Sound

How sound travels

- Can only travel in matter
- Air particles vibrate and collide against each other, energy is carried in all directions in
waves
o When the air particles vibrate inside our ears, we perceive sound
o As sound is carried further and further, it loses energy, and we perceive the
sound as softer
- Sound moves in longitudinal waves, some areas being compressions (many particles)
and some are rarefactions (few particles)
o The particles do not move along with the wave, but rather back and forth along
the direction of the wave
o Regions of compression are formed by particles colliding into one another when
vibrating in their direction
o Regions of rarefaction are formed by particles pulling away from one another
when vibrating away from their direction

What affects the speed of sound

- Temperature
o Higher temperatures > Air particles gaining more kinetic energy > More frequent
collisions > Transfers energy faster > Speed of sound is faster
- Medium
o Packed more closely > More frequent collisions > Transfers energy faster > Speed
of sound is faster
- Wind
o Wind blows in same direction > Transfer of energy is faster > Speed of sound is
faster

Sound as a transverse wave

- Sound is displayed as a transverse wave on an oscilloscope because it is easier to see
 -
- Frequency: Number of cycles completed per second (Hertz/Hz)
- Period: Number of seconds taken per cycle (Seconds/s)
- Amplitude influences volume (Decibels/dB), larger amplitude is caused by more energy
- Frequency influences pitch (Hertz/Hz), higher frequency is caused by faster vibrations
o A pitch is 1 octave higher when it is twice as high, and it is 2 octaves higher when it is 4
times as high
o Pitch does not influence speed of sound

Electricity
Electrical systems
- Coulombs carry electrical charges (electrons) throughout the circuit
- Series circuit
o Electricity travels through a single path and components of circuit are joined one
after another to form one loop
o V = (R1 + R2 + R3 …...) x (I)
 I is the same throughout the circuit
- Parallel circuit
o Electricity travels through multiple branches and components of circuit are
connected in each branch
o Calculating values for parallel is the same as in series, but each branch is
individually calculated, and the overall current is the current of all the branches
added together, hence V divided by the total current = total resistance
 Another way to calculate total resistance is as follows: (1/R1 + 1/R2 +
1/R3 …..) ^-1
- Electron flow vs conventional flow
 o Electron flow is when electrical charges flow from negative battery terminal and
is the real one
o Conventional flow is when elecrical charges flow from positive battery terminal
and is fake

Electrical terms
- Current
o How fast electric charge flows
o Measured in Amperes (A), 1 ampere = 1 coulomb, hence if current is 1A, there is
1 coulomb flowing through the circuit per second
 Represented as I
o Measured using ammeter, which is placed “backwards” in the circuit (positive
terminal of ammeter is connected facing positive terminal of battery)
- Potential difference
o The amount of energy needed to move 1 coulomb of energy from one place to
another
o Electrical charges flow from a point of higher potential to lower potential
 They can only flow if there is a potential difference
o Measured in volts (V)
o 1 volt = 1 Joule per 1 Coulomb (Coulomb of charge gives 1 Joule of energy)
o Measured using voltmeter, which is connected in a separate branch under/over
the component measured, and is also connected “backwards”
- Electromotive force (e.m.f.)
o Energy provided by battery to move 1 coulomb around circuit once
o Measured in volts (V)
o If emf of battery = 10V, each coulomb is supplied with 10V to go one round
around the circuit
o Measured using voltmeter, which is connected in a separate branch parallel to
the component measured, and is also connected “backwards”
- Resistors
o An electrical component that resists the flow of electrical charges when
connected in a circuit
o Resistance is a measure of difficulty of how hard it is for current to pass through
the component, and is the ratio of potential difference to the current flowing
through it (R = V/I)
o Measured in ohms
o Resistance is affected by type of material, cross-sectional surface area, and
length
 Increases with length, which is how variable resistors work
 Decreases with cross-sectional surface area
Effects of electricity
- Magnetic effect
o Current near compass deflects needle
o Production of electromagnets
 Increase number of coil per unit length to increase magnetic effect
 Put iron bar inside solenoid (coils) to increase magnetic effect
 Increase emf to increase magnetic effect
- Chemical effect
o Electrolysis, the chemical decomposition of compounds into base elements
 Electroplating
 Extraction of metals
 Use thing to be decomposed as anode (+)
 Use thing to be plated as cathode (-)
 Battery supplies electrons away from anode to cathode
 Cathode will have many bubbles
- Lighting effect
o Current causes filament in incandescent bulb to light up, making it glow
o Longer filament gives off more light
 Coils pack more length, and therefore light into the same space

