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Physics (GCSE) Revision (Waves)

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
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Statement
Response
Comment
When sounds bounce back (reflect) from hard surfaces this is called an . . .   ECHO   show
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When a ray of light is reflected from a shiny surface (e.g. a plane mirror) the angle of incidence is equal to . . .   show Angles are measured from the NORMAL.  
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A line drawn at 90 degrees to a surface is called a . . .   NORMAL   show
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When rays of light change direction as they cross the boundary between two different substances this is called . . .   show All waves do this.  
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Refraction occurs when light travels between two different materials because . . .   show Light slows down in glass and water compared to air.  
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show LONGITUDINAL waves   Compressions and rarefactions travelling through a material ( a push-pull motion on a slinky spring)  
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Light waves are . . .   show Like a side-to-side motion on a slinky spring.  
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Light waves travel at . . .   show c = 300 000 km/s  
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show 330 m/s   Sound travels faster in warm air than in cold.  
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Sound waves can be reflected and . . .   show When they cross the boundary between two different substances.  
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If waves cross a boundary between two different substances at a right angle, there is . . .   show Only speed and wavelength change.  
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What changes when a light ray crosses a boundary between air and glass, travelling into the glass?   Speed decreases. Wavelength decreases. It bends towards the normal.   show
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show increase.   Light travels faster in air than glass.  
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show transverse waves.   The surface is displaced at a right angle to the direction of travel of the waves.  
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Water waves can be . . .   show Same as any other waves you care to mention.  
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When water waves travel from deep water to shallow water they are refracted because . . .   they travel more slowly in shallow water.   show
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show some light is refracted and some is reflected from the boundary.   Usually about 50% of the light is reflected.  
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For light travelling from glass to air, if the angle of incidence is greater than a certain angle what happens?   show TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION. Get the spelling right!  
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What is the name of the largest angle of incidence at which light can just be refracted at a boundary between glass and air?   show About 42 degrees for glass / air.  
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show total internal reflection.   No refraction involved.  
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Optic fibres can be used to send telephone messages in the form of . . .   pulses of light.   show
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Sound waves travel through solids, liquids and gases as . . .   show Push a slinky spring away from you and back again.  
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When a wave moves through a gap, or past an obstacle, it . . .   spreads out from the edges.   show
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show the waves bend over the summit and down into the valleys.   This doesn't work with TV or microwaves because they have a shorter wavelength.  
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Diffraction occurs more strongly when . . .   show A hill of height 1000m will diffract radio waves of the same wavelength.  
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When white light passes through a 60 degree prism . . .   show Isaac Newton explained this by saying that white is a mixture of all the other colours.  
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show wavelengths.   Red has the longest, violet the shortest.  
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When a spectrum is produced by a prism the effect is called . . .   show Different colours travel at different speeds in glass - red slows down least.  
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Which colour is refracted most by a prism?   show Violet Veers Violently  
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There are many more kinds of radiation than we can see with our eyes. The full range is called the . . .   electromagnetic spectrum   show
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The type of electromagnetic radiation which has the longest wavelength is . . .   show Typically over 1 kilometre in length.  
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The type of electromagnetic radiation which has the shortest wavelenth is . . .   gamma rays.   show
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show the substance which absorbs it hotter.   Lying in the Sun makes me hot!  
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Electromagnetic radiation may also . . .   show That's how a radio or TV works.  
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show transmit radio and TV programmes between different points on Earth's surface.   Range is limited by line of sight.  
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show the ionosphere.   This enables signals to be sent between distant points despite the curvature of Earth's surface  
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Microwave radiation of short wavelength which can pass through Earth's atmosphere is used to . . .   send information to and from satellites and within mobile phone networks.   show
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A microwave oven can be used for cooking because . . .   show No metal objects and certainly not your hands!  
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Toasters, grills and radiant heaters make use of . . .   infra red radiation.   show
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A TV remote control uses . . .   show You might not see it yourself but try using a video camera !  
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show endoscope.   It can be used at both 'ends' - but only by a qualified medical person please !  
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Sunbeds make use of . . .   show Careless exposure can result in skin cancer (melanoma) so use Factor 25 at least !  
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show fluorescent lamps and security coding.   Check out your white shirt at the discotheque ( yeah, I know that dates me!)  
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X-rays are used to produce shadow pictures of bones because . . .   show It can be used at airports for screening your luggage - so leave those scissors at home.  
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show kill harmful bacteria in food, sterilise surgical instruments and kill cancer cells.   Those party forks you use at barbecues have been inside a nuclear reactor you know.  
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Microwaves are absorbed by the water in cells which may be . . .   show So keep your hands out of the microwave and keep your mobile phone at a safe distance too.  
