the objects because they emit or reflect light.
 Objects that can emit their own light are called ‘luminous objects’. Bodies which do not emit light
on their own are called the ‘non-luminous bodies’.
 A ray of light is a path along which the light energy travels. The straight lines with arrow heads are
used to indicate the direction of light rays. A beam of light is a collection of the rays of light.
Features of light
(i) Light is a form of radiation (electromagnetic radiation).
(ii) Light travels in straight lines.
(iii) Light transfers energy.
(iv) Light travels as waves. A wave packet of light is called a ‘photon’.
(v) Light can travel through empty space.
(vi) Light is the fastest thing there is (c = 3×108ms-1).
15.2: REFLECTION OF LIGHT
Reflection of light
"Reflection of light is the abrupt change in the direction Normal
Incident ray Reflected ray
of propagation of light rays that strike the boundary
between different media."
 Incident ray is a ray striking a surface. i r Point of
incidence
 Reflected ray is a ray reflected from a surface.
 Normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to a
surface where the reflection occurs.
 Angle of incidence (i) is the angle between incident
ray and the normal.
 Angle of reflection (r) is the angle between reflected
ray and the normal.
Laws of reflection
(i) "The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal all lie in the same plane." (i.e. they can
all be drawn on a flat sheet of paper.)
(ii) "The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection." (i = r)
Regular and diffused reflection
 “Regular reflection is the reflection of
light rays over a smooth surface such
as a mirror. Light is being reflected in
Regular reflection Diffused reflection
a single direction.”
 “Diffused reflection is the reflection of light rays over a rough surface such as a wall. Light is
being reflected in different angles.”
Dr Arkar Win 18 Physics(IGCSE)
 Even in diffused reflection, each individual rays obey the laws of reflection.
Real and virtual images
 “A real image is formed by the rays of light that actually pass through it.”
 A real image is an image that can be maintained when the object is removed. It can be formed on a
screen. It is inverted.
 “A virtual image is an image from which the rays of light appear to come but do not actually pass
through it.”
 A virtual image is an image that is disappeared when the object is removed. It cannot be formed on
a screen. It is erect.
Formation of an image in a plane mirror

object image
object image

Reflection from a point Reflection from an object

 The properties of an image formed in a plane mirror are as follows:

(1) The image is the same size as the object.
(2) The image is virtual.
(3) The image is erect.
(4) The image is laterally inverted.
(5) The image is as far behind the mirror as the object is in front.
(6) A line joining equivalent points on the object and image passes through the mirror at right-
angles.
Finding the position of an image in a mirror
Apparatus: a plane mirror, two pins, a ruler, a pencil and a piece of paper.

Image pin image

mirror

image

ruler
object
Object pin

Procedure:
Dr Arkar Win 19 Physics(IGCSE)
(i) Put a mirror upright on a piece of paper. Put a pin in front of it. Mark the positions of the pin
and the mirror.
(ii) Line up one edge of a ruler with the image of the pin. Draw a line along the edge to mark its
position. Then repeat with the ruler in a different position.
(iii) Take away the mirror, pin and ruler. Extend the two lines to find out where they meet. This is
the position of the image.
Checking:
 If a second pin is put in exactly the same position as the image of the first pin, it should stay in
line with the image, wherever you view it from.
 If there is relative movement (parallax), then the two are not in the same position.

15.3: REFRACTION OF LIGHT

Refraction of light
"Refraction of light is the change in the direction of light rays when it travels from one optically
transparent medium into another, caused by a change in its speed."
 Incident ray is a ray striking a surface.
 Refracted ray is a ray refracted from a surface.
 Normal is an imaginary line perpendicular to a surface
where the refraction occurs.
 Angle of incidence (i) is the angle between incident ray and A glass block
the normal.
normal incident ray
 Angle of refraction (r) is the angle between refracted ray and
i
the normal.
 The change in direction of light occurs because the velocity
r
of light changes when it passes from one medium to another.
 In refraction, both magnitude (speed) and direction of
velocity of light change. refracted ray
 The speed of light in a medium depends upon the optical
emergent ray
density of that medium. The more optically dense a medium
Refraction through a glass block
is, the smaller is the speed of light in that medium.
Laws of refraction
(i) "The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal all lie in the same plane."
(ii) "For two given transparent media, the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of
the angle of refraction is a constant." (The second law is called Snell’s law.)
 When a light ray is incident perpendicularly onto the boundary of the two media, no bending of
light will take place.
 When light travels from a less dense to a denser medium, it bends towards the normal. When the
ray travels from a denser to a less dense medium, it bends away from the normal.