Household electricity
- Power is the amount of electrical energy converted into other forms of energy per unit
time (P = E/t)
o SI unit is Watts (W); 1 watt means 1 joule of energy is being converted to other
forms of energy in 1 second
o 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) = 1kW (1000W) x 1h
- Electrical hazards
o Electrical fires are caused by a large current flowing through a circuit, causing the
wires to heat up and catch fire
 Can be caused by misuse or damaged wires/components, as well as
plugging in too many devices into the same socket
o Electrocution can be caused when a large current flow through a person’s body,
and can happen when a device has metal casing or metal parts on the outside
 Wire frays and connects to metal casing instead, causing it to become live
 Turn off devices/appliances before cleaning them
 Do not use these devices in wet conditions
 Do not touch exposed cables
 Do not insert items into electrical sockets
- Electrical safety features
 o Earth wire
 Provides a bare wire leading to the ground so current flows through it
instead of the person
 Can cause electrical fires because of low resistance which causes high
current (However, this can be prevented if a fuse is included, as the fuse
will blow if high current is detected and hence breaks the circuit)
o Double insulation
 Insulates both the wire and the interior of the metal casing from the
inside, hence even if the wire becomes loose, the metal casing will not
become live

 If a device has this symbol, it is double insulated

o Fuse
 Fuse conducts electricity and has a small part of the circuit flowing
through it, and because it is so thin, if a current is big enough, it will melt
and cause and open circuit where current cannot flow through,
protecting the device
 Must be placed on live wire as it has a p.d. of 240V, and if placed on
neutral wire the device will still become live as there is p.d. between live
wire and ground
o Circuit breaker
 Works the same as fuse but does not need replacement
 Can be used to turn on electrical supply to device again after it is fixed

Light
Electromagnetic waves
- It has both electrical and magnetic field components
- It is in the electromagnetic spectrum as visible light
o Gamma rays (Highest energy; shortest wavelength)
o X rays
o Ultraviolet
o Visible
o Infrared
o Microwave
o Radio
 - Light consists of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet
- Speed is 3.0 x 10^8 m/s

How light travels

- In a straight line, forming shadows when blocked

-
- When light falls on an opaque object, light is absorbed and reflected
- When light falls on a transparent object, light can be transmitted, reflected or absorbed
- We can only see an object if light is reflected off of it, so if it fully absorbs or transmits light, it
will be invisible

Types of mirrors
- Uses of plane mirrors
o Looking glass
o Placed under scale and pointer to get correct reading
o Periscope and kaleidoscope
o Solar cooker
o Formula for calculating number of images is [360 divided by (angle) - 1]
- Uses of concave mirrors
o Image is enlarged and field of vision is narrow
o Dentist mirror
o Cosmetic mirror
o Earscope
- Uses of convex mirrors
o Image is smaller than object but field of vision is wider
o Security mirror
o Traffic mirror

Reflection
- Bouncing of light energy off a surface
 -
- Angle of incidence = Angle of reflection
- Incident ray, reflected ray and normal are all coplanar (lie on same plane)
- Laws of reflection are followed whether the surface is smooth or not
 D: Distance remains the same in image
 S: Size remains the same in image
 L: Laterally inverted
 U: Upright (not vertically inverted)
 V: Virtual (cannot be captured on screen)

Refraction
- Refraction is the bending of light when light travels from one medium to another of
different optical density, due to change in the speed of light
o (Optional) Optical density is the measure of the tendency of the atoms of a
material the absorbed energy of an electromagnetic wave before re-emitting it
- “n” is the symbol for refractive index, but is not the unit (there is no unit)
o (Optional) Other formulae involving refractive index include:
 n = c/v (c = velocity of light in vacuum; v = velocity of light in the medium)
calculates how much light is slowed down in a medium
 n = real depth/apparent depth

-
o FAST – faster away, slower towards
 If from less dense to denser, it moves towards the normal
 If from denser to less dense, it moves away from the normal
 - How to calculate refractive index
o sin i divided by sin r
 i = angle of incidence, r – angle of reflection

Dispersion
- Dispersion is the separation of white light into its component colours when light travels
through a lens or prism
- Short wavelengths (indigo, violet) bend the most; long wavelengths (red, orange) bend
the least
o This is because all colour wavelengths have to exit the medium at the same time,
but because the ones with longer wavelengths inherently travel faster than the
ones with shorter wavelengths, the shorter wavelengths have to bend if they
want to reach the exit at the same time