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Infra red is absorbed by the skin and felt as . . .   heat.   show
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Ultraviolet can pass through the skin to deeper tissues. The darker the skin . . .   the more UV it absorbs and the less reaches deeper tissues.   show
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X-rays and gamma rays mostly pass through soft tissues but some . . .   show No exposure is good exposure.  
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High doses of UV, X and gamma radiation can kill normal cells. Lower doses can . . .   show Very high doses are needed to kill cancer cells, but healthy cells are also killed. It is a high risk strategy.  
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Information such as speech or music can be converted into . . .   electrical signals that can be sent long distances through cables or using electromagnetic waves as carriers.   show
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show along optic fibres.   Modern methods: cheaper, less loss of energy so more efficient.  
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Signals which vary continuously in amplitude and/or frequency are called . . .   show Old fashioned vinyl records and terrestrial TV ( not digital)  
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show digital signals   Now we're talking !  
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One advantage of difgital signals over older analogue signals is . . .   show Analogue signals are prone to distortion. On is on and off is still off.  
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A major advantage of digital signals is . . .   show More information can be transmitted in a given time than with analogue signals.  
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As signals travel they become weaker. Random additions to the signal are called . . .   NOISE   show
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show the signal becomes less like the original. Its quality deteriorates.   Noise is also amplified along with any differences.  
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Even though digital pulses weaken with distance, the quality is maintained because . . .   show The voltage needed for an 'on' state is much higher than the noise level.  
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Sounds are produced when object vibrate. The greater the amplitude of vibrations . . .   the louder the sound.   show
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The number of complete vibrations each second is called the . . .   show The higher the frequency of a sound the higher its PITCH  
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show ultrasound or ultrasonic waves   Above 20kHz, I give up.  
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Ultrasonic waves are used in medicine for . . .   show Doesn't harm the foetus like X-rays would.  
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In industry, ultrasound is used for . . .   cleaning delicate mechanisms and for quality control   show
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show the time taken for an echo to return to the detector.   The distance to the reflecting boundary can be calculated if the speed of sound in the material is known.  
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Our knowledge of the structure of the Earth comes from studying how the shock waves from earthquakes travel through it. These are called . . .   seismic waves.   show
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Earthquakes produce waves which can be detected using . . .   show They produce a pen and ink trace on a rotating drum of paper.  
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show crust.   If the Earth was the size of an apple, the crust would only be the thickness of the skin.  
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The Earth's core extends about halfway to the surface. It consists of an inner and an outer core. The outer core is . . .   liquid nickel and iron.   show
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The layer of rock surrounding the core extends almost to the surface and is called the . . .   mantle   show
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The overall density of the Earth is much greater than the mean densities of the rocks that form the crust. This suggests that . . .   show Density increases with depth due to the increasing pressure of the overlying rocks.  
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What are the two types of seismic waves that travel through the interior of the Earth?   show There are surface waves as well which only travel through the crust.  
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Which type of seismic waves are faster?   Primary (P) waves   show
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show P waves are longitudinal, S waves are transverse.   P waves are compression waves. S waves are shear waves.  
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Which type of seismic wave cannot travel in a liquid?   S waves   show
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show they are being refracted.   They travel faster as they go deeper.  
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The speed of seismic waves increases with depth because . . .   show Seismic waves travel faster in denser material.  
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The speed and direction of P waves change abruptly as they reach the outer core because . . .   show Liquids are less dense than solids.  
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We know that the outer core is a liquid because . . .   S waves can't travel through it.   show
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Some seismometers cannot detect the S waves from an earthquake. Why is this ?   show If the seismometer is in a 'shadow zone', only P waves can reach it.  
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show they may have been part of larger land mass which spli apart.   e.g. south east America and west Africa  
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show similar patterns of rocks and fossils on different continents   Or perhaps a land bridge which broke apart could explain this  
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The upper part of Earth's mantle and crust is called the . . .   show It is moving on top of denser material below  
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The pieces of Earth's lithosphere which are moving are called . . .   tectonic plates   show
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The Earth's tectonic plates are moving slowly at a speed of about . . .   show We can measure this by timing radio signals  
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The process which drives plate tectonics is . . .   show The energy is provided by radioactive decay which releases heat  
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show more earthquakes and volcanic eruptions   You can see a map of this in your text book  
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Where two plates meet they may slide past each other. This is known as a . . .   show They rub and produce friction e.g. California  
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When two tectonic plates approach each other, one of them may be driven down. This is called . . .   show Old crust is melted to form volcanoes  
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Sea floor spreading is caused when . . .   show New magama rises to fill the gap  
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Evidence for sea-floor spreading is provided by . . .   magnetic reversal patterns in oceanic crust   show
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