Refractive index
"The property of the material that determines the amount of refraction is called the refractive index,
‘n’, of the material. The bigger the value of ‘n’, the greater the bending effect."
Refractive index (Defined by speed of light)
Dr Arkar Win 20 Physics(IGCSE)
“The ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in a medium is called the refractive index of
that medium.”
In symbols, Where,
n = c n = refractive index of the medium
v
c = spee of light in air (ms-1)
v = speed of light in the medium (ms-1)

Refractive index (Defined by Snell’s law)

“For a light ray travels from air (vacuum) to a transparent medium, the ratio of the sine of the angle
incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant. This constant is called the refractive index
of that medium.”
In symbols,
Where,
n = sin i n = refractive index of the medium
sin r
i = angle of incidence
r = angle of refraction
 In Snell’s law, the refractive index refers particularly to light ray travelling from air (vacuum) to
another medium.
 Refractive index of a medium must be equal to or greater than ‘1’. The minimum value is ‘1’
which is the refractive index of air (vacuum). This means that your answer is wrong if you get a
refractive index smaller than ‘1’.
 The greater the refractive index, the slower the speed of light will be in sin i
that medium.
 A graph of ‘sin i’ against ‘sin r’ is a straight line passing through the
origin and the gradient is the refractive index.
 When light passes from one medium to another, the frequency of light sin r
remains the same but the wavelength alters.
Refractive index and depth
 Because of refraction, water (or glass) looks less deep than it
really is. Its apparent depth is less than its real depth.
 Refractive index of water can be deduced by finding the ratio
of the real and its apparent depth.
real depth
refractive index = n = u
apparent depth v

Critical angle (c)

“For a ray of light passing from an optically denser to a less dense medium, critical angle is the angle
of incidence at which the angle of refraction is 90º.”
 When the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle, the ray passed out (i.e., is refracted) into
the less dense medium.
 When the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle, the ray is reflected back into the
denser medium.
Total internal reflection (TIR)
Dr Arkar Win 21 Physics(IGCSE)
“The light in one medium does not enter the optically less dense medium and is reflected back into the
first medium for all angles of incidence greater than the critical angle. This phenomenon is called
total internal reflection.”
 When light passes from a medium to a more optically
less dense
dense medium, both refraction and reflection will medium r=90º
occur for all angles of incidence.
denser
 When light passes from a medium to a less optically medium i=c TIR
dense medium, both refraction and reflection will
occur only for some angles of incidence.
(i.e, i < c)
 “The angle of refraction becomes 90°.” means that the refracted ray lies in the boundary plane
between the two media.
Conditions needed for TIR
 The two conditions needed for TIR to take place are;
(i) The light ray must travel from an optically denser medium to a less dense medium.
(ii) The angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle.
Relation between refractive index and critical angle
For a light ray that travels from a denser to less dense medium,
r = 90º
n = sin r
sin i Where,
 n = refractive index of the medium i=c
n = sin 90
sin c c = critical angle
i = angle of incidence
n = 1
sin c r = angle of refraction

Determination of the critical angle

Apparatus: Semi-circular glass block, white paper, pencil, ray box, protractor and ruler

ray box

Procedure:
(i) Place the glass block on a sheet of white paper. Draw a line round the block and mark the mid-
point of the straight side.
(ii) Aim a ray of light through the block at its center of the straight side as shown in figure (2). (If
the ray is directed at this point, there are no refraction effects to take into account as the light
goes into the block because the incident ray always hits the edge of the block at 90º.)
Dr Arkar Win 22 Physics(IGCSE)
(iii) Turn the ray box until the ray is refracted and leave the block along the straight edge (figure: 3).
Draw a line along straight edge and the normal at the mid-point. At this position, angle of
incidence is the critical angle.
(iv) Continue turning the ray box in the same direction will produce a reflected ray (figure: 4). Mark
this reflected ray.
(v) Take away the block and complete the ray diagram. With the protractor, measure the all angles.
Conclusion:
(i) Total internal reflection is possible only when light rays travel from an optically denser
medium to an optically less dense medium.
(ii) Total internal reflection occurs when the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.
Applications of total internal reflection
(i) Reflecting prisms
“A prism having 90°- 45°- 45° angles is called a total reflecting prism.”
 If the angle of incidence on a prism surface is greater than the critical angle (42° for glass), total
internal reflection is possible.
 Total reflecting prisms are used in periscopes and binoculars.
 In the total reflecting prism, 100% of the light is reflected while other reflecting surfaces reflect
only some of the light incident on them.
 The concept of total internal reflection is used in cutting facets of diamond for its brightness.

