Course Description

Overview

This course is targeted at Singapore Cambridge GCE O level students, but is also relevant to IGCSE students and Singapore's Integrated program students.

If you've ever seen a rainbow before, you know that light can be split into different colours. But that's really just the beginning of it. The light that we know and see is just a small fraction of the vast electromagnetic spectrum comprising anything from radio waves to infrared rays to X rays and gamma rays.

Course Content

You will learn:

  • What the different types of electromagnetic waves are and their properties
  • Interesting uses of electromagnetic waves
  • Why some electromagnetic waves go through walls and others can't
  • Why your car gets so insanely hot when you leave it in the sun
  • Why you should not use gamma rays for pre-natal scanning
  • Other cool stuff! (Some of the videos in this course are marked as "explanation videos", which go into greater depth on the topics covered. We try to bring in out-of-syllabus concepts where possible to make things more interesting and give a more complete understanding of the topic)

A link to the full O level Physics syllabus can be found here

Course Prerequisites

You will need to know:

  • Some concepts from heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation) and waves (v=fλ) which will be touched on in some questions
  • How to watch videos on your computer

Math Arena

The instructor is from Math Arena.The instructor is absolutely passionate about teaching and you'll find the lessons engaging and ultimately rewarding.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Introduction

    • Subject Content Requirements
  • 2

    Properties of EM waves

    • Q1 In a vacuum, all electromagnetic waves have the same

    • Q2 Which group contains only transverse waves?

    • Q3 Which statement is correct?

    • Q4 What is transferred by electromagnetic waves?

    • Q5 Which of the following is/are the properties of electromagnetic waves?

    • Q6 Which of the following is/are the properties of electromagnetic waves?

    • Q7 A copper plate is heated to 100°C. It cools by emitting

    • Q8 Which of the following statements is true about all electromagnetic waves?

    • Q9 X and Y are different wave motions. X travels much faster than Y but has a much shorter wavelength. What could X and Y be?

    • Q10 How do the wavelength, frequency and speed of ultraviolet light in vacuum compare with those of visible light?

    • Q11 Which of the statements below is true of electromagnetic waves?
  • 3

    The electromagnetic spectrum and the relative frequencies of the waves

    • Q12 Which one of the following graphs shows the correct relationship between the frequency f of an electromagnetic wave and its wavelength?

    • Q13 Radio waves, visible light and X-rays are all part of the electromagnetic spectrum. What is the correct order of increasing wavelength?

    • Q14 The diagram represents some of the main parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. What are the numbered parts?

    • Q15 Visible light has a higher frequency than

    • Q16 The electromagnetic waves with the highest frequencies are called

    • Q17 What could be used to detect the radiation just outside the red end of the visible spectrum?

    • Q18 Which of the following waves come after white light in the descending order of wavelengths?

    • Q19 Which colour comes immediately after green in the ascending order of frequency?

    • Q20 Which colour comes after green in the ascending order of wavelength?

    • Q21 The diagram shows the relationship between the energy of electromagnetic radiation and the wavelength of the waves. Which of the following has the highest energy?

    • Q21 explanation

    • Q22 The diagram shows the electromagnetic spectrum with the blue end and red end of the visible spectrum marked. Which section of the spectrum has waves which have a long wavelength and can be produced by electrical oscillations in a circuit?
  • 4

    Applications of EM waves

    • Q23 Which component of the electromagnetic spectrum is used for television transmission from satellites?

    • Q24 Microwaves are used to transmit television signals to and from a satellite. Which statement about microwaves is correct?

    • Q25 FM signals travel as changes in

    • Q26 What kind of waves do cellular telephones use to transmit and receive signals?

    • Q27 Which application uses microwaves?

    • Q28 Where are gamma-rays used?

    • Q29 Which of the following uses microwaves?

    • Q30 Which of the following uses infra-red radiation?

    • Q31 Which of the following uses visible light?

    • Q32 Which of the following uses ultraviolet rays?

    • Q33 Which of the following uses X-rays?

    • Q34 Which of the following uses gamma rays?

    • Q35 A type of electromagnetic radiation used to make satellite photographs of the weather in the daytime and at night is
  • 5

    Other interesting EM phenomena

    • Q36 Which of the following types of waves passes through fog and low cloud with the least difficulty?

    • Q37 Which of the following waves will best penetrate fog or low cloud?

    • Q38 On a sunny day, a lady parks her car with all its windows closed. When she returns, she is surprised at how unpleasantly hot it is inside. The reason for it is
  • 6

    Structured Questions

    • SQ1 Different types of waves and their uses

    • SQ2 Radio wave broadcast

    • SQ3 Analog vs digital signals

    • SQ4 Radar detection of airplane

    • SQ5 Satellite communication

    • SQ6 Wall penetration of radio waves