IGCSE Physics Chapter 6 PDF

6.
01
Waves:
- Moving energy
- Oscillating/vibrating motion is the source of waves which transfer energy from point to another
without transferring matter
- Has periodic motion: Motion that repeats at regular intervals
- Cause disturbances in the medium from one location to another when they move through it,
transferring energy as it moves along
- Particles in the medium do not move with the wave, they stay at their original positions. They’re
only temporarily displaced and then returns to original equilibrium positioned after the wave motion
Simple wave motion illustration:
Wave motion
- Movement of a disturbance through a medium, where the individual particles in the medium only
move vertically, horizontally or in a cylindrical pattern
- Can be illustrated in ropes and strings and ripple tanks
Energy Transfer
- Waves transfer energy only
- Do not transport particles in a medium
A wave can be described in terms of:

- Wavelength
- Amplitude
- Period
- Frequency
- Speed
Wavelength
• Length of one complete wave
• Represented by symbol (λ): Lambda
• SI unit is metre (m)
Amplitude
• Maximum displacement from equilibrium
position
• Can be measured either
- From equilibrium position to the highest point
of crest
- From equilibrium point to the lowest point of
trough
• Amplitude relates to the energy a wave
carries
• Height of amplitude indicates the amount of
energy in the wave:
- Higher amplitude, greater energy
- Lower amplitude, lesser energy
Period
• Period (T) is the time taken for one complete
wavelength
• The SI unit is second (s)
Frequency
• Number of complete wavelengths produced in one second
• Measured in Hertz (Hz)
Period & Frequency formula

Frequency= 1/Time (period, s)
Speed
• Measurement of how fast a wave moves from a fixed point
• SI unit is metres per second (m/s)
• Distance can be the length of wavelength/distance travelled by a wave
• Time can be period of wavelength/time taken for distance travelled
Formula: Speed= Distance/Time
Speed of wavelength formula

v= fλ
Or
Speed= Frequency * Wavelength
Wave graphs
Wavefronts
• Wavefront Is an imaginary line joining all points of the crest/trough
• Any 2 points on a wave are said to be in a phase when they are at the same stage of vibration and
move in the same direction
Types of waves
There are 2 types of waves
• Transverse waves
- Wave in which the movement of particles in the medium is perpendicular to the direction of a wave
motion
- Up and down movements
- Examples: Water waves, Electromagnetic waves
• Longitudinal waves
- It is a wave in which the movement of particles in the medium is parallel to the direction of a wave
motion
- Back and forth movement
- Examples: Parallel wave in spring, Sound wave
Refraction of wave
• In water, the speed of waves are affected by the depth of water
• Refraction of water waves take place when they change the direction of their movement at a certain
angle to a boundary of different depth of water
Diﬀraction
• Waves bend around the sides of an obstacle or spread out as they pass through a gap
• Only part of the wavefront can go through the gap
• Diffraction through the gap occurs when the gap is greater than/equal to the wavelength of the
waves
If the wavelength is approximately equal to the size of the

gap, maximum diffraction occurs.
If the gap is much larger than the wavelength, little diffraction

occurs.
Reflection of wave
• A vertical surface is put in the path of the waves. The waves are reflected from the surface at the
same length as they strike it
Sound waves
• Sound is a form of energy
• It is produced by vibrations of a source
• In order for us to hear the sound produced by these vibrating sources, the vibrations must be
transmitted from the source to our ears
Nature of sound waves

• Caused by vibrations
• Longitudinal waves
• Need medium to travel through (Without it, nothing to pass any oscillations)
• Cannot travel through vacuum
• Can travel through solids, liquids and gases
• Can be reflected/refracted
• Can be diffracted (Can spread through gaps or bend around obstacles)
Transmission of sound waves
• Solids, liquids and gases media to transmit sound wave cause they contain particles
• Back and forth movement of particles creates regions of high pressure called compressions and
regions of low pressure called rarefactions
- Compression is a high pressure region when the air particles are pushed together
- Rarefaction is a low pressure region when the air particles are pulled apart
Speed of sound
• Speed of sound is fastest in solids then liquids then gases, because particles in a solid are closer
together so they transfer sound waves more effectively
• Depends on temperature of air (Sound travels faster through hot air than cold air)
• Does not depend on pressure of air (If atp changes, speed of sound waves stay the same)
Speed of sound formula
Speed= Distance / Time
Refraction of sound
Echoes
• An echo is a reflected sound bouncing off hard/flat surfaces
• Reflection of sound reaches ear or other receivers after original sound is heard
• Reflected sound is distinct
• Echo will be softer compared to original sound because energy is lost when sound waves travel
• The time it takes for a sound to hit a wall and reflect is called an echo time
Frequency & Pitch

