Whole Topic Checklist

•  Describe waves as either transverse or longitudinal, defining these waves in terms of the direction of their oscillation and energy transfer and giving examples of each
•  Define waves as transfers of energy from one place to another, carrying information
•  Define amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period and wave speed and Identify them where appropriate on diagrams
•  State examples of methods of measuring wave speeds in different media and Identify the suitability of apparatus of measuring frequency and wavelength
•  Calculate wave speed, frequency or wavelength by applying, but not recalling, the equation: [ v = f λ] and calculate wave period by recalling and applying the equation: [ T = 1/f ]
•  Identify amplitude and wavelength from given diagrams
•  Describe a method to measure the speed of sound waves in air
•  Describe a method to measure the speed of ripples on a water surface
•  PHY ONLY: Demonstrate how changes in velocity, frequency and wavelength are inter-related in the transmission of sound waves from one medium to another
•  Required practical 8: make observations to identify the suitability of apparatus to measure the frequency, wavelength and speed of waves in a ripple tank and waves in a solid
•  PHY ONLY: Discuss the importance of understanding both mechanical and electromagnetic waves by giving examples, such as designing comfortable and safe structures and technologies
•  PHY ONLY: Describe a wave's ability to be reflected, absorbed or transmitted at the boundary between two different materials
•  PHY ONLY: Draw the reflection of a wave at a surface by constructing ray diagrams
•  Required practical 9 (physics only): investigate the reflection of light by different types of surface and the refraction of light by different substances.
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Describe, with examples, processes which convert wave disturbances between sound waves and vibrations in solids
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Explain why such processes only work over a limited frequency range and the relevance of this to the range of human hearing, which is from 20 Hz to 20 kHz
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Define ultrasound waves and explain how these are used to form images of internal structures in both medical and industrial imaging
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Compare the two types of seismic wave produced by earthquakes with reference to the media they can travel in and the evidence they provide of the structure of the Earth
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Describe how echo sounding using high frequency sound waves is used to detect objects in deep water and measure water depth
•  Describe what electromagnetic waves are and explain how they are grouped
•  List the groups of electromagnetic waves in order of wavelength
•  Explain that because our eyes only detect a limited range of electromagnetic waves, they can only detect visible light
•  HT ONLY:  Explain how different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation are reflected, refracted, absorbed or transmitted differently by different substances and types of surface
•  Illustrate the refraction of a wave at the boundary between two different media by constructing ray diagrams
•  HT ONLY: Describe what refraction is due to and illustrate this using wave front diagrams
•  Required practical activity 10: investigate how the amount of infrared radiation absorbed or radiated by a surface depends on the nature of that surface.
•  HT ONLY: Explain how radio waves can be produced by oscillations in electrical circuits, or absorbed by electrical circuits
•  Explain that changes in atoms and the nuclei of atoms can result in electromagnetic waves being generated or absorbed over a wide frequency range
•  State examples of the dangers of each group of electromagnetic radiation and discuss the effects of radiation as depending on the type of radiation and the size of the dose
•  State examples of the uses of each group of electromagnetic radiation, explaining why each type of electromagnetic wave is suitable for its applications
•  PHY ONLY: State that a lens forms an image by refracting light and that the distance from the lens to the principal focus is called the focal length
•  PHY ONLY: Explain that images produced by a convex lens can be either real or virtual, but those produced by a concave lens are always virtual
•  PHY ONLY: Construct ray diagrams for both convex and concave lenses
•  PHY ONLY: Calculate magnification as a ratio with no units by applying, but not recalling, the formula: [ magnification = image height / object height ]
•  PHY ONLY: Explain how the colour of an object is related to the differential absorption, transmission and reflection of different wavelengths of light by the object
•  PHY ONLY: Describe the effect of viewing objects through filters or the effect on light of passing through filters and the difference between transparency and translucency
•  PHY ONLY: Explain why an opaque object has a particular colour, with reference to the wavelengths emitted
•  PHY ONLY: State that all bodies, no matter what temperature, emit and absorb infrared radiation and that the hotter the body, the more infrared radiation it radiates in a given time
•  PHY ONLY: Describe a perfect black body as an object that absorbs all the radiation incident on it and explain why it is the best possible emitter
•  PHY ONLY: Explain why when the temperature is increased, the intensity of every wavelength of radiation emitted increases, but the intensity of the shorter wavelengths increases more rapidly
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Explain and apply the idea that the temperature of a body is related to the balance between incoming radiation absorbed and radiation emitted
•  PHY & HT ONLY: Describe how the temperature of the Earth as dependent on the rates of absorption and emission of radiation and draw and interpret diagrams that show this

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