Modute 12

WAVES AND RADIATION

Summary for Pupils

 Module 12

Waves and Radiation

12.1 Light and Sound Waves
12.2 Electromagnetic Spectrum
12.3 Radioactivity
12.4 Radioactive decay
12.5 Sound and Ultrasound
12.6 Seismic Waves

Using this booklet

This booklet provides you with a set of learning objectives for the
Module 12 of your Science course. There are six sections, as listed above,
and each has a set of numbered objectives. The booklet is not a
replacement for your text books and notes. Use this booklet as you are
learning the topics and for revision to check if you understand the essential
points in the module. Take action if you are not sure about any of them by
reading your notes, finding out more from text books or information on
computer and by consulting your teacher. There is a table at the back of
the booklet for you keep a record of the objectives you have learned. If you
use it you will know which ones need further study.

Foundation and Higher Papers

There are two tiers for the papers which the examination board provide for
testing candidates. They are called Foundation and Higher. When the
time comes, your teacher will select the paper which suits you best. Try to
learn as many of the objectives given in this booklet as you are able. Your
end of course exam will include this particular Module (Waves and
Radiation). All candidates study the general objectives. The more difficult
objectives which will only be tested on the higher paper are labelled with a
‘H’ on the objective number, in bold and underlined (e.g. 14H.). Try to
master these as well.
Unit 12.1 Licrht and Sound Waves

Water waves, and other waves that we can see, behave in the same way
as light and sound. This suggests that light and sound might also travel
as waves.

1. Echoes. Sounds bounce back (reflect) from hard surfaces.

Echoes are sound reflections.

2. Light reflection. When a ray of light is reflected from a flat, shiny

surface (plane mirror) the angle at which it leaves the surface is
the same as the angle at which it meets the surface.

3. Reflection diagrams. Candidates should be able to show on a

diagram how rays of light are reflected by a plane mirror.

4. Light refraction. Rays of light change direction (are refracted)

when they cross the boundary between one transparent substance
and another, unless they meet the boundary at right angles (along
the normal).

5. Refraction diagrams. Candidates should be able to show on a

diagram what happens to rays of light when they cross the
boundary between air and glass (or Perspex or water) in either
direction.

6. Refraction of sound. Like light, sounds are refracted (i.e. their

direction is changed when they cross the boundary between two
different substances at an angle other than a right angle).

7. Waves. Waves can be produced on ropes and springs and on

the surface of water. They set up a regular pattern of disturbances.

8. Wave words.
Amplitude - the maximum disturbance caused by a wave
Wavelength - the distance between a particular point on one
disturbance and the same point on the next
Frequency - the number of waves each second produced by a
source (or passing a particular point); it is measured in hertz (Hz).
9. Energy. Waves transfer energy from a source to other places
without any matter being transferred.

10. Wave reflection. Waves travelling along a rope or spring, or

across the surface of water, can be reflected.

II. Wave refraction. Waves travelling across the surface of

water can be refracted.

12. Water wave refraction. If the speed of a water wave changes

when it crosses the boundary between two regions then there will
also be a change in the direction of the wave (refraction) unless
the direction of the wave is along the normal.

13. Light and sound. The behaviour of waves suggests that light and
sound:
- travel as waves
- are refracted because they travel at different speeds in
different substances (mediums).

14. Internal reflection. When a ray of light travels from glass,

Perspex, or water into air, some of the light is also reflected from
the boundary.

normal ! air

angles: r = i (reflection)
R > i (refraction, glass to air)
Unit 12.2 Electromaanetic spectrum

White light can be split up into a spectrum of different colours. There are
many other types of radiation beyond the ends of the visible spectrum.
Each type of radiation in this extended spectrum, known as the
electromagnetic spectrum, has its own special properties and uses.

1. Prisms. When rays of light pass through prisms their direction

may be changed. Candidates should be able to show on a
diagram how a ray of light can be deviated by a triangular prism.

2. White light. When white light is passed through a prism a

spectrum of colours is produced. This is because white light is
made up of many different colours and different corours of light are
refracted by different amounts; red light is refracted the least and
violet the most. Candidates should be able to draw a diagram to
show how a prism disperses white light into a spectrum.

3. Electromagnetic radiation. Visible light is one type of

electromagnetic radiation, The various types of electromagnetic
radiation form a continuous spectrum extending far beyond each
end of the visible spectrum:

highest shortest
frequency wavelength
gamma rays
X rays
ultraviolet rays
visible light
infra red rays
microwaves
radio waves
lowest longest
frequency wavelength

4. Speed. All types of electromagnetic radiation travel at the

same speed in space.
5. Substances. Different wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation are reflected, absorbed or transmitted differently by
different substances and types of surface.

