Why you hear round a corner but cannot see
General Science · Grade 10 · about 40 minutes
Sound diffracts at a doorway because its wavelength matches the gap; light does not, because its wavelength is tiny.
Sign in to read this lesson
Lessons are for learners and teachers with an account. Browsing the curriculum — subjects, strands and what each sub-strand covers — stays open to everyone.
- 7 sections of explanation, worked examples and diagrams
- 1 practice task with hints and worked answers
- A quiz that marks itself as you go
- Your progress kept across every subject you take
Other lessons in this sub-strand
- Describing a wave
- Reflection, refraction, diffraction and their uses
- Amplitude and the energy of a wave
- Wavelength in metres
- Frequency, period and pitch
- Wave speed is set by the medium
- Rearranging the wave equation
- Worked examples with v = fλ
- Period first, then the wave equation
- The ripple tank
- Reflection of waves
- Refraction of waves
- Diffraction at a gap
- Why you hear round a corner but cannot see
- Ultrasound, scans and sonar
- Radio, KBC and phones
- Noise as pollution
- Earthquake waves and waves at the coast