Republic of the Philippines

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY

City of Ilagan, Isabela

PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

MODULE 11: WAVE MOTION, SOUND AND LIGHT

Introduction.
There are various types of waves – water waves, sound waves, light waves and waves
generated by earthquakes. All these waves originate from disturbances.
Sound is a longitudinal wave which consists of alternate compressions and refractions It is
produced by the vibrations of material objects in some media such as air, water, or steel.
Clapping your hands is a disturbance that produces a wave pulse that travels out in all directions.
Sound waves can travel through solids, liquids and gases (fluids) but not through a vacuum.
Thus, there can no sound without a medium, such as in outer space where there is absolute
silence.
We see objects because light is either emitted or reflected by them. Light is emitted by the
sun, fluorescent lamps, sparks, flames, computer monitor, and fireflies. Light is reflected by
mirrors, the moon, plants, white papers and even dark cloth.

Learning Outcome/Objectives:
At the end of this section, you will be able to:
 Define and explain the different types of waves;
 Explain the different kinds and level of sound;
 Define Reflection and Refraction of Light;
 Explain Luminous intensity; and
 Solve simple problems related to wave, sound and light.

Learning Content:

TYPES OF WAVES
Waves can be classified as mechanical or electromagnetic. Mechanical waves are waves
which propagate through a material medium (solid, liquid or gas). Electromagnetic waves are
those that do not require a propagating medium.
A periodic wave (continuous wave motion) requires a disturbance from an oscillated source
in which particles of the medium move up and down continuously. It has a sinusoidal form (sine
or cosine) such that if you took a photograph of the wave at any instant, you would see a sine or
cosine curve.
The straight line represents the “equilibrium” position of the vibration. The high points are
called the crest and the low points are the troughs.

Waves can be described mathematically using a series of parameters. The amplitude A is the
maximum displacement of the vibration from equilibrium position.

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 The distance between any successive parts of the waves that are in phase (identical points in
the waveform such as particles 2 and 10, 3 and 11) is called the wavelength. For convenience,
the crest and trough positions are used, thus, wavelength is the distance between two successive
crests (or troughs). A wavelength corresponds to one cycle.

The period T is the time for one wavelength (cycle) to pass a given point. The frequency f of
a wave is the number of wavelengths that pass a given point in each second. The frequency and
period are reciprocals of each other.
f = 1/T or vice versa, T = 1 / f

The wave speed is the distance of one wavelength in a time of one period.
v = d / t =  / T; but T = 1 / f;

hence, v =  f where v = wave speed

 = wavelength
F = frequency

Generally, this equation holds for all kinds of waves. The equation implies that wave speed
depends on the nature of the medium through which the wave travels and the source frequency.

Example 1. A longitudinal wave has a speed of 340 m/s in air. If this wave produces a tone of
frequency 700 hertz (Hz). What is the wavelength?

Solution:
Given: v = 340 m/s f = 700 Hz
Find: 
V=f
 = v / f = 340 m/s / (700 Hz)
 = 0.49 m
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 Waves can also be classified according to the direction of oscillation in which the wave
travels. In a transverse wave, the motion of the particles of the medium (slinky or loose coil
spring) is at right angle to the direction in which a wave travels. Transverse wave can propagate
only solids since fluids do not have sufficient restoring forces between its particles. Particularly,
the speed of transvers waves is given as,
v = √ T /√ ; where: T is the tension and  is the linear density

In a longitudinal (compressional) wave, the particles move along the direction of the wave
rather than at right angles to it. Using a slinky, a long wave can be produced by using the coils
back and forth along the spring’s axis. A series of compressions and rarefactions move along the
spring. Longitudinal waves can propagate in solids and fluids, since all phases of matter can be
compared to some extent. The speed of longitudinal wave is expressed as,

v = √ M /√ d where M is the modulus and d is the density

If the medium is solid like spring, bar or wire, Young’s modulus is used. For liquids, Bulk
modulus is used.

Example 2. A copper wire 2.4 mm in diameter is 3 m long and is used to suspend a 2 kg mass
from a beam. If a transverse wave is sent along the wire by striking it with a pencil, how fast will
the disturbance travel? The density of copper is 8920 kg/m3.

