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SingaporePhysics

Oscillations and Waves

7 dot points across 7 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do damping and an external driving force change an oscillation, and why does resonance occur?

Describe free, damped and forced oscillations, distinguish light, critical and heavy damping, and explain resonance and its dependence on damping
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on damping and resonance. Free versus forced oscillations, light, critical and heavy damping, and how resonance occurs when the driving frequency matches the natural frequency.
8 min answer →

How does a wave spread out when it passes through an aperture, and what determines the amount of spreading?

Describe diffraction of waves at a single aperture, relate the degree of spreading to the ratio of wavelength to aperture width, and recognise the single-slit pattern
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on diffraction. The spreading of waves at an aperture, the dependence on the wavelength-to-width ratio, the single-slit intensity pattern, and the link to resolution.
7 min answer →

How does energy continually interchange between kinetic and potential forms during a simple harmonic oscillation?

Describe the interchange of kinetic and potential energy in simple harmonic motion, and show that total energy is constant and proportional to the square of the amplitude
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on energy in SHM. The kinetic and potential energy expressions, their interchange through the cycle, and why the total energy is constant and proportional to amplitude squared.
8 min answer →

How does a progressive wave transfer energy through a medium, and what do its frequency, wavelength and speed describe?

Define the properties of a progressive wave, apply the wave equation, distinguish transverse from longitudinal waves, and explain intensity, phase and polarisation
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on progressive waves. Amplitude, wavelength, frequency, period and speed, the wave equation, transverse versus longitudinal waves, intensity, phase difference and polarisation.
9 min answer →

What defines simple harmonic motion, and how do displacement, velocity and acceleration vary throughout an oscillation?

Define simple harmonic motion by its defining equation, and describe the variation of displacement, velocity and acceleration with time and with displacement
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on simple harmonic motion. The defining condition a = -omega^2 x, the displacement, velocity and acceleration relations, and the period of a mass-spring and pendulum system.
9 min answer →

How do two waves travelling in opposite directions form a stationary wave with fixed nodes and antinodes?

Explain the formation of stationary waves by superposition, identify nodes and antinodes, and apply the conditions for stationary waves on strings and in air columns
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on stationary waves. Their formation by superposition of two opposite progressive waves, nodes and antinodes, and the harmonic conditions on strings and in open and closed air columns.
8 min answer →

How does the superposition of coherent waves produce predictable patterns of constructive and destructive interference?

State the principle of superposition, explain coherence and path difference, and apply them to two-source interference and the diffraction grating
A focused answer to the H2 Physics learning outcome on superposition and interference. The superposition principle, coherence, path difference conditions for maxima and minima, the double-slit fringe spacing, and the diffraction grating equation.
9 min answer →