IB SL Physics 2025-32 - Waves & wave phenomena (C2 & C3 )

Waves & wave phenomena (C2 & C3 )

What are the similarities and differences between different types of waves?

What effect does a change in the frequency of oscillation or medium through which the wave is travelling have on the wavelength of a travelling wave?

How are observations of wave behaviours at a boundary between different media explained?

How is the behaviour of waves passing through apertures represented?

What happens when two waves meet at a point in space?

How can light be modelled as an electromagnetic wave?
What happens when waves overlap or coincide?
How can the length of a wave be determined using concepts from kinematics?
Why does the intensity of an electromagnetic wave decrease with distance according to the inverse square law?
How are electromagnetic waves able to travel through a vacuum?
How were X-rays discovered? (NOS)
Can the wave model inform the understanding of quantum mechanics? (NOS)
How are waves used in technology to improve society? (NOS)
What can an understanding of the results of Young’s double-slit experiment reveal about the nature of light?
What evidence is there that particles possess wave-like properties such as wavelength? (NOS)

transverse and longitudinal travelling waves
wavelength λ, frequency ƒ, time period T, and wave speed v applied to wave motion as given by v = ƒλ = λ/T
the nature of sound waves
the nature of electromagnetic waves
the differences between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves.
that waves travelling in two and three dimensions can be described through the concepts of wavefronts and rays
wave behaviour at boundaries in terms of reflection, refraction and transmission
wave diffraction around a body and through an aperture
wavefront-ray diagrams showing refraction and diffraction
Snell’s law, critical angle, and total internal reflection
superposition of waves and wave pulses
that double-source interference requires coherent sources
the condition for constructive interference as given by path difference = nλ
the condition for destructive interference as given by path difference = (n + 1/2 )λ
Young’s double-slit interference as given by s = λD/d where s is the separation of fringes, d is the separation of the slits, and D is the distance from the slits to the screen.