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.
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What this dot point is asking
Edexcel statements 4.1 to 4.4 want you to recall that waves transfer energy and information without transferring matter, to describe the evidence for this from water and sound waves, and to define and use the terms frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period, wave velocity and wavefront.
What a wave transfers
This is the defining idea of a wave. A floating duck bobs up and down as ripples pass but is not swept across the pond; a sound wave carries energy to your ear but the air does not blow from the source to you. The disturbance and its energy travel forward, while the medium itself only oscillates in place. This is the evidence Edexcel asks for from water and sound waves.
The key wave terms
Precision matters in the definitions. Amplitude is measured from the rest position to a crest (or trough), not from crest to trough, which would be twice the amplitude. Wavelength must be measured between corresponding points, and a higher frequency means more waves per second and a shorter period.
Period and frequency
Period and frequency are reciprocals: the more waves pass each second (higher frequency), the less time each one takes (shorter period). This relationship is examined as a quick calculation and underpins the wave-speed work in the next dot point.
How Edexcel examines this
This dot point is examined on both tiers, usually as definition questions (worth one mark each for amplitude, wavelength, frequency and period) and as a short explanation that a wave transfers energy without transferring matter, supported by the water-wave or sound-wave evidence. Mark schemes are strict on wording, so learn the definitions exactly: amplitude is measured from the rest position, wavelength is between corresponding points on adjacent waves, and frequency is the number of waves per second in hertz. The "duck on a pond" or "cork on water" question is a classic: the full-mark answer notes that the object bobs in place while the wave moves on, proving the matter is not transferred. Diagram questions ask you to label the amplitude and wavelength on a drawn wave, where the common error is to mark the amplitude as the full crest-to-trough height. The period-frequency reciprocal, , is examined as a quick calculation and is essential for the wave-speed equation that follows.
Try this
Q1. State what a wave transfers from one place to another. [1 mark]
- Cue. Energy (and information), without transferring matter.
Q2. A wave has a period of . Calculate its frequency. [2 marks]
- Cue. .
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20203 marksDefine the amplitude, the wavelength and the frequency of a wave.Show worked answer →
Amplitude is the maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its rest (undisturbed) position (1 mark). Wavelength is the distance between two corresponding points on adjacent waves, for example crest to crest or trough to trough (1 mark). Frequency is the number of waves passing a point each second, measured in hertz (1 mark). Markers reward precise definitions; in particular, amplitude must be measured from the rest position (not crest to trough), and wavelength must be between corresponding points.
Edexcel 20223 marksA duck floats on water as ripples pass beneath it. Explain how this shows that a wave transfers energy without transferring matter.Show worked answer →
As the ripples pass, the duck bobs up and down on the spot but does not move along with the wave in the direction the wave travels (1 mark). This shows that the water itself is not carried along by the wave; only the disturbance (and the energy it carries) moves forward (1 mark). The energy is transferred from one place to another while the water particles (and the duck) only oscillate about a fixed position, so matter is not transferred (1 mark). Markers reward observing that the duck stays in place while the wave moves, and linking this to energy transfer without matter transfer.
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Physics (1PH0) specification — Pearson (2016)