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IGCSE Physics (Triple Award) > Unit 3 Waves > Flashcards

Unit 3 Waves Flashcards

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1
Q

What do waves do?

A

transfer energy from 1 place to another by oscillating, and we can interpret that energy into meaningful information. however they cannot transfer matter.

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2
Q

What is a distance/displacement graph?

A

a graph that shows how far the wave has travelled from the starting point compared to how far from the equilibrium the wave has oscillated

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3
Q

What is amplitude?

A

the maximum displacement

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4
Q

What is wavelength?

A

the distance of one entire oscillation

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5
Q

What are some ways to measure wavelenth?

A

crest to crest, trough to trough, equilibrium to equilibrium

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6
Q

What is a displacement/time graph?

A

a graph that shows how far from the equilibrium point the wave has oscillated in a certain amount of time

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7
Q
A

the wavelength is the time period of one full oscillation

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8
Q

What is frequency?

A

number of complete oscillations per second

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9
Q

What is the unit for frequency?

A

Hz, hertz

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10
Q

What is the formula for frequency?

A

frequency (hz) = 1/time (s)

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11
Q

What is the wavespeed?

A

total distance travelled by the wave in a given amount of time

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12
Q

What is the formula for wavespeed?

A

wavespeed (m/s) = frequency (Hz) x wavelength (m)

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13
Q

What are transverse waves?

A

waves that oscillate perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer

most waves are transverse

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14
Q

What direction to transverse waves follow?

A

travel left to right, up and down oscillations

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15
Q

What are some examples of transverse waves?

A

electromagnetic waves, light waves, radio waves, ripples

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16
Q

What are longitudinal waves?

A

waves that oscillated parallel to the direction of energy transfer

some regions are more spread out and some are compressed because the waves vibrate back and forth and different speeds

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17
Q

What are some examples of longitudinal waves?

A

sound waves, seismic p waves

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18
Q

What are electromagnetic waves?

A

transverse waves that transfer energy from the source of the waves to the absorber

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19
Q

What speed are electromagnetic waves at in a vaccum?

A

the all travel at the same speed (3x10^8)

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20
Q

Describe the motion of electromagnetic waves through different mediums

A

when they go through different mediums they travel at different speeds which leads to refraction. the wavelengths and frequencies differentiate the waves

21
Q

What is the relation between wavelength and frequency?

A

inversely related

22
Q

What happens when an electromagnetic comes into contact with something?

A

reflected, absorbed or transmitted (or a combination of all)

23
Q

What are sound waves?

A

longitudinal waves that can be reflected, refracted and absorbed. they are vibrations that pass through the molecules of a medium and cause collisions that transmit the sound to the other side. the frequency will never change but speeds can.

24
Q

What happens when a wave comes into contact with a boundary?

A

a boundary is a surface
it can be absorbed, transmitted (refraction), and reflected
depends based on wavelength and properties of two materials

25
Q

What is the main rule for ray diagrams?

A

angle of incidence = angle of reflection

26
Q

What is the normal?

A

in a ray diagram the normal is a line that is perpendicular to the boundary

27
Q

What are the types of reflection?

A

specular reflection, diffuse/scattered reflection

28
Q

What is specular reflection?

A

when the boundary is flat so the all incoming light rays will be reflected in the same direction. it gives a clear image.

29
Q

What is diffuse/scattered reflection?

A

when the boundary is bumpy so the normal is all in different directions making the light reflect in different directions.

30
Q

What is refraction?

A

when waves change direction as they pass from one medium to another

31
Q

Why do waves travel at different speeds in different mediums?

A

because they have different densities. high density makes a slower wave and vice versa

32
Q

When will a wave be refracted?

A

when it hits the boundary at an angle it will be reflected and it’s direction will change. if it hit it perpendicular it will move straight.

33
Q

Which way towards the normal will the wave move depending on the density of the medium they’re passing through?

A

if its passing into a more dense medium it will bend towards normal

if its passing into a less dense medium it will bend away from normal

34
Q

Does the frequency ever change?

A

no it remains constant

35
Q

What is the relationship between wavespeed and wavelength?

A

directly proportional

36
Q

Does wavelength vary refraction amount?

A

yes, different wavelengths are refracted by different amounts

37
Q

What happens in the white light triangular experiment?

A

when white light enters a triangular prism all the colours will bend to different degrees and spread out

38
Q

What is the refractive index?

A

a measure of the speed of light as it passes through that material compared to the speed of light as it passes through a vacuum

39
Q

How does the refractive index of a material affect the wavespeed?

A

light travels through materials with a higher refractive index slower

light travels through materials with lower refractive index faster

40
Q

What is a vaccum?

A

the medium with the lowest refractive index (refractive=1) light travels faster in this medium

41
Q

How to find refractive index of a material?

A

speed of light in vaccum/speed of light in material

n=c/v

42
Q

What is Snell’s Law?

A

n = sin i/sin r

i = angle of incidence
r = angle of refraction
n = refractive index

43
Q

What is total internal reflection?

A

if angle of incidence is greater than critical angle no refraction occurs and all light is reflected back into denser medium

44
Q

What happens when light travels from a more dense to less dense medium?

A

it speeds up and is refracted away from normal

45
Q

What is the criteria for total internal reflection?

A

the rays of light must travel from more dense to less dense medium and angle of incidence must be greater than the critical angle

46
Q

What happens when the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle?

A

light ray refracted away from normal

47
Q

What happens when the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle?

A

the light ray is refracted 90° to the normal and the ray travels along the surface of the denser medium

48
Q

What is the equation for the critical angle?

A

sin(c) = 1/n

c = critical angle
n = refractive index

49
Q

What does the exact value of the critical angle depend on?

A

the refractive index of that specific material

IGCSE Physics (Triple Award) (6 decks)

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