• The pitch of a note is how high the pitch is
• The pitch of a note depends on the frequency of the sound wave
• The higher the pitch, the higher the frequency
• The lower the pitch, the Lower the frequency
Amplitude & Loudness
• Loudness of a sound depends on amplitude of sound wave
• The louder the sound, the greater the amplitude
• The softer the sound, the smaller the amplitude
Ultrasound
• Ultrasound is sound which has frequency above human hearing range
• Frequency above 20,000 Hz
Application Details
Quality Control • Can be used to detect flaws and cracks in

materials
• Ultrasonic waves bounce off from different
surfaces if the material
• The time it takes for the waves to reflect back
to the receiver enables us to pinpoint the
position of flaw in the material
Parental scanning • Transmitted to womb of a woman

• Receiver then used to pick up reflected
ultrasonic waves
• Time for various ultrasonic waves to reach
the receiver is different because they reach
the different layers of tissue in the womb
• Difference in reflection time can then be used
to display an image of the baby in the womb
on a visual display, like on a computer screen
Locating objects under water • Used to determine the depth of ocean by

sending the ultrasonic waves to the seabed.
The depth of the ocean can be determined
by the echo of the ultrasonic waves
• Can also be used by fishermen to find the
location of shoals of fish. The time taken for
the echoes to return to the receiver allows
the fishermen to find the exact location of the
shoals of fish below ship.
Properties of Light
• Travels in straight lines
• Is a form of energy
• Travels as waves
• Travels at speed of 3 * 10^8 m/s in vacuum
• When light hits an object, can be reflected or refracted
• Light is reflected if it hits an opaque object
• Light is refracted if it enters a transparent object
Reflection of Light
• Reflection is light being bounced off after hitting an opaque surface
• Reflection allows us to see objects in our surroundings
• In reflection of light, there are:
- Incident ray: Light ray coming towards the surface
- Reflected ray: Light ray bouncing off the surface
• Rough and smooth surfaces appear different to our eyes due to light being bounced off from them
in different manners
Laws of reflection
• Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
• In a reflection diagram, the incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal must lie in the same plane
Image in plane mirror

• Formation of image in a plane mirror is due to the reflection of light
• When the light rays form an object are reflected by a mirror and enter our eyes, our brain perceives
that light travels in straight lines coming from the image in the mirror instead
Constructing a plane mirror image
Refraction of light
• Refraction is the bending of light rays when it travels from one transparent medium to another
transparent medium
• Refraction is caused by a change in the speed of the light rays when they travel in the media of
different densities
• Refraction of light can only take place in transparent media such as air, water, vacuum, glass,
diamond and others
• Light travels at different speeds in different media
- Less dense medium: Faster speed
- Denser medium: Slower speed
• There will be no refraction when light travels perpendicular to the boundary of the media, even if
they’re different
• From air to glass (Less dense medium to a denser medium, angle of incidence bigger than angle of
refraction)
Refractive index
• Ratio of speed of light in vacuum and in a medium
• Enables us to know the amount of bending of lights between 2 media
Refractive index formulas
Refractive index n= Speed of light in air / Speed of light in a medium
n= sin (incidence) / sin (refraction)
Critical angle
• It is the angle of incidence that gives rise to an angle of refraction of 90 degrees
• Can only take place when light travels from an optically denser medium to a less dense medium
Critical angle formula

Sin (critical angle) = 1 / refractive index (n)
Total internal reflection

• Total reflection of light ray at the boundary of 2 media when the angle of incidence in the optically
denser medium exceeds the critical angle
• Total internal reflection occurs when an incident ray is reflected back in the same medium, no
refracted ray is observed
Total internal reflection can only happen if:

- The light in incident from a denser medium to a less dense medium
- Angle of incidence in greater than the critical angle
Optical fibers
• Made of plastics
• Work on the principles of total internal reflection
- When light beam enters the plastics, it will be incident from a denser medium to a less dense
medium (air)
- Light beam approaches the boundary at an angle greater than the critical angle
• Light beam experiences total internal reflection in optical fibres
• Optical fibers are very flexible because infrared signals can travel around corners internally
• Advantages of using optical fibers in transmitting signals in telecommunication:
- Can be used to transmit info in inaccessible places
- Since the total internal reflection takes place within the fibers, there is no loss in incident energy
during the transmission of light pulse. The signal remains strong and constant even if the fibre cable
is very long
‘
Properties of electromagnetic waves
• Transfer energy from a wave source
• Transverse waves
• Travels at speed of 3 * 10^8 m/s
• Can travel through vacuum, no medium required
• Travels in straight lines
Electromagnetic spectrum
• Each electromagnetic wave has its own wavelength and frequency
• When the waves are arranged from the shortest wavelength to the longest wavelength, an
electromagnetic spectrum is shown
Electromagnetic wave formula

• Speed of electromagnetic waves is related to the wavelength and the frequency
Speed= Frequency * Wavelength

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6.

Simple wave motion illustration:

A wave can be described in terms of:

Period & Frequency formula

Speed of wavelength formula

If the wavelength is approximately equal to the size of the

If the gap is much larger than the wavelength, little diffraction

Nature of sound waves

Frequency & Pitch

Quality Control • Can be used to detect flaws and cracks in

Parental scanning • Transmitted to womb of a woman

Locating objects under water • Used to determine the depth of ocean by

Image in plane mirror

Critical angle formula

Total internal reflection

Total internal reflection can only happen if:

Electromagnetic wave formula

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