Sound and light Flashcards

1
Q

What is a sound wave

A

An invisible wave that travels through using vibrations that make the air molecules move through the air to reach the ear

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2
Q

What do you call the space sound travels through

A

A medium

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3
Q

What medium does sound travels through quickest and why

A

Sound travels through solids quickest because the particles are closer together so the wave distance is shorter

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4
Q

Why can’t sound travel through vacuums

A

There is no medium for it to travel through

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5
Q

Are waves a matter

A

No waves are just a transfer of energy

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6
Q

What are vibrations also known as

A

Oscillation

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7
Q

The louder the sound the …

A

The higher the amplitude

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8
Q

What does a low amplitude sound have

A

Less energy resulting in a smaller range of movement through the air molecules

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9
Q

What are up and down movements in a wave called

A

Undulations

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10
Q

What is a transverse wave

A

In transverse waves the vibrations are at right angles to the direction of wave travel and move up and down.

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11
Q

Can water waves be reflected

A

Yes water waves can be reflected and change to a different direction

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12
Q

What is a crest in a wave

A

The highest point of a wave

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13
Q

What is a trough in a wave

A

The lowest point of the wave

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14
Q

What is displacement in a wave

A

How far a point on the wave is from the resting line

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15
Q

What is amplitude in a wave

A

The maximum displacement, meaning the displacement from the middle lime to the crest or trough

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16
Q

What is frequency in waves

A

The number of waves produced by a source each second. It is measured in Hertz (Hz)

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17
Q

What machine visualises sound waves

A

Oscilloscopes

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18
Q

What does pitch tell us

A

How shrill or deep something is. It is also measured in Hertz (Hz)

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19
Q

The pitch of a sound depends on

A

The frequency

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20
Q

What range of hertz can a human hear and what is it called

A

20-20,000 hertz and it is called the audible frequency range

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21
Q

What do you call a sound above 20,000 hertz

A

Ultrasound

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22
Q

What do you call a sound below 20 hertz

A

Infrasound

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23
Q

What is 1 Hertz (Hz) equal to

A

1 sound wave per second

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24
Q

What do you call the outer part of the ear

A

Pinna

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25
Q

How does the ear hear?

A
  1. Sound waves are collected by the earlobe/pinna
  2. The waves travel through the ear canal
  3. The waves make the ear drum vibrate
  4. The small bones (ossicles) amplify the vibrations and hit the cochlea
  5. The cochlea (an organ filled with fluid) turns these into electrical impulses
  6. The auditory nerve takes the electrical impulses to the brain
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26
Q

Why is the cochlea filled with fluid

A

Sound travels through liquids quicker

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27
Q

What is the name for objects that create light

A

Luminous sources

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28
Q

How do we see non luminous sources

A

Light waves reflect off the object and enters our eyes

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29
Q

What do opaque materials do

A

Produce shadows and do not transmit light

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30
Q

In a mirror you are…

A

The same distance behind the mirror as you are in front, you are the correct way up and inverted.

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31
Q

What type of lines does light travel in

A

Straight

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32
Q

What are angles used to show in a diagram of light reflected waves

A

The direction of light

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33
Q

What do you call the ray going in

A

Incident ray

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34
Q

What does a you call the ray that is reflected

A

The reflected ray

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35
Q

What does a normal line mean in a diagram of light waves

A

It is 90 degrees to the mirror

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36
Q

Is the incident ray equal in angle to the reflected ray

A

Yes

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37
Q

What are eye problems caused by

A

Genetics, age, dust, bright light, how eyes developed, infectious diseases and previous eye injuries

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38
Q

What are objects that do not give out light

A

Non luminous

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39
Q

Why does cleaning or smoothing a surface make it shinier

A

Shiny surfaces are smooth so they reflect light in a regular way to form a clear image, also known as speculative reflection. Rough or bumpy surface scatter light that falls on them which makes them look duller, also known as diffused reflection. (The diagram below shows a smoother surface but a rough surface would have the arrows scattering in different places)

\ /\
\ /
\ /
\/
——————————

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40
Q

Our eyes have … lenses and what do they do

A

Convex. These lenses focus the light and enable us to see

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41
Q

What is the point where the rays cross called

A

Focal point

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42
Q

What coloured part of the eye controls the light entering

A

Iris

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43
Q

What part of the eye has photo sensitive cells

A

Retina

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44
Q

What part of the eye changes it’s shape to focus light

A

(crystalline) lens

45
Q

What part of the eye is a convex transparent ‘window’ that does most of the focussing

A

Cornea

46
Q

An image formed on the eyes retina will be…

A

Upside down

47
Q

Convex lenses focus light rays by bending them. What is the name for this bending effect

A

Refraction

48
Q

Sources of light emit energy, which is carried by light waves until they hit an absorber. What is an absorber

A

Materials that absorb light and are often dark colours.

49
Q

Give one example of an absorber

A

Aluminium foil

50
Q

What is transferred when light hits an absorber

A

Atoms and molecules which is emitted as thermal energy

51
Q

What does the cornea do

A

Clear area of the sclera, it refracts light - bends it as it enters the eye.

52
Q

What does the iris do

A

Muscles which alter the size of the pupil, controlling the amount of light entering the eye.

53
Q

What does the blind spot do

A

Where the optic nerve leaves the retina so lacks receptor cells.

54
Q

What does the retina do

A

Contains the light receptor cells.

55
Q

What does the optic nerve do

A

Carries impulses between the retina and the brain.

