Waves - Sound & Light
Waves - vibrations or disturbances in time that extends from one
place to another. There are two basic kinds of waves - longitudinal
and transverse. Students should know the parts and properties of each
of these kinds of waves. There are examples in the textbook as well
as in some of the website links below.
In this unit we will learn the basics of sound related to music. Students
should know the basics of operation of musical instruments, including how
to determine the pitch (frequency) produced for each type of instrument.
There are three basic types of instruments: string (including percussion
instruments which act like two dimensional strings), pipes that are open
on both ends and pipes that are closed on one end. Students should
be aware of factors that change the quality and pitch of the sound in each
of these types.
The second part of this unit deals with light. We will focus (pun
intended) on geometric optics of light, the effect of reflection and refraction.
The properties and construction of simple lenses and mirrors. Students
need to be able to predict locations of images using both scale drawings
and math equations.
Textbook chapters for this unit are 25, 26, 27, 29 and 30.
Sound
The Physics Classroom - One of the best physics sites on
the web!
The Physics Classroom - New Version
Physics Tutorial System
Physics of Sound Course Notes by David Worrall
Acoustics and Vibration Animations
Dan Russell
Make your computer play "pure" sounds and harmonics
Light
The Physics Classroom - New Version - Mirrors
The Physics Classroom - Mirrors
The Physics Classroom - Lenses
The Physics Zone
Instructions
for Ray Diagrams and more!
Sound is a Mechanical Wave
Sound Waves
Music and Sound Waves
Music and the Human Ear
The
Doppler Effect and Sonic Booms
The
Doppler Effect with a sound demonstration file
Light Waves and Color
Optics For Kids
Converging lens A great site to help with lens diagrams!
Diverging Lens The companion site - check it out!
Refraction
Mirrors - The Physics Classroom again - a great site!
Light Waves
Mirror Ray Diagrams
Lessons in Optics Make sure to check out the Ray Tracing!
Check
here for the history, math and physics of musical scales.