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POGIL: The Electromagnetic Spectrum We have learned that light is a wave, but what exactly is waving? Light is an electromagnetic wave; it is called this because it consists of electric and magnetic force fields. If youve ever played with magnets or charged objects, you can feel the magnetic or electric force field when the magnets or charges attract or repel. In this POGIL we will look at the classes of electromagnetic waves that comprise the electromagnetic spectrum. Electromagnetic Waves The following diagram shows a representation of an electromagnetic wave.

The arrows labeled electric field are electric force fields; they are what push like charges apart and pull unlike charges together. The arrows labeled magnetic field are magnetic force fields; they are what push like magnetic poles apart and pull unlike magnetic poles together. 1. In a water wave, water vibrates to produce a wave pattern. In waves on a rope, the parts of the rope vibrate to produce the wave pattern. What is vibrating in an electromagnetic wave?

2. Are electromagnetic waves a type of transverse wave or a type of longitudinal wave? Explain your answer.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum Recall that light waves are electromagnetic waves that can have different frequencies, wavelengths, and energies. These properties of light waves determine the color that we perceive. The color spectrum (ROYGBIV) is simply the order of color from lowest frequency to highest frequency. But there are classes of electromagnetic waves above and below these frequencies that our eyes do not detect. There are seven different classes of electromagnetic waves: radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. Each class can be imagined with the same representation shown in the diagram above. However, each class has a different range of frequencies, wavelengths, and energies. All electromagnetic waves have the same speed of 300,000,000 m/s (equal to approximately 186,000 miles per second). In scientific notation, this is written as 3108 m/s (a 3 followed by eight zeros). The range of frequencies for each class is shown in the chart below. Note that the frequencies are shown on a logarithmic scale, meaning that each increment represents another factor of 10 instead of an addition of 10 Hz.

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1 Hz

102 Hz

104 Hz

106 Hz

108 Hz

1010 Hz 1012 Hz 1014 Hz 1016 Hz 1018 Hz 1020 Hz 1022 Hz

radio waves

microwaves

infrared

ultraviolet

X-rays

gamma rays

visible light AM radio FM radio, TV

3. List the classes of electromagnetic waves in order from LOWEST frequency to HIGHEST frequency.

4. List the classes of electromagnetic waves in order from LOWEST speed to HIGHEST speed.

5. Recall that for any wave, . With this in mind, list the classes of electromagnetic waves in order from SHORTEST wavelength to LONGEST wavelength.

6. The energy of an electromagnetic wave is directly proportional to its frequency. List the seven classes of electromagnetic waves in order from LOWEST energy to HIGHEST energy.

7. In what sense is the electromagnetic spectrum just a continuation of the color spectrum?

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8. How are infrared, X-rays, gamma rays, radio waves, ultraviolet, and microwaves: (a) different from light?

(b) the same as light?

Problems 9. A radio station broadcasts its signal with electromagnetic waves at a frequency of 108 Hz. (a) Is this an AM or FM station?

(b) What is the wavelength of the electromagnetic waves sent out by the station?

10. An electromagnetic wave has a frequency of 51014 Hz. (a) To what class of the electromagnetic spectrum does this wave belong?

(b) What is its wavelength?

11. The distance between the Earth and Sun is approximately 150 billion (1.51011) meters. (a) How much time in seconds does it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth?

(b) How much time does it take an X-ray to travel from the Sun to the Earth?