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Topic 4: Waves

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

How do you measure the speed of sound in air and of ripples on water?

Measuring wave speed: the core practical for measuring the speed, frequency and wavelength of waves in a solid and a fluid, and methods for the speed of sound and water ripples.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.7 and the wave core practical, covering how to measure the speed of sound in air and the speed of ripples on water, measuring frequency and wavelength in a solid and a fluid, and the main sources of error.
9 min answer →

What happens to a wave at the boundary between two materials?

Reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption: what happens to waves at a boundary, why refraction changes the direction and speed of a wave, and the wavefront explanation.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.9 and 4.10, covering what happens to waves at a boundary between materials (reflection, refraction, transmission and absorption), why refraction changes a wave's direction and speed, and the wavefront explanation of refraction.
9 min answer →

How do you calculate wave speed from frequency and wavelength?

The wave speed equation: wave speed as frequency times wavelength, the distance-over-time form, and rearranging to find frequency or wavelength.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.6, covering the two forms of the wave speed equation, wave speed as frequency times wavelength and as distance over time, rearranging to find frequency or wavelength, and using consistent units, with worked calculations.
9 min answer →

What is the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves?

Transverse and longitudinal waves: the difference in the direction of oscillation, examples of each, and the structure of longitudinal waves as compressions and rarefactions.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.5, covering the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves, the direction of oscillation relative to energy transfer, examples including sound, electromagnetic, seismic and water waves, and the compressions and rarefactions in a longitudinal wave.
8 min answer →

What are the key properties of a wave, and what does a wave transfer?

Wave properties: amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period and wavefront, and the idea that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.1 to 4.4, covering the key wave terms amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period, wave velocity and wavefront, the idea that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter, and the evidence for this from water and sound waves.
9 min answer →