56
Q

What does the sclera do

A

White, tough outer layer.

57
Q

What does the conjunctiva do

A

Protects and lubricates the eye and produces mucus and tears

58
Q

What does the lens do

A

Focuses light onto the retina.

59
Q

What are receptor cells

A

Cells in the retina that convert light into electrical impulses

60
Q

What does the pupil do

A

Small hole at the centre of the iris through which light enters the eye.

61
Q

What does the choroid do

A

Pigmented middle layer with many blood vessels. It absorbs light to avoid reflection and supplies retina with nutrients to maintain temperature and volume of the eye.

62
Q

What is the pupil reflex

A

When exposed to strong light, the pupil contracts to reduce the light entering the retina

63
Q

What are the ossicles

A

Hammer, anvil and stirrup

64
Q

When can you hear an echo

A

An echo is heard when a sound wave bounces off a surface and comes back into your ear

65
Q

A ship off the coast is 510 m away from a cliff and blows its horn. If the people on the ship hear an echo 3 seconds later, what is the speed of the sound wave?

A

340 m/s because you must double 510 as it is going there and back and then divide it by 3 to know how fast it traveled in a singular second

66
Q

What surfaces do and do not reflect well

A

Hard smooth surfaces reflect well while soft rough surfaces do not

67
Q

What is a longitudinal wave

A

Where particles move backward and forward on the direction the wave travels

68
Q

What is a wave trace

A

A graph that can be used to compare the pitch and loudness of a sound

69
Q

What is a wavelength

A

The difference between peaks on a wave trace

70
Q

What happens when light enters a more dense substance

A

It bends more towards the normal line

70
Q

Transmit meaning in light

A

When light moves through a new medium

70
Q

What is a virtual image

A

An upright image where the rays seem to diverge, using a concave lens

70
Q

Why does refraction happen

A

A change in speed through a different medium, causing it to travel at a different angle

70
Q

What happens when light enters a more dense substance

A

It bends more towards the normal line

70
Q

Transmit meaning in light

A

When light moves through a new medium

70
Q

What is a virtual image

A

An upright image where the rays seem to diverge, using a concave lens

71
Q

What happens to a shadow when the object is closer to the light source

A

The shadow gets bigger

71
Q

What do concave lenses do to rays

A

Causes them to bend outwards (diverging)

71
Q

How do we see things

A
  1. Light enters the pupil
  2. The size if the pupil is altered by the iris
  3. The cornea and lens focus light onto the retina
  4. The retina contains two light sensitive cells called rods and cones. When light hits these cells, chemical reaction produce electrical impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain
71
Q

What would happen if a guitar had a thicker string

A

A lower pitch

71
Q

What would happen if the strings on a guitar were tightened

A

It would have a higher pitch

71
Q

What colours do white light consist of

A

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet

71
Q

What happens to a shadow when the object je further away from the light source

A

The shadow gets smaller

71
Q

What is the speed of light per second in meters

A

3,000,000 m/s

71
Q

What happens when light speeds up

A

It bends away from the normal

71
Q

What is the focal length

A

The distance between the lens and focal point

71
Q

What do decibels measure

A

The loudness of a sound

71
Q

What does translucent mean

A

Only some light can pass through

71
Q

What does transparent mean

A

Allows light to pass through

71
Q

How do we see

A
  1. Light enters the eye through the pupil
  2. The size of the pupil is altered by the iris
  3. The cornea and lens focus light onto the retina
  4. The retina contains two light sensitive cells called rods and cones. When light hits these cells, chemicals reactions produce electrical impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain
71
Q

How do we see white

A

It absorbs no colour and reflects all colours equally

71
Q

How do we see black

A

It’s absorbs all colours equally and reflects none

71
Q

What would happen if strings were plucked harder on a guitar

A

It would be loud

71
Q

What does the ciliary muscle do

A

Adjusts the shape of the lens to focus on different distances

71
Q

Can sound travel in a vacuum

A

No

72
Q

What happens to colours that are absorbed when passing through a colour filter

A

It does not pass through it

73
Q

What do RGB filters do

A

Only transmits their colour and absorbs the others.

74
Q

What do colour filters absorb and transmit

A

Colour filters transmit the colours they are made of and absorb the colours they are not

75
Q

What do coloured surfaces do

A

Reflect their own colour but absorb the other colours

76
Q

If a cyan colour filter reflect a red surface what would happen

A

No light would show because there is no red light to be reflected (got absorbed in the filter) and the green and blue light got absorbed on the red surface

77
Q

How can you split up the different colour lights, that white light is made of and what it’s technical name for splitting up white light

A

Using a prism and this is also known as dispersion

78
Q

What is meant by the spectrum of light

A

The different colours in white light

79
Q

Why does the spectrum of light disperse on a prism

A

Different colours of light refract by different amounts

80
Q

Are water waves longitudinal or transversal

A

Transversal

81
Q

Are sound waves longitudinal or transversal

A

Longitudinal

82
Q

What happens when two water waves meet

A

They either add together or cancel each other out. This change is called superposition.

83
Q

What happens when two water waves are in phase

A

If the peaks and troughs line up with the other wave, they add together and have a higher peak/crest and a lower trough

84
Q

What happens if the two water waves meet out of phase

A

If the first wave’s peak lines with the other wave’s trough etc, they cancel out and meet in the middle. This means that the amplitudes of the two waves subtract and create a smaller wave with an amplitude of the difference between the two. If the two waves are of equal amplitude, then they will cancel out completely.