Electromagnetic Waves

Case Study Based Questions

Case Study 1
The spectrum of electromagnetic radiation contains a part known as microwaves.
These waves have frequency and energy smaller than visible light and wavelength
larger than it.

All food items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, cereals, etc., contain water as a
constituent. Now, what does it mean when we say that a certain object has become
warmer? When the temperature of a body rises, the energy of the random motion of
atoms and molecules increases and the molecules travel or vibrate or rotate with
higher energies. The frequency of rotation of water molecules is about 300 crore
hertz, which is 3 gigahertz (GHz). If water receives microwaves of this frequency, its
molecules absorb this radiation, which is equivalent to heating up water. These
molecules share this energy with neighbouring food molecules, heating up the food.

One should use porcelain vessels and not metal containers in a microwave oven
because of the danger of getting a shock from accumulated electric charges. Metals
may also melt from heating. The porcelain container remains unaffected and cool,
because its large molecules vibrate and rotate with much smaller frequencies, and
thus cannot absorb microwaves. Hence, they do not get heated up.

Thus, the basic principle of a microwave oven is to generate microwave radiation of

appropriate frequency in the working space of the oven where we keep food. This
way energy is not wasted in heating up the vessel. In the conventional heating
method, the vessel on the burner gets heated first, and then the food inside gets
heated because of transfer of energy from the vessel. In the microwave oven, on the
other hand, energy is directly delivered to water molecules which is shared by the
entire food.
Read the given passage carefully and give the answer of the following questions:

Q1. Which of the following electromagnetic radiations have the longest wavelength?

a. X-rays b. γ-rays

c. Microwaves d. Radio waves

Q2. Why does a microwave oven heat up a food item containing water molecules
most efficiently?

a. Microwaves are heat waves, so always produce heat.

b. Infrared waves produce heating in a microwave oven.

c. Energy from the microwaves is transferred efficiently to the kinetic energy of water

molecules at their resonant frequency.

d. The frequency of microwaves has no relation with natural frequency of water

molecules.

Q3. Microwaves are:

a. transverse electromagnetic waves

b. longitudinal electromagnetic waves

c. stationary waves

d. None of the above

Q4. Microwaves are used in:

a. RADAR system for aircraft navigation

b. long-distance communication systems via geostationary satellites

c. microwave ovens

d. All of the above

Solutions
1. (d) Radio waves

2. (c) Energy from the microwaves is transferred efficiently to the kinetic energy of
water molecules at their resonant frequency.
3. (a) transverse electromagnetic waves

4. (d) All of the above

Case Study 2
A major report on mobile phones and health advises limits of their use by children,
the BBC understands.

While the Stewart Report has found no clear evidence that mobiles can damage the
health of either adults or children, scientists suggest that there may be some effect on
the human body.

And it recommends that mobile phone companies should not aim their advertising at
children. The report was commissioned in response to fears that mobile use could be
linked to memory loss, and even Alzheimer's disease.

Some studies have suggested that children are more vulnerable to the effects of
microwave radiation emissions because their nervous systems are not fully
developed and their skull is thinner than adults, providing less protection.

"A growing number of children have access to mobile phones, and they are a great
source of comfort and security for parents, knowing they can find out where their
children are and can keep in touch with them."

The radiation emitted by mobile phones is not X-ray radiation, but microwave
radiation, and some scientists were concerned that it might actually be heating and
damaging brain cells because the phone is held so close to the head.

Read the given passage carefully and give the answer of the following questions:

Q1. What type of electromagnetic waves do mobile phones emit?

a. Heat waves b. X-rays

c. UV rays d. Microwaves
Q2. Why are mobile phones more likely to cause damage to young people's brain
cells?

a. Because they don't know, how to use mobile phones properly

b. Because they use mobile phones for longer time

c. Because their nervous system is not fully developed and their skull is thinner than
adults.

d. Because mobile phone causes memory loss in young people

Q3. Which of the following are fundamentally different from the others?

a. Gamma rays b. Microwaves

c. Sound waves d. Light waves

Q4. The main difference between microwaves and light waves is:

a. speed b. wavelength

c. nature d. None of these

Solutions
1. (d) Microwaves

2. (c) Because their nervous system is not fully developed and their skull is thinner
than adults.

3. (c) Sound waves

4. (b) wavelength

Case Study 3
The beauty of a coral reef, the warm radiance of sunshine, the sting of sunburn, the X-
ray revealing a broken bone, even microwave popcorn, all are brought to us by
electromagnetic waves.
It is worth noting at the outset that the general phenomenon of electromagnetic
waves was predicted by theory before it was realised that light is a form of
electromagnetic wave. The prediction was made by James Clerk Maxwell in the mid-
19th century when he formulated a single theory combining all the electric and
magnetic effects known by scientists at that time.

"Electromagnetic waves" was the name he gave to the phenomena he predicted.

An electromagnetic wave has a frequency ‘ѵ' and a wavelength 'λ' associated with it
and travels at the speed of light 'c'. The relationship among these wave characteristics
is

c = ѵλ.

Thus, for all electromagnetic waves, the greater the frequency, the smaller the
wavelength. Electromagnetic waves are classified into categories such as radio waves,
infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, and so on, so that we can understand some of their
similarities as well as some of their differences.

Read the given passage carefully and give the answer of the following questions:

Q1. Which of the following electromagnetic radiations have the shortest wavelength?

a. X-rays b. β-rays

c. Microwaves d. Gamma rays

Q2. If a source is transmitting electromagnetic waves of frequency 8.2 x 106 Hz, the
wavelength of electromagnetic wave transmitted from the source is:

a. 36.5 m b. 18.8 m

c. 42.8 m d. 58 m

Q3. Light can travel in vacuum due to its:

a. transverse nature b. electromagnetic nature

c. longitudinal nature d. Both a. and c.

Q4. We consider the radiation emitted by the human body. Which one of the
following statements is true?

a. The radiation emitted is in the infrared region

b. The radiation emitted only during the day

c. The radiation is emitted during the summers and absorbed during winters

d. The radiation emitted lies in the ultraviolet region and hence is not visible

Solutions

Case Study 4
A stationary charge produces only an electrostatic field while a charge in uniform
motion produces a magnetic field, that does not change with time. An oscillating
charge is an example of accelerating charge. It produces an oscillating magnetic field,
which in turn produces an oscillating electric fields and so on. The oscillating electric
and magnetic fields regenerate each other as a wave which propagates through
space.

Read the given passage carefully and give the answer of the following questions:
Solutions
Case Study 5
Radio waves are produced by the accelerated motion of charges in conducting wires.
Microwaves are produced by special vacuum tubes. Infrared waves are produced by
hot bodies and molecules and also known as heat waves. UV rays are produced by
special lamps and very hot bodies like sun.

Read the given passage carefully and give the answer of the following questions:

Q1. What is the cause of greenhouse effect?

Q2. Ozone is present in which layer?

Q3. What is the biological importance of ozone layer?

Q4. Earth's atmosphere is richest in which radiation?

Solutions
1. Greenhouse effect is due to infrared rays.

2. Ozone lies in stratosphere.

3. Ozone layer absorbs the harmful ultraviolet radiations coming from the sun.

4. Earth's atmosphere is richest in infrared radiations.

The earth emits huge amount of infrared radiation and thereby makes the
atmosphere richest in infrared rays.
 Solutions for Questions 6 to 12 are Given Below

Case Study 6
 Case Study 7

Case Study 8
Case Study 9
Case Study 10

Case Study 11
Case Study 12
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