Task 1
Tuning forks
Every time you strike a tuning fork, you're setting off a tiny, invisible hurricane, moving back and
forth at a great speeds, the two prongs of the fork, known as "tines," smash against air molecules,
which kick off a chain of impacts that echo through the air. Hitting a tuning fork, causes its tines to
vibrate back and forth several hundred times per second. The vibrations are not visible sometimes
because they are so fast. This is proved, simply by dipping a humming tuning fork into a cup of water,
the water will jump, showing that sound is caused by vibrations.
Task 2
Reflection: when light hits off an object, If the surface is e.g. glass, water or shiny metal, the light will
reflect at the same angle as it hit the surface.
Diffraction: Occurs when a wave passes through a gap that is the same size or smaller than the
wavelength of the wave. When this occurs, the wave becomes curved as it passes through the gap.
Aim: To investigate if light changes direction when it enters a different medium.
Method:
Place glass block on page and draw around it
Shine light ray at an angle to the surface of the block
Draw the path the ray takes through the air
Remove block and draw path the ray takes through the block
Mark two normal where the light enters and leaves the block
Measure angle of incidence and refraction
Equipment:
Ruler
Protractor
Paper
Pencil
Block
Refraction
Refraction occurs when light enters a different medium (something it is travelling through) it changes
its direction. The direction it travels changes because the speed the light is travelling at changes.
Task 3
Snell's law is a formula that describes relationship between angles of incidence and refraction, when
referring to light or waves that pass through a boundary between two, such as water, glass, or air.
when the light entered it went from less dense to denser, this made light ravel towards the normal,
however, when it travelled back out it went from dense to less dense which made it move away from
the normal.
Waves can travel through medium, different mediums have different densities, such as glass, water,
air, vaccume; light will travel fastest through a vaccume because there are no particles and will travel
the slowest through glass because it is denser. The denser the object the slower light will travel.
1
Tuning forks
Every time you strike a tuning fork, you're setting off a tiny, invisible hurricane, moving back and
forth at a great speeds, the two prongs of the fork, known as "tines," smash against air molecules,
which kick off a chain of impacts that echo through the air. Hitting a tuning fork, causes its tines to
vibrate back and forth several hundred times per second. The vibrations are not visible sometimes
because they are so fast. This is proved, simply by dipping a humming tuning fork into a cup of water,
the water will jump, showing that sound is caused by vibrations.
Task 2
Reflection: when light hits off an object, If the surface is e.g. glass, water or shiny metal, the light will
reflect at the same angle as it hit the surface.
Diffraction: Occurs when a wave passes through a gap that is the same size or smaller than the
wavelength of the wave. When this occurs, the wave becomes curved as it passes through the gap.
Aim: To investigate if light changes direction when it enters a different medium.
Method:
Place glass block on page and draw around it
Shine light ray at an angle to the surface of the block
Draw the path the ray takes through the air
Remove block and draw path the ray takes through the block
Mark two normal where the light enters and leaves the block
Measure angle of incidence and refraction
Equipment:
Ruler
Protractor
Paper
Pencil
Block
Refraction
Refraction occurs when light enters a different medium (something it is travelling through) it changes
its direction. The direction it travels changes because the speed the light is travelling at changes.
Task 3
Snell's law is a formula that describes relationship between angles of incidence and refraction, when
referring to light or waves that pass through a boundary between two, such as water, glass, or air.
when the light entered it went from less dense to denser, this made light ravel towards the normal,
however, when it travelled back out it went from dense to less dense which made it move away from
the normal.
Waves can travel through medium, different mediums have different densities, such as glass, water,
air, vaccume; light will travel fastest through a vaccume because there are no particles and will travel
the slowest through glass because it is denser. The denser the object the slower light will travel.
1
