PROPERTIES OF WAVES

Wave transfer energy away from its source.

A progressive (moving) wave carries energy from one place to another without transferring
any material.
Wave Motion describe deviations from a state of rest or equilibrium. Wave motion provides a
mechanism for the transfer of energy from one point to another without the physical transfer of the
medium between the two points.
A wave medium is the substance that carries a wave (or disturbance) from one location to another.
Examples of Waves
Water Waves
Light & Sound Waves
Radio Waves (Carrying Electrical Signals)
Infra-Red Radiation (Transmitting data, taking photos in the dark or through haze or fog)
X-rays (producing images for medical & industrial purposes)
Ultra-violet Radiation (to start chemical reactions)
The source of any wave is a vibration or oscillation.

How is energy transferred if particles do not travel with the waves?

The particles move up and down and which can do work. The disturbance is travelling
Waves can be considered to travel either as plane wave fronts, from a plane source or
as circular wave fronts from a point source.

There are 2 types of progressive waves

Transverse waves: - in which particles vibrate perpendicular to the direction of the motion
of the wave.

Examples: - light waves, electromagnetic waves, waves on a spring, and ripples on water.

Longitudinal Waves: - In which particles vibrate parallel to the direction of the motion of
the wave. There are regions of high pressure, compression, and regions of low pressure,
rarefaction.

Examples: - Sound Waves

 ALL WAVES HAVE THE FOLLOWING COMPONENTS

Time Period is the time taken for one complete oscillation. The symbol/code is T and the
unit is seconds (s). Frequency is the reciprocal of period and is related by the simple
equation :f = 1/T

The Rest Position of a wave is the positions that the substance would be in if there were no
disturbance. The rest position is usually represented in diagrams by a dashed line drawn
through the centre of the wave diagram. It serves as a reference point for measuring the
crest and the trough of a wave.
The Crest and trough are the characteristics of TRANSVERSE WAVES ONLY.
Compressions and Rarefactions are characteristic of Longitudinal Waves.

In compressions , the pressure is greater than normal pressure.

In rarefactions , the pressure is lower than normal pressure.
Note the following points :The amount of energy caused by a wave is related to the amplitude of the wave. A high
energy wave is characterised by high amplitude and a low energy wave is characterised by
a low amplitude.
Putting a lot of energy into a transverse pulse will not affect the wavelength, the frequency
or the speed of the pulse.

The speed at which a wave (transverse or longitudinal) travels depends on its frequency
and wavelength. They are linked by the wave equation :Speed (m/s) = frequency (Hz) x wavelength (m)
v = f
x

 Wave Speed (v) SI Unit - metre per s (m/s) The distance travelled by a wave in one second.
Wave Front An imaginary line on a wave the join all points which have the same phase of vibration.

Worked Example 1 A transverse wave is found to have a distance of 4 cm from a

trough to a crest, a frequency of 12 Hz, and a distance of 5 cm from a crest to the
nearest trough. Determine the amplitude, period, wavelength and speed of such a wave.
Solution:
Amplitude = 4 cm / 2 = 2 cm
Period, T = 1/f = (1/12) s = 0.083 s
Wavelength, = 5 cm x 2 = 10 cm = 0.1m
Speed, v = f = (12 x 0.1) m/s = 1.2 m/s

Q : Write down 2 similarities and 2 differences between transverse and

longitudinal waves.

Measuring the wave speed

Speed can be calculated using the formula:

Speed

is in metres per second

, distance

in metres

and time

in seconds

Distance can be measured with a metre stick, Trundle Wheel, measuring tape or any other suitable device.

Example
Measuring the speed of sound waves:
Measuring the time taken for a sound wave to move from one point to another is difficult. Within a
laboratory, or room, and when someone talks to you it seems that there is no time difference between
making a sound and hearing it.

There is a very small time difference but we cannot measure it using a stopwatch human reaction time
would interfere with the measurement. Instead a computer, or electronic timer, must be used to measure the
time.
The computer must listen for the sound wave using two microphones or sound switches. The timing process
is started and then stopped when the sound reaches each microphone in turn.

Measuring speed of sound with a bell and two microphones

If the distance between the microphones is

then the speed of sound can be calculated.

and the time taken for the sound wave travel is

The speed of sound calculated is

As long as you know the distance and the time, the speed of sound can be calculated. Since the speed of
sound in air is a constant, if we know how long it takes for a sound to travel, we can calculate the distance it
travels.

Example
Question
In a thunderstorm, there is a flash of lightning and a student hears the thunder 5 seconds later.
How far away is the thunderstorm?
(In this example, the speed of light is
to the sound).

and so travels almost instantaneously compared

Answer

The thunderstorm is

away.

This type of calculation can be used in any type of wave: sound in a liquid or solid or even light waves.

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BEHAVIOUR OF WAVES
All waves will undergo the following processes:

_ Reflection
_ Refraction
_ Interference
_ Diffraction

REFRACTION IN WAVES : -

Diffraction
When waves meet a gap or an edge in a barrier, they continue through the gap or past the edge of the barrier.
This may seem obvious but what happens on the far side of the gap or barrier is not so straightforward.
The waves always 'spread' to some extent into the area beyond the gap.
This is diffraction - the spreading out of waves when they go through a gap, or past the edge of a
barrier.
The extent of the spreading (diffraction) depends on how the width of the gap compares to the wavelength of
the waves. The wavelength is unchanged after diffraction.

A gap width similar to the wavelength of the waves passing through causes a lot of spreading, eg sound
waves passing through a doorway.

Waves passing through a narrow gap (gap width less than the wavelength)
A gap width much larger than the wavelength causes little spreading eg light waves passing through a
doorway.

Waves passing through a wide gap (gap width greater than the wavelength)
The extent of the diffraction also depends on the wavelength of the waves.

Water waves passing a barrier

The greater the wavelength, the greater the diffraction.

Diffraction affects radio and television signals. Long wave radio signals are much less affected by buildings,
hills, tunnels etc. than those of short wave or VHF radio, or television.