6. Absorption. When electromagnetic radiation is absorbed, the

energy it carries:
- makes the substance which absorbs it hotter
- may create an alternating current with the same
frequency as the radiation itself.
The uses and effects of different types of radiation depend on
these and other properties,

7. Radio waves. Radio waves are used to transmit radio and TV

programs between different points on the Earth’s surface. Longer
wavelength radio waves are reflected from an electrically charged
layer in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. This enables them to be
sent between distant points despite the curvature of the Earth’s
surface.

8. Microwaves. Microwave radiation of wavelength which can

pass easily through the Earth’s atmosphere is used to send
information to and from satellites. Microwave radiation, with
wavelengths strongly absorbed by water molecules, is used for
cooking.

9. lnfra red. lnfra red radiation is used in grills, toasters and

radiant heaters, in optical fibre communication and for the remote
control of TV sets and VCRs.

IO. Visible light. Visible light is not only used for normal seeing but
can also be sent along optical fibres, for example, in endoscopes
used by doctors to see inside patient’s bodies.

11. Optical fibres. When light travels down an optical fibre, all
the light may stay inside the fibre until it emerges from the other
end. This is because light travels down the fibre by repeated total
internal reflection.

12. Total internal reflection. When a ray of light hits the

inside surface of glass, Perspex or water it will all be reflected back
inside the material if the angle between the incident ray and the
normal is greater than a certain angle, called the critical angle.
13. Information transmission. More information can be carried
by an optical fibre than by electrical signals through a cable of the
same thickness. There is also less weakening of the signal in
optical fibres.

14. Other uses. Candidates should be able to describe, using a

suitable diagram, one other use of total internal reflection (such as
in bicycle reflectors or in glass prisms in binoculars and
periscopes).

15. Ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet radiation is used to

produce a suntan in sunbeds. Special coatings which absorb
ultraviolet radiation and emit the energy as light are used in
fluorescent lamps and for security coding.

16. X rays. X rays are used to produce shadow pictures of

materials which X rays do not easily pass through, including bones
and metals.

17. Gamma rays. Gamma radiation is used to:

- kill harmful bacteria in food

- sterilise surgical instruments
- kill cancer cells.

18. Living cells. Different types of electromagnetic radiation

have different effects on living cells:

- microwaves are absorbed by the water in cells, which may be

damaged or killed by the heat released
- infra red radiation is absorbed by the skin and felt as heat
- ultraviolet radiation can pass through the skin to deeper tissue.
The darker the skin, the more ultraviolet it absorbs and the less
reaches deeper tissues
- X rays and gamma rays mostly pass through soft tissues, but
some is absorbed by the cells.

19. Danger. High doses of ultraviolet radiation, X radiation

and gamma radiation can kill normal cells. Lower doses of these
types of radiation can cause normal cells to become cancerous.
Unit 12.3 Radioactivity

Radioactive substances, which emit radiation all the time, are very useful
but also very dangerous. It is important to understand the properties of
the different types of radiation they emit.

1. Radioactive substances. Some substances give out

radiation all the time, whatever is done to them. These substances
are said to be radioactive.

2. Types of radiation. There are three types of radiation

emitted by radioactive sources. They are called alpha (a), beta a9
and gamma (y) radiation.

3. Absorption. As radiation passes through a material it can be

absorbed. The greater the thickness of material the greater the
absorption. The absorption of radiation can be used to monitor
and control the thickness of materials.

4. Ranges. - Alpha (a) radiation is easily absorbed by a few

centimetres of air or a thin sheet of paper.
- Beta fp) radiation easily passes through air or a thin
sheet of paper but is mostly absorbed by a few
millimetres of metal.
- Gamma (r> radiation is very penetrating and requires
many centimetres of lead or metres of concrete to
absorb most of it.

5. Background radiation. There are radioactive substances all

around us, including in the ground, in the air, in building materials
and in food. Radiation also reaches us from space. The radiation
from all these sources is called background radiation.

6. lonisation. When radiation from radioactive materials

collides with neutral atoms or molecules these may become
charged (ionised).
Unit 12.3 Radioactivity

Radioactive substances, which emit radiation all the time, are very useful
but also very dangerous. It is important to understand the properties of
the different types of radiation they emit.

1. Radioactive substances. Some substances give out

radiation all the time, whatever is done to them. These substances
are said to be radioactive.

2. Types of radiation. There are three types of radiation

emitted by radioactive sources. They are called alpha (a), beta a9
and gamma (y) radiation.

3. Absorption. As radiation passes through a material it can be

absorbed. The greater the thickness of material the greater the
absorption. The absorption of radiation can be used to monitor
and control the thickness of materials.

4. Ranges. - Alpha (a) radiation is easily absorbed by a few

centimetres of air or a thin sheet of paper.
- Beta fp) radiation easily passes through air or a thin
sheet of paper but is mostly absorbed by a few
millimetres of metal.
- Gamma (r> radiation is very penetrating and requires
many centimetres of lead or metres of concrete to
absorb most of it.