Image formed by hypotenuse surface Image formed by side surface

Glass prisms (deviated 90°) (deviated 180°)

(ii) Light pipe (optical fibre)

“Optical fibres are very thin, flexible rods made of special glass or plastic. Light put in at one end is
total internally reflected until it comes out of the other end.”
 They usually have polished surfaces coated with a material of suitable refractive index, so that there
is no loss of light through the sides of the fibre. In addition, they are further protected by optically
less dense cladding.
Dr Arkar Win 23 Physics(IGCSE)
 They are used in bundles to transmit light or to receive light from inaccessible places, by repeated
total internal reflections within the fibre. Telephone or computer messages can be transmitted by
light along optical fibres.
(iii) Periscopes
“A periscope is an instrument for looking over obstacles.”
 Prismatic periscope consists of a pair of totally
reflecting prisms.
 Periscope comes from two Greek words, ‘peri’,
meaning ‘around’, and ‘scopus’, ‘to look’.
Dispersion of light
“If a narrow beam of white light is passed through a prism, it splits into a range of colors called a
spectrum. This effect is called dispersion.”

sunlight

 The red colour is least deviated and the violet colour is most deviated.
 The refractive index for red colour is smallest and that of violet colour is largest.
(nv > ni > nb > ng > ny > no > nr)
 λ v < λi < λb < λ g < λ y < λ o < λ r
 vv < vi < vb < vg < vy < vo < vr

15.4: REFRACTION THROUGH LENSES

Lens
“A transparent material that can converge or diverge the parallel rays of light is called a lens.”
 A lens has at least one curved surface.
 The lenses are used in spectacles, cameras, projectors, telescopes and microscopes.
 A lens has two surfaces and so it has two centre of curvature.
Type of Lenses

bi-convex plano-convex converging meniscus bi-concave plano-concave diverging meniscus

(i) converging (convex) lenses (ii) diverging (concave) lenses

 The convex lens is used as a magnifying glass.
Dr Arkar Win 24 Physics(IGCSE)
Convex lens (Converging lens)
“A transparent material which can converge parallel rays of light is called a convex lens.”
 It is thicker in the middle than at the edges.
 Light rays are converged to a point called the ‘focus’ (F) after passing through a converging lens.
Concave lens (Diverging lens)
“A transparent material which can diverge parallel rays of light is called a concave lens.”
 It is thinner in the middle than at the edges.

F F

Figure (i): A convex lens and its focus Figure (ii): A concave lens and its focus

Principal focus of a convex lens (F)

“The rays parallel to the principal axis converge at a point on the principal axis after passing through
the convex lens. This point is called the principal focus of the convex lens.”
Principal focus of a concave lens (F)
“The rays parallel to the principal axis are divergent after passing through the concave lens. Those
divergent rays appear to come from a point on the principal axis. This point is called the principal
focus of the concave lens.”
Principal axis
“A line passing through the centre (C) and perpendicular to the plane of the lens is called the
principal axis of a lens.”
Centre of a lens (C)
“A point in the middle of a symmetric lens on the principal axis is the centre of a lens or the optical
centre of a lens.”
 If the radii of curvature of the two surfaces of a lens are equal, the lens is said to be symmetric.
Focal length (f)
“The distance between the principal focus and the centre of lens is called the focal length of the lens.”

f f f f

F F F F
Principal axis Principal axis
C C

(i) A convex lens (ii) Symbol of lens (i) A concave lens (ii) Symbol of lens
Dr Arkar Win 25 Physics(IGCSE)
Differences between real and virtual images
Real image Virtual image
1. It is formed by the actual intersection of the It is formed by the intersection of the reflected
reflected rays or the refracted rays. rays produced backward or the refracted rays
produced back ward.
2. It can be formed on the screen. It cannot be formed on the screen .
3. It is inverted. It is erect.
4. It is formed in front of the mirror (or) on the It is formed behind the mirror (or) on the same
other side of the lens. side as the object in lens.
Properties of an image
 An image formed by a lens can be described with following properties:
(1) Position (image distance from lens)
(2) Nature (real or virtual)
(3) Configuration (erect or inverted)
(4) Size (larger or smaller or same)
Principal rays and their properties
 In ray diagrams, any two of the following rays are needed to fix the image position and size. The
intersection of the refracted rays gives the position of the image.
Ray 1: Rays parallel to the principal axis are refracted through ‘F’.
Ray 2: Rays passing through ‘F’ are refracted parallel to the principal axis.
Ray 3: Rays passing through ‘C’ are not deviated.

