Real-World Wave Applications
Why does a black car heat up more in sunlight than a white car, using absorption principles?
Black surfaces absorb more wavelengths of light
A pencil looks bent in water. Why does your brain misinterpret its true position?
Light refracts when changing mediums, bending the path before it reaches your eye
What does amplitude measure in sound waves?
Loudness (energy of the sound)
What type of signal uses continuous waves: analog or digital?
Analog
Two houses are built side-by-side. One has double-pane glass windows, the other single-pane. Explain why the double-pane house has less outside noise entering.
Two layers of glass and air create more boundaries where sound waves reflect
Why can’t you hear the Sun even though it produces massive explosions, but you can see it clearly from Earth?
Sound needs a medium to travel, and space has none
A wave’s wavelength increases. How does that change the pitch of the sound?
Longer wavelength = lower pitch
What two states do digital signals use to encode information?
0 and 1
A diver underwater sees objects clearly but hears sounds distorted or delayed. Explain how wave behavior in different mediums causes this.
Light refracts predictably underwater due to consistent density, but sound travels faster in water and bends due to temperature and pressure changes, causing distortion.
Explain why sound becomes quieter as you move away from a speaker
the energy of the sound wave spreads out over a larger area as it travels, causing its amplitude to decrease
Explain why a louder sound does not always mean a higher pitch.
Loudness is amplitude; pitch is determined by wavelength/frequency, so they change independently.
Why are digital signals less affected by interference than analog signals?
Digital signals use clear, discrete states (0 or 1), so small distortions usually don’t change the information.
A person standing far away sees a lightning strike before hearing thunder. Explain why, referencing wave properties.
Light travels through air at far higher speed and does not require a medium change, while sound travels much slower and must compress air molecules before reaching the observer.
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How does noise typically change an analog signal?
Noise alters the shape of the analog wave, which can change the information carried by the signal.