Colours

-
- Colours we perceive are the colour wavelengths being reflected into our eyes
- For example, a blue ball under red light will not reflected blue light and instead just absorbs the
red light, hence appearing black

Atoms and molecules

Atom structure (subatomic particles)
- Atoms of different elements have varying structures (number of subatomic particles)
- Protons (positive charge)
o Only found in nucleus
o Only reliable way to determine which element an atom is; only oxygen atoms
have 8 protons
- Electrons (negative charge)
o Found in electron shells
 1st electron shell (closest to nucleus) can only fit 2 electrons
 2nd electron shell can only fit 8 electrons
 3rd electron shell can only fit 8 electrons
 o Not reliable way to see which element an atom is; as unstable atoms always
change the number of electrons they have, either by ionic or covalent bonding
- Neutrons (no charge)
o Only found in nucleus
o Not a reliable way to see which element an atom is; can form isotopes
 Isotopes have different physical properties, but the same chemical
properties
 Number of neutrons are different
- Positive charges and negative charges have an EFOA (Electrostatic force of attraction),
resulting in the electrons being attracted the the nucleus, where the protons are
- Vacuum is present between the nucleus and the electron shells

Nuclear notation

-
- Mass number is neutron number + proton number
- Number of electrons is the same as number of protons so that the whole atom has no charge
- E.C.F. (electronic configuration) shows how many electrons there are in each shell
o For example, magnesium has 12 electrons, so its E.C.F. would look like 2, 8, 2
- Dot and cross diagram
 o
o Letter representing element should not have an extra circle around it
o Order of electrons drawn on a shell is: top, bottom, left, right

Periodicity

-
- For alkali metals, they got more reactive and b.p. and m.p. decrease as you go down because
the EFOA decreases between the nucleus and electrons, making it easier for electrons to leave
the atom
 - For halogens, they got more reactive and b.p. and m.p. increase as you go up because the EFOA
decreases between nucleus and electrons, making it easier for electrons to leave the atom

Bonding
- Atoms cannot exist by themselves as they are unstable and reactive (except noble
gases), so they chemically combine to obtain a FFVES (fully filled valence electron shell),
which lets them be stable
- This can be done by
o Gaining electrons to form anion- (Ionic bonding)
o Losing electrons to form cation+ (Ionic bonding)
o When non metals become ions, the suffix must be “ide”
 - chlorine becomes chloride ion
o Sharing electrons to form molecule (Covalent bonding)

Ionic bonding
- Involves non-metal atoms bonding with metal atoms or vice versa (cation+ is written
first before anion-)
o Therefore, it can only be done with atoms with opposite charges
o If an atom has 7 electrons in valence shell, getting 1 more is easier than losing 7
 Likewise, if an atom has 1 electron in valence shell, losing 1 is easier than
getting 7
- Whether atoms have positive or negative charges or not is shown in the periodic table
above, the ones not labelled are transition metals and the question will need to give you
their charges
- Polyatomic ions to memorise
o CO3 (2-) = carbonate
o HCO3 (-) = bicarbonate
o SO3 (2-) = sulfite
o SO4 (2-) = sulfate
o HSO4 (-) = bisulfate
o NO3 (-) = nitrate
o OH (-) = hydroxide
o NH4 (+) = ammonium
o NH3 (+) = ammonia
o PO4 (3-) = phosphate
- Things ending in “ide” are monoatomic, while those ending in “ite” or “ate” have more
than one; though “ate” usually has one more of the other atom than “ite”
 - Ionic compounds must end in a neutral state, so in the case of magnesium fluoride,
where magnesium has 2 positive charges while fluorine has only 1 negative charge, 2
fluorine atoms are required to bond to the magnesium atom, hence forming MgF2
- Physical properties
o Held together with SEFOA (strong electrostatic force of attraction, which is
between atoms), not to be confused with EFOA (between subatomic particles),
giving it a high boiling and melting point as a large amount of energy is required
to overcome it
o Has a GILS (Giant ionic lattice structure)


 This gives it a high boiling and melting point as a large amount of energy
is required to overcome the SEFOA (strong electrostatic forces of
attraction), not to be confused with EFOA, which is between subatomic
particles, between oppositely charged ions
o Can only be dissolved in water, and not organic (carbon-based) solvents like oil
and benzene, as the atoms are attracted to water molecules (water molecules
are slightly polar), weakening SEFOA and pulling them away from the GILS,
forming an aqueous solution
 Aqueous (aq) is not the same as liquid because aqueous requires water,
while liquid does not
o Conducts electricity in liquid or aqueous state only because ions are mobile in
these states, and in solid state ions are held tightly in place, hence solid ionic
compounds cannot conduct electricity
o Strong as GILS holds ions together
o Brittle because when a force is applied to it, the ions of the same charge come
close to each other, causing electrostatic repulsion to occur

