This video models refraction using a vehicle travelling from a concrete surface to a grass surface and shows how the forward wheel slows and so the vehicle changes direction.

A diagram is then constructed to develop Snell’s law, i.e., the angle of incidence (from air) is proportional to the angle of...

This video explains how two waves passing through each other interact through the process of superposition.

The resultant interference of waves at phase differences of 0⁰ or 360⁰ is constructive, they are additive.  Whereas phase differences of 180⁰ produce destructive interference, i.e., they cancel each...

This video begins by showing a demonstration of total internal reflection (TIR) through a semi-circular glass block.

It develops an understanding of TIR by showing that as the angle of incidence (θ_i) increases so too does the angle of refraction (θ_r).  Eventually, as  θ_i is...

This video shows how interference from two sound wave sources can produce both constructive (louder sound) and destructive (softer sound) interference patterns.  A demonstration using microwaves reinforces this idea. Microwaves are generated and passed through a double slit.  The resultant interference of waves is...

The speed of a wave in a solid is investigated in this video. A signal generator and length of elastic are used to measure the frequency and wavelength of a wave, which allows wave speed to be calculated. 

A ripple tank is used in this video to calculate the speed of a water wave by measuring the distance and time. This is a GCSE Combined Science and Physics Required Practical.

A ripple tank is used in this video to calculate the speed of a water wave by measuring the frequency and wavelength. This is a GCSE Combined Science and Physics Required Practical.

These diagnostic questions and response activities (contained in the zip file) support students in being able to:

• Recognise that as a transverse wave travels forward, the medium through which it travels does not.
• Describe the movement of each ‘particle’ of a transverse wave as the wave moves...

This resource from Defence Dynamics looks at waves and the electromagnetic spectrum. The resources are split into two student activity sheets.

The ...

The We Are Aliens! teaching resources were produced to support the planetarium show made by NSC Creative. They have been produced by lead educators from the National Space Academy to use the context of space to teach physics, chemistry and biology in the curriculum. The resources contain practical activities,...

This physics extension module from the Salters’ Science course covers the action of sensors and amplifiers in electronic systems. Potential dividers are studied as a way of supplying different voltages. The action of light dependent resistors and thermistors in...

This Catalyst article investigates how polymer materials can be designed and printed with electrical properties that allow them to be used in wearable electronic devices. The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science...

The loose fragments of material on the Moon’s surface are called regolith. This regolith, a product of bombardment by meteorites, is the debris thrown out of the impact craters. By contrast, regolith on Earth (called ‘soil’ as it contains organic material) is a product of weathering. ‘Weathering’ describes all the...

This Catalyst article looks at sperm whales and their ways of communications. Sperm whales can dive deep into the ocean. They use sound waves to communicate in the dark and to detect their prey.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2016, Volume...