PHYSICS:
Coverage:
01 Fundamentals of Waves and Sound
Introduction to Waves
Wave Intensity
Wave Speed
Wave Behaviours
Sound production and propagation
Wave characteristics and properties of sound
Interference of sound waves
02 Fundamentals of Geometric and Physical Optics
Light as an electromagnetic wave
Speed of light
Wave characteristics and properties of light
Law of reflection
Law of refraction
Snell's law
Apparent depth
Mirrors and lenses
03 Fundamentals of Electricity and Circuits
Electric charge
Charge transfer mechanism
Coulomb's law
Electric field
Electric potential and potential energy
Current
Resistivity and resistance
Ohm's law
Combinations of resistors
1ST QUARTER
Introduction to Waves
Waves - a disturbance that travels through space and matter, transferring energy without
permanently moving the medium.
CLASSIFICATION OF WAVES
Medium
1. Mechanical Waves Waves that require a medium
(solid, liquid, or gas).
ex: vibrating ropes or strings, water waves, sound
waves, earthquake waves, etc.
2. Electromagnetic Waves Waves that do not require a medium and can
propagate in free space or vacuum.
ex: radio waves, visible light, UV radiation, X-rays,
gamma rays, etc.
Direction
1. Transverse ko Waves where the disturbance is
perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
ex: waves on strings of musical instruments, visible
light, radio waves, and microwaves.
2. Longitudinal Waves where the disturbance is parallel to
the direction of travel of the wave
ex: sound waves
Note that: water waves are neither transverse nor longitudinal, because water particles don’t move
strictly up-and-down or back-and-forth. Instead, they move in nearly circular paths, combining both
motions. Giancoli classifies this as a surface wave.
Definition of Terms
Amplitude (A) - is the maximum height of the crest or depth of a trough. SI Unit: meter (m).
Wavelength (λ) - distance between two consecutive crests or identical points. SI unit: meter (m)
Period (T) - The time it takes for one complete cycle of a wave. SI unit: second (s)
Frequency (f) - Frequency (f) is the number of wave crests or cycles that pass a point per unit
time, measured in hertz (Hz).
Wave Intensity
Wave intensity refers to the amount of energy transmitted per unit area per unit time. It
describes how “strong” or “loud” a wave feels to an observer and is closely linked to the wave’s
power. Power, in this context, is the total rate at which energy is transferred by the wave.
Intensity (I) is the power delivered per unit area by a wave.
For spherical waves, waves that travel uniformly in all directions, area is given by A = 4πr²
Relation to Amplitude
For mechanical waves:
Doubling the amplitude → quadruples the intensity.
Relation to Distance
As the distance from the source increases, the same total power is spread over a larger
area, causing the intensity to decrease with the square of the distance. This is known as
the inverse square law.
As distance from the source increases, intensity and amplitude decreases rapidly.
Amplitude decreases because:
1. its energy spreads over a larger area farther from the source.
2. it decreases with distance as energy is lost to forces like friction.
Wave Speed
The speed of a wave depends on the properties of its medium. For the case of a string, the
properties that determine the speed of wave propagation are tension in the string and its linear
density, or mass per unit length. This is given by:
Wave Equation is given by:
Uniform Medium: If a medium’s properties stay the same, wave speed stays constant
regardless of frequency or wavelength (e.g., sound in a solid metal rod).
Changing Medium: When a wave moves to a different medium, its speed changes based on
that medium’s properties (e.g., sound is faster in water than in air).
Wave Behaviours
1. Wave Reflection
Description: The wave “rebounds” without crossing into the other medium. If the
boundary is fixed, the reflected wave may invert (crest becomes trough, and vice versa).
If the boundary is free, the reflected wave keeps its orientation.
Changes in properties:
- Wavelength, Speed & Frequency: No change
- Amplitude: May decrease, some energy is lost as heat, sound, or into the
second medium.
Reason: Since the wave never enters a new medium, its speed and frequency remain
constant. Amplitude can drop due to partial energy transfer at the boundary.
2. Wave Refraction
Description: As the wave enters a medium with a different density or elasticity, its speed
changes. Refraction occurs when a wave passes from one medium into another,
bending due to a change in speed.
Changes in properties:
- Speed: Changes
- Wavelength: Changes in proportion to the speed (faster = longer wavelength;
slower = shorter wavelength).
- Frequency: Stays the same, frequency is determined by the source, not the
medium.
- Amplitude: May change, some energy is reflected at the boundary, and the
transmitted wave may have less amplitude.
Reason: Speed and wavelength depend on the medium’s ability to transmit the wave.
Frequency remains constant because the source doesn’t change.
3. Wave Diffraction
Description: The wave changes shape to “wrap around” edges or spread after passing
through a gap. The effect is more pronounced when the wavelength is large compared to
the obstacle or gap size. Diffraction is the bending and spreading of waves when they
encounter an obstacle or pass through a narrow opening.
Changes in properties:
- Wavelength, Speed & Frequency: No change, medium is unchanged, so wave
properties remain constant.
- Amplitude: Can decrease bc energy spreads over a larger area, so intensity per
point drops.
Reason: The spreading redistributes energy, but since there’s no medium change, the
basic wave parameters stay the same.
4. Wave Interference
Description: Waves superpose, and their displacements add algebraically. Interference
occurs when two or more waves overlap in space.
- Constructive interference: Crest meets crest or trough meets trough, larger
amplitude.
- Destructive interference: Crest meets trough, smaller amplitude or complete
cancellation.
Changes in properties:
- Speed, Wavelength, Frequency: No change bc interference doesn’t alter the
medium or the wave’s inherent properties.
- Amplitude: Changes bc it depends on the type of interference (increases in
constructive, decreases or cancels in destructive).
Reason: Amplitude is directly affected by the principle of superposition. Other properties
remain constant because the waves keep traveling in the same medium with the same
source frequency.