9.1
What is a wave?
Waves transferring energy, transverse and longitudinal waves, amplitude, wavelength and frequency, reflection and superposition.
9.2
Making and hearing sound
Vibrations, compressions and rarefactions, sound in a vacuum, the speed of sound, the ear and microphones.
9.3
Loudness, pitch and hearing ranges
Oscilloscope traces, amplitude and loudness, frequency and pitch, and what humans and animals can hear.
9.4
Echoes and ultrasound
Reflection and absorption of sound, using echoes to measure distance, and the uses of ultrasound.
Daily 5
Five quick diagram questions a day from this unit. The ones you get wrong come back sooner. Progress saves in this browser.
What this unit covers
Mapped to the KS3 national curriculum (Physics: waves).
| Programme of study | Lesson |
|---|---|
| waves on water as undulations which travel through water with transverse motion; these waves can be reflected, and add or cancel (superposition) | 9.1 |
| sound produced by vibrations of objects, in loudspeakers, and detected by their effects on a microphone diaphragm and the eardrum; sound waves are longitudinal | 9.2 |
| sound needs a medium to travel; the speed of sound in air, in water, in solids | 9.2 |
| frequencies of sound waves, measured in hertz (Hz); the auditory range of humans and animals | 9.3 |
| echoes, reflection and absorption of sound | 9.4 |
| pressure waves transferring energy; use for cleaning and physiotherapy by ultrasound; waves transferring information for conversion to electrical signals by microphone | 9.2, 9.4 |
Next at GCSE