5. Background radiation. There are radioactive substances all

around us, including in the ground, in the air, in building materials
and in food. Radiation also reaches us from space. The radiation
from all these sources is called background radiation.

6. lonisation. When radiation from radioactive materials

collides with neutral atoms or molecules these may become
charged (ionised).
2. Rutherford’s experiments. Candidates should be able to
explain how the scattering experiments by Rutherford’s team
provided evidence for the nuclear model of the atom.

3. Plum pudding model. Candidates should be able to

describe the ” plum pudding” model of the atom which was
replaced by Rutherford’s nuclear model.

4. Mass and charge. The relative masses of protons, neutrons

and electrons and their relative electric charges are as shown:

Mass Charge
Proton I +I
Neutron I 0
Electron negligible -1

5. Neutral atom. In an atom, the number of electrons is equal to

the number of protons in the nucleus. The atom as a whole has no
electrical charge.

6. Proton number. All atoms of a particular element have the

same number of protons. Atoms of different elements have
different numbers of protons.

7. Nucleon number. The total number of protons and neutrons

(nucleons) in an atom is called its mass (nucleon) number.

8. Isotopes. Atoms of the same element which have different

numbers of neutrons are called different isotopes of the element.

9. Nuclear changes. Radioactivity occurs as a result of changes

in the nuclei of atoms. Radioactive isotopes are atoms with
unstable nuclei.

IO. Nuclear disintegration. When an unstable nucleus splits up

(disintegrates) it emits radiation and a different atom, with a
different number of protons, is formed.

1 I. Dating. The older a radioactive material, the less

radiation it emits. *This idea can be used to date materials.
12H. Radioisotopes. Any isotope of an element which is
radioactive is called a radioisotope (radionucide).

13H. Alpha radiation. Alpha radiation consists of helium nuclei,

particles made up of two protons and two neutrons.

14H. Beta radiation. Beta radiation consists of electrons emitted

from the nuclei of atoms. For each electron emitted, a neutron in
the nucleus changes into a proton.

15H. Gamma radiation. Gamma radiation is very short wavelength

electromagnetic radiation.

16H. Nuclear fission. Nuclear reactors use a process called

nuclear fission. When an atom with a very large nucleus is
bombarded with neutrons:

- the nucleus splits into two smaller nuclei

- further neutrons are released which may cause further
nuclear fission resulting in a chain reaction
- the new atoms which are formed are themselves
radioactive.
[Details of nuclear reactors are not required.]

N
17H.
uclear energy. The energy released by an atom during
radioactive disintegration or nuclear fission is very large compared
to the energy released when a chemical bond is made between
two atoms.

18H. Uranium decay. Uranium isotopes, which have a very long

half-life, decay via a series of relatively short-lived radioisotopes to
produce stable isotopes of lead. The relative proportions of
uranium and lead isotopes in a sample of igneous rocks can,
therefore, be used to date the rock.

19H. Other dating. The proportions of the radioisotope

potassium-40 and its stable decay product argon can also be used
to date igneous rocks from which the gaseous argon has been
unable to escape.

20H. Calculations. Candidates should be able to make such dating

calculations when provided with appropriate data.
Unit 12.5 Sound and Ultrasound
We use our ears to hear sounds, but just as there is electromagnetic
radiation with frequencies we cannot see, there are sound waves with
frequencies we cannot hear. These ultrasounds have several important
uses.

I. Vibrations. Sounds are produced when objects vibrate. The

greater the size (amplitude) of vibrations the louder the sound.

2. Frequency. The number of complete vibrations each second

is called the frequency (hertz, Hz). The higher the frequency of a
sound the higher its pitch.

3. Oscilloscope. Candidates should be able to compare the

amplitudes and frequencies of sounds as they would appear on an
oscilloscope trace.

4. Ultrasound. Electronic systems can be used to produce

electrical oscillations with any frequency. These electrical
oscillations can be used to produce ultrasonic waves which have a
frequency higher than the upper limit of the hearing range for
humans.

5. Uses. Ultrasonic waves can be used:

- in industry for cleaning and for quality control
- in medicine for pre-natal scanning.

6H. Cleaning. Ultrasonic waves in liquids can also be used for

cleaning delicate mechanisms without having to disassemble
them.

7H. Reflections. Ultrasonic waves are partly reflected when they

meet a boundary between two different mediums, The time taken
for the reflections of ultrasonic pulses to reach a detector (usually
placed near to the source) is a measure of how far away such a
boundary is.

8H
4 Display. Reflection of ultrasound is used in industry to
detect flaws in metal castings and in medicine for pre-natal scans.
Information about the time taken for reflections to travel is usually
processed to produce a visual display.