Ray 1 Ray 2 Ray 3

Convex
lens
F F

Concave
lens
F F

Drawing a ray diagram for lenses on a graph paper

Step 1: At the middle of the graph paper, draw a horizontal line to represent the principal axis. Then,
draw a straight vertical line with arrow-heads to represent the lens.
Step 2: Choose scale(s) for the object’s size and position.
Step 3: The object ‘O’ is represented by an arrow standing upright on the principal axis. Mark also
the position of ‘F’ on each side of the lens to scale. (Sometimes it is also useful to mark
points ‘2F’ at twice the focal length from the lens.)
Step 4: Starting from the top of the object, use at least two of the principal rays to draw the ray
diagram. Use solid lines for real light rays and put arrow-heads to indicate the direction. Use
dotted lines for extended light rays (virtual light rays) and do not add arrowhead.
Dr Arkar Win 26 Physics(IGCSE)
Step 5: The position of the top of the image is where the refracted rays cross. Draw solid lines for
real images and dotted lines for virtual images. (The foot of each image is on the axis since
the ray travels along the principal axis passes through the lens undeviated.)
Step 6: Use the scales to measure the position and size of the image.
Images formed by a thin converging lens

Object Image distance Ray diagram Type of Image Uses

distance (u) (v)

v=f Inverted, objective

u=∞ opposite side of
F F
real, lens of a
2F 2F
the lens diminished telescope
I

f < v < 2f O F
Inverted, Camera,
u > 2f opposite side of
2F
real, eye
2F F
the lens I diminished

O
v = 2f F 2F inverted photocopier
u = 2f opposite side of 2F
real (equal-sized
F I
the lens same size copy)

O
v > 2f F inverted, projector;
f < u < 2f opposite side of 2F F 2F real, photograph
the lens I magnified enlarger

to produce a
v = ∞, O upright, parallel beam
u=f same side of the 2F F F 2F
virtual, of light, as in
lens magnified a spotlight

magnifying
image is behind I upright, glass,
u<f the object; same O virtual, spectacles for
side of the lens magnified long-
2F F F 2F sightedness

Images formed by a thin diverging lens

Object Image distance Ray diagram Type of Uses

distance (u) (v) Image

v<f upright, spectacles for

Placed O
same side of the F
virtual, short-
anywhere
lens 2F F I 2F diminished sightedness
Dr Arkar Win 27 Physics(IGCSE)
Lens formula
 The object position, the image position and the focal length of the lens are related by the equation:

1=1+1 u×v Where, u = the object distance

or f=
f u v u+v v = the image distance
f = focal length
Magnification (m)
“The magnification of the lens is the ratio of the height of the image to the height of the object.”

m = II′ = – v Where, m = magnification

OO′ u
II' = height of image
OO' = height of object
Power of a lens (p)
“The power of a lens is inversely proportional to the focal length of the lens.”
 The shorter the focal length, the greater is the power of lens.
 Since the focal length of a convex lens is positive in sign, it has a positive power.
 Since the focal length of a concave lens is negative in sign, it has a negative power.
Practical work: Investigating the converging lens
Aim: To investigate the image formed by a converging lens.
Apparatus: A convex lens, lens-holder, a cross-wire object, a metre rule, light source and a screen.

Figure (i): Schematic diagram Figure (ii): Actual diagram

Procedure: Use the arrangement as shown in figure to investigate the image formed by a convex lens.
 With the object at different distances from the lens, adjust the position of the screen until a clear
image of the object is seen on it.
 The image is real because it is formed on the screen where the light rays meet.
 When the object is a long distance away, the image is formed at the principal focus on the other
side of the lens. This is because the rays from any point of the object are effectively parallel to
each other when they reach the lens.
 If the object is moved nearer the lens, the screen must be moved further from the lens to see a clear
image. The nearer the object is to the lens, the larger the image is.
 However, if the object is moved too near the lens (between F and C), an image cannot be formed
on the screen because the rays from the lens do not converge.

‫۝۩۝۩۝۩۝۩۝‬