Core Concepts (Target: 'S' Pass)

• Define: What is a wave?

• Identify: Is sound a mechanical or an electromagnetic wave?

• List: Name two examples of transverse waves.

• Name: What is the highest point of a wave called?

• Recall: Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum is visible to the human eye?

• State: What is the unit of frequency?

Understanding & Application (Target: 'C' Pass)

• Compare: Explain the main difference between how a transverse wave and a longitudinal wave transfer energy through a medium.

• Explain: Why can we see the sun but not hear it?

• Describe: What is the relationship between the frequency and wavelength of a wave?

• Apply: Name the characteristic of a sound wave that determines its pitch (how high or low it sounds).

• Relate: How do microwaves heat food in a microwave oven?

Analysis & Higher-Order Thinking (Target: 'B' / 'A' Pass)

• Calculate: A radio station broadcasts at a frequency of 100 MHz (100,000,000 Hz). Calculate the wavelength of these radio waves. (Speed of light/EM waves = 3 x 10⁸ m/s).

• Analyse: Describe how the properties of X-rays make them suitable for medical imaging of bones but less suitable for imaging soft tissues.

• Justify: A guitar string is plucked gently and then plucked much harder. Which property of the sound wave changes the most (pitch or loudness)? Which property of the wave itself (frequency or amplitude) is changing? Explain the link.

• Synthesize: Explain the journey of a sound from a radio station presenter's mouth to your ear, naming the types of waves and energy conversions involved at each key stage.

O/L Exam Tip: The formula v = fλ (speed = frequency × wavelength) is crucial. Practice rearranging it to solve for any of the three variables. Also, be sure you can list the EM spectrum regions in order.