Solution:
Given: cooper wire diameter = 2.4 mm = 0.0024 m l=3m m = 2 kg
density of copper = 8920 kg/m3
Find: v

T = W = mg = 2 kg (9.8 m/s2) = 19.6 N

d = m / V = m / A(l) ; where A =  r 2 =  (d/2)2 = 3.1416 (0.0024/2)2

A = 4.52 x 10 -6 m2

mass of wire = density of wire (A)(l) = 8920 kg/m3 (4.52x10-6m2)(3 m)

= 0 1209 kg

linear density,  = m / l = 0.1209 kg / 3 m = 0.0403 kg / m

√19.6 N
Finally, find the speed, v = √ T
=¿ √ 0.0403 Kg = 22.05 m/s
√❑
m

Wave Properties

1. Interference and Superposition

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 Two or more waves interfere where they meet or pass through the same region of a medium.
They pass through each other and proceed without being altered.
During the interference, the combined waveform is given by the principle of superposition.
The combined waveform of two or more interfering waves at any time is given by the sum of the
displacements of the individual waves at each point in the medium.
When the crest of one wave overlaps the crest of another, their individual effects add together
resulting to an increased amplitude. This is called constructive interference or reinforcement.

On the other hand, when the crest of one wave overlaps the trough of another, their individual
effects are reduced. This is called destructive interference or cancellation.

2. Reflection.
When a wave hits the boundary between two media, some of the wave energy are transmitted
and some are reflected.
An echo is the reflection of sound waves and image formation results from the reflection of
light waves.

3. Refraction.
When waves pass from one medium to a second medium with different speeds, the direction
of the waves changes at the interface (boundary) of the two media. This phenomenon is called
refraction.
The speed of the wave changes because the new medium has different characteristics. It
enters obliquely (at an angle) the second medium in a direction different from that of the incident
waves.
Refraction occurs in water with two different depths. Water waves become faster as the water
becomes deeper.

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The following holds for refraction:
a. The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a
constant n, known as the index of refraction (of medium 2 relative to medium 1) or the ratio
between their speeds in the two media, that is,
n = sin I / sin rf = v1 / v2
b. The incident ray, the normal and the refracted ray lie in the same plane.

4. Diffraction
When a wave passes through a small opening, it spreads out. This process is called
diffraction. Diffraction allows us to hear around corners because the sound is diffracted through
an open door or window and fills the room. A small opening in this case means that the opening
is about the same size (or smaller) than the wavelength of the sound.

Properties of Sound
Just as any other periodic wave, sound can be characterized by velocity, frequency,
wavelength and amplitude. It shares with other waves the properties of reflection, refraction,
diffraction and interference.
High pitch sounds are produced by sources vibrating at high frequency. On the other hand,
low pitch sounds are produced by low frequency sources. A bird makes a high pitch while a lion
makes a low pitch. Pitch is essentially the frequency of the wave. The figure below shows how a
high and low sound appear.

Sound differ in loudness. The more energy the sound wave has, the louder the sound seems.
The intensity pf a sound is the amount of energy it has. You hear intensity as loudness.
Loudness depends on the amplitude or height of a sound wave which is the measure of the
amount of energy in the wave. Therefore, the greater the intensity of a sound, the greater the
amplitude.

Another in which sound can be different is in quality. Some sounds are pleasant to hear while
other sounds are not. A pleasant sound has a regular wave pattern. The pattern is repeated over
and over. But the waves of an unpleasant sound are irregular. They do not have a repeated
pattern. See figure below. Unpleasant sound is considered noise.

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 Sound Speed
The speed of a sound in a medium depends on its elasticity and density. A lightly elastic
medium has restoring forces between the atoms. This causes a disturbance that makes sound
travel faster. Generally, solids are more elastic than fluids, which are more elastic than gases.
Thus, the speed of sound is faster in solids than in liquids and gases, that is,
v solids > v liquid > v gases
In an ideal gas of molecular mass M and absolute temperature T, the speed of sound is given
by
v = √ ∂√ R√ T/√ M where: R = gas constant = 8314 J/kmol
∂ = ratio of specific heats, cp / cv
= 1.67 for monatomic gases (He, Ne. H)
= 1.40 for diatomic gases (N2, O2, H2)
= 1.28 for triatomic gases (CO2)
In a wire or rod, the speed of sound v is given by
v = √ YM /√ d where: YM = Young’s modulus
d = mass density
In fluids, the speed of sound is given by
v = √ BM /√ d where: BM = Bulk modulus
d = mass density

The speed of sound also depends on the temperature of the medium. As the temperature
increases, so does the speed of the molecules.
v = (331 + 0.61 Tc) where: Tc = air temperature in oC.