Covalent bonding
- Sharing of valence electrons between non-metal atoms to obtain a FFVES (electrostatic
attraction between nuclei and shared valence electrons)
- Bond types
o Single bond (1 electron from each atom); total 2 shared electrons
o Double bond (2 electrons from each atom); total 4 shared electrons
o Triple bond (3 electrons from each atom); total 6 shared electrons
o Triple bond is not the same as 3 single bonds
o Number of valence electrons needed is the same as the number of electrons
needed to be shared from each atom
- Dot and cross

o
o Use up, down, left, right priority to draw
- Naming scheme
o Prefixes are used to show how many of the atom there are
 Mono – 1
 Di – 2
 Tri – 3
 Tetra – 4
 Penta – 5
 Hexa – 6
o Most negatively charged atom (if it were to undergo ionic bonding) is at the back, with
its suffix changed to “ide”
 o
- Things to memorise
o NH3 – ammonia
o CH4 – methane
o HNO3 – nitric acid
o H2SO4 – sulfuric acid
- Physical properties
o SMS (simple molecular structures)
 Very little energy required to overcome WIMFOA (weak intermolecular forces of
attraction), not to be confused with the strong covalent bonds which are
between atoms in the molecule, which give it a low boiling and melting point
o Can only be dissolved in natural (carbon based) solvents such as oil and benzene, cannot
be dissolved in water
o Do not conduct electricity no matter which state they are in
 This is because they are molecules, having no charge

Chemical changes
Physical changes VS Chemical changes
- Physical changes
o No new substances formed
o Reversible
o e.g., change in state of matter
- Chemical changes
o New substances formed
o Irreversible/difficult to reverse
o e.g., gains new properties
- Similarities
o May involve heat gained or released
 o May involve new solid formed or gas released
o May involve colour change

Energy changes
- Energy is absorbed from the surroundings to the reactants to break the bonds; but is
released once new bonds are formed
- Exothermic reactions
o Release more energy to surroundings than was absorbed
o Examples
 Burning
 Rusting
 Digestion
 Respiration
- Endothermic reactions
o Absorb more energy from surroundings than released
 Cooking
 Photosynthesis
 Electrolysis
 Process where substances are decomposed by electrolytes
flowing through it, functioning because of the presence of ions
 Another use for this is electroplating, where an object is coated
with metal
 Find out more in electricity notes
 Thermal decomposition
 Process where substances are broken down into simpler
substances by the effect of heat

Types of chemical reactions

- Acids are substances that produce hydrogen ions (H+) in water, and they are sour (if
hydrogen is present, it is acidic)
- Alkalis are substances that produce hydroxide ions (OH-) in water, and they are bitter (if
hydroxide/ammonia is present, it is an alkali)
- Acid + Alkali
o Salt + water (salt is not literal salt, it is when the hydrogen atom in the acid is
replaced by metal atom from the alkali)
o e.g. hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide = sodium chloride + water
 o
- Acid + metal
o Salt + hydrogen (naming scheme is the same as acid + alkali, but second product is
hydrogen instead of water)
 Observation 1: effervescence observed (hydrogen)
 Observation 2: colourless, odourless gas produced (hydrogen)
 Observation 3: metal shrinks
o Test for hydrogen produced: The gas produced extinguishes a lighted splint with a pop
sound (TGPEALSWAPS)
 This is because hydrogen is highly flammable, exploding when ignited, which
makes the pop sound
- Acid + carbonate
o Salt + carbon dioxide + water (naming scheme is the same as acid + alkali, but there is an
additional product: carbon dioxide)
 Observation 1: effervescence observed (carbon dioxide)
 Observation 2: colourless, odourless gas produced (carbon dioxide)
 Observation 3: amount of carbonate decreases
 Test for carbon dioxide: The gas produced forms a white precipitate (calcium
hydroxide) in limewater (TGFAWPIL)
 Do not describe white precipitate as chalky, cloudy or milky

Chemical changes
- A chemical equation is a statement describing a chemical reaction expressed in chemical
symbols
o Balanced chemical equations also tell us the quantities of the reactants involved

-
o Unbalanced equations may look like this, hence, to make it balanced, the number of
atoms of each element on both sides must be the same
o Balanced chemical equations must also have state symbols (s), (l), (g) or (aq)