Waves and Particle Nature of Light

Wave PropertiesSign up

understand the terms amplitude, frequency, period, speed and wavelength · be able to use the wave equation v = f lambda · be able to describe longitudinal waves in terms of pressure variation and the displacement of molecules · be able to describe transverse waves · be able to draw and interpret graphs representing transverse and longitudinal waves including standing/stationary waves · CORE PRACTICAL 4: Determine the speed of sound in air using a 2-beam oscilloscope, signal generator, speaker and microphone

Superposition and Standing WavesSign up

know and understand what is meant by wavefront, coherence, path difference, superposition, interference and phase · be able to use the relationship between phase difference and path difference · know what is meant by a standing/stationary wave and understand how such a wave is formed, know how to identify nodes and antinodes · be able to use the equation for the speed of a transverse wave on a string v = sqrt(T/mu) · CORE PRACTICAL 5: Investigate the effects of length, tension and mass per unit length on the frequency of a vibrating string or wire · be able to use the equation for the intensity of radiation I = P/A

Refraction, Polarisation and DiffractionSign up

know and understand that at the interface between medium 1 and medium 2, n1 sin theta1 = n2 sin theta2 where refractive index is n = c/v · be able to calculate critical angle using sin C = 1/n · be able to predict whether total internal reflection will occur at an interface · understand how to measure the refractive index of a solid material · understand what is meant by plane polarisation · understand what is meant by diffraction and use Huygens' construction to explain what happens to a wave when it meets a slit or an obstacle · be able to use n lambda = d sin theta for a diffraction grating · CORE PRACTICAL 6: Determine the wavelength of light from a laser or other light source using a diffraction grating

Wave-Particle Duality and the Photon ModelSign up

understand how diffraction experiments provide evidence for the wave nature of electrons · be able to use the de Broglie equation lambda = h/p · understand that waves can be transmitted and reflected at an interface between media · understand how a pulse-echo technique can provide information about the position of an object and how the amount of information obtained may be limited by the wavelength of the radiation or by the duration of pulses · understand how the behaviour of electromagnetic radiation can be described in terms of a wave model and a photon model, and how these models developed over time · be able to use the equation E = hf, that relates the photon energy to the wave frequency · understand that the absorption of a photon can result in the emission of a photoelectron · understand the terms 'threshold frequency' and 'work function' and be able to use the equation hf = phi + 1/2 m v_max^2 · be able to use the electronvolt (eV) to express small energies · understand how the photoelectric effect provides evidence for the particle nature of electromagnetic radiation · understand atomic line spectra in terms of transitions between discrete energy levels and understand how to calculate the frequency of radiation that could be emitted or absorbed in a transition between energy levels.