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Northern IrelandPhysics

Waves, light and the electromagnetic spectrum

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do converging and diverging lenses form images, and how does this relate to the eye?

Converging and diverging lenses, how they refract light to form images, the structure of the eye, and correcting short and long sight.
A CCEA GCSE Physics answer on converging and diverging lenses, how they refract light to form images, the basic structure of the eye, and how lenses correct short sight and long sight.
11 min answer →

How does light reflect off surfaces and bend when it changes speed?

Reflection and the law angle of incidence equals angle of reflection, refraction as a change of speed and direction at a boundary, and total internal reflection.
A CCEA GCSE Physics answer on the law of reflection, how light refracts when it changes speed at a boundary, the direction of bending, and total internal reflection with its uses in optical fibres.
11 min answer →

How are sound waves produced and heard, and how is ultrasound used?

Sound as a longitudinal wave, the link between pitch and frequency and loudness and amplitude, the human hearing range, and uses of ultrasound.
A CCEA GCSE Physics answer on sound as a longitudinal wave, how pitch depends on frequency and loudness on amplitude, the range of human hearing, and the uses of ultrasound in medicine and depth measurement.
10 min answer →

What makes up the electromagnetic spectrum, and what are the uses and hazards of each part?

The order of the electromagnetic spectrum, the common properties of EM waves, and the uses and hazards of each region.
A CCEA GCSE Physics answer on the order of the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to gamma rays, the shared properties of electromagnetic waves, and the main uses and hazards of each region.
11 min answer →

What are the properties of waves, and how are speed, frequency and wavelength related?

Transverse and longitudinal waves, the wave terms amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period, and the wave equation v = f lambda.
A CCEA GCSE Physics answer on transverse and longitudinal waves, the meaning of amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period, and how to use and rearrange the wave equation v = f lambda.
11 min answer →