The speed of sound is independent of pressure, frequency and wavelength. Objects travelling a
speed greater than the speed of sound are referred to as supersonic while objects moving at
speed lesser than the speed of sound are called subsonics.

Example 3. Caleb wishes to send a message by banging out a code on steel railroad tracks to
Floramel 2 km away. How long will it take the message to get to Floramel? The density of steel
is 7.8 x 10 3 kg/m3 and Young’s modulus for steel is 20 x 10 10 N/m2.

Solution: Given: s = 2 km Find: t

Calculate the speed of sound: v = √ YM /√ d = √ 20 x 1010 / √ 7.8 x 103

v = 5063.69 m/s
From s = v t; t = s / v = 2 km (1000 m/km) / 5063.69 m/s
t = 2000 m / 5063.69 m/s
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 t = 0.39 s

 Sound Intensity

Intensity is the energy transported per unit time across a unit area, that is,

Intensity = (energy/time) / area = power / area

In SI, the unit of intensity is w/m2. Intensity level corresponds roughly to the sensation of
loudness expressed using logarithmic scale in order to compare the large range of sound
intensities in decibel (db). The threshold of hearing, Io = 10 -12 w/m2, which corresponds to the
weakest audible sound serves as the zero on the scale.. The sound intensity level is expressed as,
 = 10 log (I / I0)

Example 4. A sound has an intensity of 5 x 10 -8 w/m2 What is the sound level in decibel?

 = 10 log I /I0 = 10 log (5x10-8 w/m2 /10-12 w/m2)

= 46.99 db

Sound Phenomena
Reflection
In a room, sound reflects from all surfaces- the floor, ceiling, walls, furniture, and people. A
large fraction of sound energy is reflected from a rigid and smooth surface and less if the surface
is smooth and irregular. Reflected sound is called echo.
The time required for an echo to return to the source of the sound can be used to find the
distance between the source and the reflector. This principle is used by ships employing sonar
and by bats in determining how far away insects are.

Refraction
Sound waves are refracted when they travel at different speeds. This occurs when sound is
travelling through air of uneven temperature. For example, on a warm day, the air near the
ground maybe warmer than the air above. The speed of sound near the ground is increased
because sound travels faster in warmer air.

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At night or on a cold day, when the layer of air near the ground is colder than the air above, the
speed of sound near the ground is reduced. The higher speed of sound waves cause a bending of
the sound toward the earth. This evidenced by hearing the sound over longer distances.

Diffraction
The bending of sound around corners or around an object is called diffraction. Waves travel
in straight lines. However you can hear someone who is standing around a corner and whom you
cannot see.

Interference
Two sound waves can exhibit interference and can make the sound louder or can cause dead
spots at nodes where little sound can be heard.
A special case of interference occurs when two tones of very close frequencies are heard at
the same time. There is fluctuations in the loudness of the combined sounds. You would hear an
alternate of loud and faint sounds. This periodic variation in the loudness of sound is called beat.
The beat B frequency is given by
B = f 1 – f2
Beats can be a practical way to compare frequencies. For example, to tune a guitar, a musician
adjust the tension in the string as he listens for beats produced between a standard tone produced
by a piano or any instrument and that of a particular string on the guitar. When the frequencies
are identical, the beats disappear, that is, f1 = f2

Example 5. Thunder was heard 3 s after the lightning. If the temperature was 28 0C, how far
away was the lightning?
Solution: Given: 3 s T = 28 0C Find: s
v = ( 331 + 0.61 Tc) = ( 331 + 0.61 x 28) = 248.08 m/s

s = v t = 248.08 m/s (3 s ) = 1044.24 m

Example 6. A certain organ pipe is tuned to emit a frequency of 196 Hz. When this pipe and the
G string of a violin sounded together, 12 beats are heard in a time of 8 s. The beats become lower
as the violin string is slowly tightened. What was the original frequency of the violin string.

Solution:
Given: f1 = 196 Hz B = 12 beats/8 s Find: f2

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 B = f1 – f2 ; f2 = f1 – B = 196 Hz – 12 beats / 8 s
F2 = 194 5 / s

Reflection of Light

When a light ray strikes a reflecting surface, the law of reflection states that the angle of
reflection is equal to the angle of incidence, r = I . Both angles are measured from a normal
perpendicular to the surface point of incidence. The incent ray, the reflected ray and the normal
N all lie on the same plane.

