Home > Subjects > Physics > Level 1 > 1.3 Wave and light behaviour > Subject content
- Subject: Physics
- AS: AS90182
- Level: 1
- Credits: 5
- External
Physics 1.3 Demonstrate understanding of wave and light behaviour
Subject content
Make sure you have up-to-date course notes. Use them, and if you haven't got them see your teacher. The topics you may be tested on are:
- Phenomena, concepts, and principles about waves and light:
- Waves:
- longitudinal waves, check out this interactive applet showing a standing longitudinal wave
- transverse waves
- period
- wavelength
- frequency
- amplitude
- speed.
- Light:
- rectilinear propagation of light
- reflection at a plane surface, including virtual images, lateral inversion
- refraction at a straight boundary between two media, including:
- refraction through triangular prisms and rectangular blocks
- virtual images
- dispersion of white light through a triangular prism
- total internal reflection
- critical angle
- speed of light in different media, refractive index
- view the interactive applet that demonstrates reflection and refraction of waves (called the Huygens principle).
- Relationships:
- a formula can express the components of a relationship in a simplified way. For example:
- a relationship exists between speed, distance, and time
- a relationship exists between speed, distance, and time
. Check out the wave equation
- a relationship exists between speed, distance, and time
- a relationship exists between frequency and time
- a relationship exists between the refractive indexes and the speed of light of two substances
- a formula can express the components of a relationship in a simplified way. For example:
- You solve a problem by selecting the correct formula to use, and solve a missing component by rearranging the formula.
- Waves:
