- Waves are rhythmic disturbances (there’s a - Ultrasound is beyond hearing range, and

pattern) that carry energy through matter or infrasound is below hearing range.
empty space. It carries energy without displacing - The Doppler Effect is the change in frequency
matter. due to motion by the source, the observer, or by
- Mechanical waves need matter. Electromagnetic both.
waves do not need matter but can pass through - A Sonic Boom is caused by sound waves piling
matter. into a shock wave due to the source moving as
- Longitudinal waves go parallel to the energy fast or even faster than the speed of sound (
transport, and also known as compressional (ex. 343 m/s ).
Sound waves). - The speed of sound is faster in high temperatures,
more elastic mediums (ex. Metal > rubber), and
less dense mediums (ex. ), and in solids than in
gases because the particles are closer together.
- Reflection in sound is heard as echo. Happens
more on rigid and smooth surfaces (ex. ) than in
soft and irregular surfaces (ex. ).
o SONAR refers to Sound Navigation
Ranging
- Transverse waves go perpendicular; up and down
o Echolocation is the use of sound and echoes
(ex. Electromagnetic waves).
to navigate.
- Sound waves that are not reflected are absorbed
or transmitted.
- Refraction happens when sound travels at
different speeds due to uneven winds, or sound
travels through uneven temperatures.
- Diffraction refers to sound waves bending around
corners or squeezing through obstructions (such
as a door).
- Sound is energy. Sound waves are invisible, - Interference is constructive if sound waves add up
mechanical, and longitudinal waves. ‘Comes to produce a higher crest; destructive if otherwise.
from a vibrating source, it is a physical
disturbance in a medium (that is commonly the
air).
- Pitch depends on frequency. Frequency is the
number of waves in one second, or how frequent,
and is often measured in Hertz (Hz).
- Period (T) refers to how long it takes to complete
one wavelength. It is the reciprocal of frequency,
so the higher the frequency, the shorter amount of
time.
- Waves velocity is how fast the wave is moving.
- Intensity depends on amplitude, or the amount of
- Light waves are electromagnetic (EM) waves
energy being carried, as well as the distance from
(does not need matter but can pass through
the sound source. It is often measured in decibels
matter). ‘Has a specific wavelength and
(dB).
frequency that allows it to be seen by the naked
- Loudness depends on intensity but is subjective
eye.
because it depends on the person’s tolerance.
- All EM waves are transverse and are composed
- It is the physical response to intensity. Loudness
of electric and magnetic fields. This includes light
is how you perceive intensity and amplitude.
waves.
- Loudness > intensity > amplitude > energy
- The nature of light is to travel in a straight path. It - Light contains all the colors of the spectrum.
can be reflected or refracted but never bent or White objects reflect all colors, while black
curved. objects absorb all colors (because black is the
- Reflection allows us to see objects when light hits absence of color).
a surface, bounces back, and the reflected light - The order of “ROYGBIV” cannot be reshuffled.
hits our eyes. From red to violet, frequency increases and
- The ray of light that hits the polished surface is wavelength decreases in length, but the amount of
called the incident ray. The ray that gets reflected energy keeps increasing.
away is called the reflected ray. - In a vacuum, all wavelengths of light travel at the
- The point at which the light hits the surface is same speed.
called the point of incidence. If a line is drawn - When light passes through a prism, the prism
perpendicular to that point, it is called the normal. slows down each wavelength at different rates (or
refraction). Violet has the highest frequency,
shortest wavelength, and therefore, bends the
most. The opposite is true about the color red.
- The color of an object is the color it reflected
because it would no longer need to absorb that
color.
- A red object reflects red because it only needs to
absorb “OYGBIV” as it already bears red as its
color.
- In specular reflection, each incident ray bounces
- The law of reflection is iθ=r θ off in a single direction. This occurs when light
- The angle of incidence is the angle between hits a smooth surface.
the incident ray and the normal. - In diffused reflection, the incident rays bounce off
- The angle of reflection is the angle between in different direction. This occurs when light hits
the reflected ray and the normal. a rough surface, and this enables many people to
see the image.
Absorbed Reflected Passes
Opaque / / X
Translucent / / /
Transparent X / /
- In diffused reflection, the law of reflection still
- In opaque objects, some light is absorbed, holds, but the angle of incidence varies.
- Refraction occurs when light bends due to a
and the rest is reflected, none passes through.
change in speed caused by a change in medium,
- In translucent objects, some light is absorbed,
which results in a change in the angle of the
and some passes through, and the rest is direction of light.
reflected.
- In transparent objects, none is absorbed, most Reflection Same medium means
passes through, little is reflected. same angle of
reflection.
- Shadows occur when objects (often opaque)
Refraction Change in medium
don’t allow light to pass through. This refers
means change in the
to the absence of light.
angle of reflection.
- The closer the object is to the light, the more the
light is blocked and the wider the shadow.
- The speed of light is faster than the speed of - If light enters any substance with a higher
sound, and nothing is faster than the speed of refractive index (such as from air into glass) it
light (3 x 10 8 m/ s). slows down. The light bends towards the normal
line.
- If light travels enter into a substance with a lower
refractive index (such as from water into air) it
speeds up. The light bends away from the normal
line

- Electromagnetic (EM) waves don’t need a

medium, but can pass through a medium;
however, this only slows them down.
- They are made of vibrating electric charges and
are composed of both an electric and a magnetic
field.
- You cannot form EM waves if you are missing
- Dispersion refers to light entering a prism and
one of the two.
being dispersed to reveal the color spectrum.
- Both fields vibrate perpendicularly, and therefore,
- Diffraction refers to the bending of light due to an
are transverse.
obstacle, an opening, or an edge.
- EM waves are naturally unpolarized, traveling in
- Smaller openings produce greater diffraction.
all directions, but in a straight line.
- Interference in light waves is the same as
- All matter, including humans, emits EM waves.
interference in sound waves. There is constructive
- As temperature rises, wavelengths become
and destructive interference.
shorter. Increase in temperature means there’s
- Polarization refers to the orientation of the
more energy. (Frequency increases and
electric field in a light wave.
wavelength decreases in length, but the amount of
- Unpolarized light has electric fields vibrating in
energy keeps increasing.)
random directions. Polarized light has the electric
- All EM waves travel at the speed of light in a
fields vibrating in a single plane.
vacuum, but passing through a medium decreases
- Light can be polarized by passing it through a
their speed. EM waves are usually the slowest in
polarizing filter, which only allows light waves
solids and the fastest in gases.
vibrating in one orientation to pass through. This
blocks waves vibrating in other orientations.