Refraction of Light

Light travels at different speeds in different media as evidenced by a change in its direction.
The change in direction or bending of light at the interface of two media is called refraction.
If light goes from a medium of low velocity to a medium of high velocity, it is bent away from
the normal (see figure a). The medium is said to be optically dense. On the other hand, if light
goes the other way, it is bent towards the normal to the surface, (figure b).

Light travels fastest in vacuum, ( c = 3x108 m/s). The ratio of this constant value, c to the
velocity of light in other medium v is called index of refraction, n. It is expressed as,
n=c/v

See the table for indices of refraction of several substances.

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 Snell’s law named after the Dutch physicist Willebord Snell (1591 – 1626) relates the angle
of incidence I, and angle of refraction r . This law states that

“A ray of light bends in such a way that the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine
of the angle of refraction is a constant.”

Sin i / Sin r = v1 / v2 = n2 / n1

Where: v1, n1 – velocity of light and index of refraction of the first medium (air)
v2, n2 – velocity of light and index of refraction of the second medium

For a light ray passing from a vacuum into given medium, the constant ratio of the sines is
called the index of refraction n for the medium. It is expressed as
n = sin I / sine r

Example 7. A ray of light travelling through air is incident upon a sheet of quartz at an angle of
40 degrees. What is the angle of refraction?

Solution:
Given: n quartz = 1.54 Find: angle of refraction

n = sin i / sin r ; sin r = sin I / n = sin 400 / 1.54

= 0.42
r = arc sin 0.42
= 24.670

Luminous Intensity
A luminous body emits light waves while an illuminated body reflects light waves. The sun
and incandescent lamp are luminous bodies. On the other hand, the moon is an illuminated body.

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 Luminous intensity, I, is the brightness of a light source. The unit of luminous intensity is
candela (cd). Candela is the light emitted by a black body at the freezing temperature of
platinum, 1773 0C. A black body is an object that absorbs all electromagnetic radiation that falls
into it.
Luminous flux, F, is the amount of visible light that falls onto a given surface. The unit is
lumen (lm). It is given by
F=4I
A typical 100 watt incandescent bulb emits 1750 lm. If a light source radiates different fluxes in
different directions, solid angle  is used. It is subtended by area A on the surface of a sphere of
radius r, that is,

 = A / r2 ; Since the total area of a sphere is, A = 4 r2, then,  = 4r2/r2 = 4

Thus in general dimension flux is, F = 4I =  I

The Luminous Efficiency, LE, of a light source is the amount of luminous flux, F per power
input, P, that is

L.E. = F/ P; its unit is lumen/watt

The illuminance (illumination), E, of a surface is a measure of how much light fall on a

surface area. It is given by the luminous flux per unit area that reaches the surface.

E = F / A; The unit for illumination, E : SI, lumen/sq.m = lux (lx)

British, lumen/sq.ft. = foot candle (fc)

Example 8. How much flux strikes through an area 0.5 sq m on a sphere of radius 3 m, if a 600
cd isotropic source is at its center? What is E for the area?

Solution: Given: A = 0.5 m2 r=3m I = 300 cd

Find: a) F b) E

a) F =  I = A/r2 (I) = (0.5 m2) / (3 m)2 ( 300 cd ) = 16.67 lm

b) E = F / A = 16.67 / 0.5 = 33.34 lx

SAQ

1. At a fireworks display at a shopping mall, a shopper noticed that the sound of an exploding
shell arrived 0.20 s after the flash from the explosion. If the speed of sound is 345 m/s, how
far away from the person was the explosion?
2. The speed of a longitudinal wave in silver, density 10.5 x 103 kg/m3, is 2610 m/s. Compute
Young’s Modulus for silver.
3. If the Young’s Modulus of a metal rod is 1.2 x 1010 N/m2 and the speed of sound in this rod is
1160 m/s, find its density.

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4. An explosion occurs in Baguio city during a cold day at 8 0C. How long after the explosion
does a person hear it at a distance of 1 km?
5. What is the luminous intensity of a 100 watt tungsten lamp whose efficiency is 24 lm/w?

For the Flexible Teaching Learning Modality (FTLM), we adopt:

 Online (Synchronous) Edmodo LMS
 Remote (Asynchronous) Module, Activity

REFERENCES

1. Cutnell, John D. & Johnson, Kenneth W., Essential Physics (Wiley, 2005)
2. Wilson, Jerry D., Buffa, Anthony J. and Bo Lou, College Physics, 7th edition
(Wesley,2009)
3. Reyes, Christopher G. Physics 1 (2018)
4. Introduction to Thermal Physics by physicsclassroom.com

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