Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
< IB Physics
The motion of a mass at the end of a spring after the mass has been displaced away from its
equilibrium position;
The motion of an aeroplane wing;
The motion of a tight guitar string that has been set in motion by plucking it.
Key IB Definitions[3].
Wave: Propagation of energy through a material substance.
Displacement: The distance of the oscillating object from equilibrium.
Amplitude: The maximum distance from equilibrium an oscillating particle reaches.
Frequency: The number of complete cycles of an oscillating particle per unit time.
Period: The amount of time it takes an oscillating particle to complete one cycle( an oscillation).
Phase Difference: The measure of how "in step" different particles are. If they are moving
together they are said to be in phase. If not they are said to be out of phase.
Refraction: The bending of waves through materials due to a difference of speed (change in
velocity).
Diffraction: The bending of waves through a small opening and around corners.
Waveray: The direction of energy propagation.
Wavefront: Series of particles in phase.
Wavelength: The distance between two successive wavefronts for travelling waves or The
distance the wavefront moves in 1 cycle for travelling waves.
3 Types of waves[4].
Transverse Waves: The particle motion in this wave is perpendicular to the direction of energy
propagation(transfer). The particles in this wave are oscillating up and down while the energy is
propagated perpendicularly. It is important to note that a larger amplitude denotes greater
energy. Electromagnetic waves and shallow water waves are both transverse waves.
Longitudinal Waves: The particle motion in this wave is parallel to the direction of energy
transfer. It is key to note that the energy and particles move in the same direction. All sound
waves are longitudinal waves. *It is important to note that sound waves graphs can look similar
to transverse waves but they are always longitudinal*.
Standing Waves: Standing waves are formed when 2 waves travel towards each other(eg.
incidental or reflected) with the same speed and similar amplitude as energy can be lost. The
wavelength is the same and there is no net energy propagation. Standing waves have particles
which remain stationary called nodes. The average speed of each particle is not the same at one
cycle. The anti-node will be the fastest as it travels the farthest in one cycle. The distance
between adjacent nodes or anti-nodes is half a wavelength. Microwaves are an example of
standing wave. In a microwave, standing waves are established which is why a turntable is
necessary.
Students must understand the equation: , where f is frequency and T is period[5].
where λ is wavelength, v is the wave speed, and f is the frequency. The equation is the
equivalent of that given in the data packet, which is:
Wave speed : The speed at which a given point on the wave is traveling through the medium
(i.e. how far a particular crest travels in a second).
Crest : Relevant only for transverse waves, this is the point of highest positive displacement (i.e.
upwards) from the mean position.
Trough : The point of largest negative displacement (i.e. downwards) from the mean position (in
a transverse wave).
Compression : If a compression (longitudinal) wave is drawn like this || | | | | || | | | | || | | | | || , the
compressions are where the bars are close together. Specifically, it is where the particles are
most compressed in the wave.
Rarefaction : The opposite of a compression, i.e. where the bars (or particles) are most spread
out.
Different graphs of waves.
Displacement vs time : This graph tracks the movement of a particle as a wave moves through
it. With displacement on the vertical axis, and time on the horizontal. The particle will move up
and down in a sine curve type pattern. The highest point is called a crest. The lowest point is
called a trough.
An example of a displacement vs time graph for a wave
This type of graph allows us to find both frequency (which will be the number of crests in 1 sec)
and period (which will be the time between crests). Note that the frequency and period have an
inverse relationship. We can also find amplitude (the maximum distance that the wave travels)
using this graph. This kind of graph tells us nothing about the wave speed or wavelength.
A demonstration of how to find the period and amplitude on a distance vs time graph
Displacement vs position : This is basically a 'snapshot' of the displacement of all the particles
going through the medium at a given time. Displacement is on the vertical axis, and position (or
ie distance from an arbitrary origin in the material) is on the x. The distance between peaks
represents the wavelength. The wave speed can not be calculated directly from this graph, but
can be found by combining the information from this and the displacement vs time graph (as
described in the next section).
An example of a displacement vs position graph for a wave
4.1.5[edit]
v = f × λ (wave speed = frequency × wavelength)
This equation can be used to find the speed of a wave given it's wavelength and frequency.
Deriving this is really rather obvious, but described below.
If the unit of frequency is cycles/second and wavelength is meters/cycle, then when the two are
multiplied, cycles cancel out, and we're left with meters/second, which is the unit of wave speed, and
so the equation follows from the definitions of frequency and wavelength.
Note, the frequency for a given wave is constant (defined by the source) thus, if the wave speed
changes (due to changing mediums) then the wavelength also changes, but frequency remains
constant.
4.1.6[edit]
Electromagnetic waves are transverse waves, travelling at a wave speed of c (the speed of light
= 3 × 108 m/s) when in a vacuum (they can travel without a medium unlike all other waves).
There are different wavelengths that transverse waves travel at. The spectrum of different
wavelengths have been divided into different sections. They are commonly given the following
names (in order of decreasing frequency and increasing wavelength).
gamma-rays
X-rays
ultraviolet rays
visible light
infrared rays
microwaves
radio waves
The easy way to remember this that our physics teacher taught us was "Red Monkeys In Vegas
Usually X-ray Girls." This goes from lowest frequency to highest, opposite of the list above
(sorry).
Going down the original list, frequency decreases and wavelength increases (because since
v=λƒ and c remains constant). The amount of 'energy' in the waves decreases down the list,
which is why X-rays are dangerous, and radio waves aren't.
Visible light is split into colours from violet to red, violet having the highest frequency and red
having the lowest. Visible light ranges from 400nm (1 nano meter is 1 × 10-9 meters) for violet to
700nm for red.
Electromagnetic waves are usually defined by their wavelength in a vacuum (which seems rather
silly, since frequency never changes, frequency and is what defines the characteristics (i.e.
color)) but who am I to argue.
However weird it may sound, a Microwave oven at Earth does not emit the same wavelength of
wave as one in space. There is a difference between the two locations, albeit a small difference.
This is because light travels more slowly when it travels through a medium such as air; all
electromagnetic radiation is slowed to some extent by the medium it is passing through. That
small difference may correspond to millions of light years in determining the distance of stars, so
it is, in fact, very important to refer to vacuum values all the time just for setting a common
ground for experiments.
Vacuum is chosen as the common reference point because all electromagnetic radiation, no
matter what the frequency, travels at the same speed in vacuum. As mentioned, the speed of
light is slower when it's traveling through something, and higher-energy radiation is slowed down
less. It is only in vacuum that it all travels at the same speed no matter what the frequency or
energy is.