Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Physics · 4PH1
Topic 3 · Waves
What a wave is and what it carries, the wave equation, the Doppler effect, the whole electromagnetic spectrum with its uses and dangers, reflection, refraction, total internal reflection and sound.
10 lessons, covering 29 specification statements: 3.1 · 3.2 · 3.3 · 3.4 · 3.5 · 3.6 · 3.7 · 3.8 · 3.9 · 3.10 · 3.11 · 3.12 · 3.13 · 3.14 · 3.15 · 3.16 · 3.17 · 3.18 · 3.19 · 3.20 · 3.21 · 3.22 · 3.23 · 3.24 · 3.25 · 3.26 · 3.27 · 3.28 · 3.29
The lessons
- What a Wave Is — Something crosses the room and nothing gets to the other side — the idea that makes the rest of the topic possible. (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)
- The Wave Equation — Two equations that connect everything on the previous page — and one of them you could have worked out yourself. (3.5, 3.6, 3.7)
- The Doppler Effect — Why an ambulance changes note as it passes — and why the siren itself never does. (3.8, 3.9)
- The Electromagnetic Spectrum — Seven names for one thing — and the two properties that change as you go along it. (3.10, 3.11)
- Uses and Dangers of Electromagnetic Radiation — Seven bands, seven jobs — and why the danger rises steadily as you move along the spectrum. (3.12, 3.13)
- Reflection and Ray Diagrams — One rule, drawn correctly — and why the image in a mirror is behind it. (3.14, 3.15, 3.16)
- Refraction and Refractive Index — Why light bends entering glass, why it sometimes does not, and how to put a number on it. (3.17, 3.18, 3.19)
- Total Internal Reflection — The angle beyond which light cannot get out at all — and the technology built on it. (3.20, 3.21, 3.22)
- Sound Waves — What is actually travelling when you hear something, what you can and cannot hear, and how to measure how fast it goes. (3.23, 3.24, 3.25)
- Oscilloscopes, Pitch and Loudness — Seeing a sound on a screen — and which feature of the trace corresponds to which thing you hear. (3.26, 3.27, 3.28, 3.29)