Unit 2: Telecomms

Communicating

Lesson 1

The need to communicate

Ever since humans have been able to talk, they have tried to communicate over long distances.

Telecommunication means communicating over long distances.

Think of ten ways of communicating over a distance. The diagrams below may help you to think. Use your ideas to complete the first column of the table on the next page. A couple have been done for you.

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Communicating

Lesson 1

way of communicating shouting semaphore (flags)

advantages

disadvantages

Any method of communication has advantages and disadvantages, such as: ADVANTAGES Very fast Private Long distance Wireless link/mobile Cheap Easy to do DISADVANTAGES Takes time Not private Short distance Needs to be linked by wire or cable Expensive Difficult to do

Now complete the table, choosing at least one advantage and one disadvantage for each way of communicating.

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Communicating

Lesson 1

Faster and faster

Thousands of years ago, during the Greek wars, one army won a mighty victory. The commander had to let the king know as soon as possible. A soldier was given the message, and told to run to the king as fast as he could. The soldier ran 26 miles in just over two hours. He gave the message to the king, then dropped down dead. This happened in a place called Marathon and thats why the longest Olympic race is 26 miles long. Over the years, the speed of messages has increased. Use the formula: speed = distance Time

to work out the speeds of these methods of communicating.

In 490 BC A Greek soldier runs 26 miles in 2 hours.

In 1661 A letter sent from London to Edinburgh by horse 600 kilometres in 40 hours.

In 1838 A Morse Code message sent along a wire 500 kilometres in 0.002 seconds.

1962 A phone call from Edinburgh to New York by satellite 120,000 kilometres in 0.4 seconds

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Breaking the code

Lesson 1: extra

Keeping secrets
Most early methods of telecommunication were not private. Messages It was easy to intercept messages. This could be dangerous, especially in wartime. A Roman general once had a soldiers head shaved. The message was tattooed onto the soldiers scalp. Once his hair had grown, he was sent to deliver his message. Codes Codes are safer but they can be broken. Try to break these codes. If you get stuck, ask for a hint. 1. DBO ZPV SFBE UIJT?

2.

19.15.13.05. 03.15.04.05.19. 01.18.05. 20.15.15. 05.01.19.25.

3.

CXAZN YXOZU WZOZRXXK OXUXTXX ZTZHXXIXXS?

4.

Why, in this life, no one persons head is made from difficult blancmange.

The pig-pen code

Years ago, most schoolchildren knew the pig-pen code. Nowadays, its very rare. It works like this.
S W U V X Z Y

A D G J M P

B E H K N Q

C F I

Instead of A, write

L O R

Instead of K, write Instead of T, write Instead of X, write 4

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Breaking the code

Lesson 1: extra

Turn this message into pig-pen code. Send more troops to the front line.

Now write your own short message in pig-pen code. Dont make it any more than six words. See if your partner can decipher it.

And finally
Can you work out this one? Its all based on the grid.

0 5 6 7 8 9 A F K P U

1 B G L Q V

2 C H M R W

3 D I N S X

4 E J O T Y

52.74.53.54.51.82.54.50.70.54.82.83.92.63.73.92.50.82.83.

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Sending radio signals

Lesson 2

Messages through the air

Morse code Morse code was an early method for sending signals. It used electric currents sent along wires. But this caused problems. To send a message 500 kilometres, you needed a wire 500 kilometres long. Even if you had the wire in place, it could be easily damaged.

Radio signals In 1901, an Italian scientist called Marconi sent radio signals through the air from America to Britain. This was a very important because it led to the development of radios to receive the radio signals. Within a few years, most homes had a radio. But because no wires were used, the first radios were called wirelesses.

A transmitter is used to send radio signals.

A receiver is used to pick up radio signals.

Radio communication does not need wires between the transmitter and the receiver.
6

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Sending radio signals

Lesson 2

Sending and receiving

Your teacher has set up a model radio transmitter in the lab. This can be used to send radio messages a short distance. You can pick up the messages on an ordinary radio. Watch the demonstration. Label the diagram, and answer the questions.

1.

What did you hear on the radio?

2.

Why did your teacher not attach an aerial to the transmitter?

3.

How do you think the information travelled from the transmitter to the radio?

4.

Were the transmitter and the receiver (the radio) connected by wires?

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Sending radio signals

Lesson 2

Radio signals
Radios used to be called wirelesses because there were no wires between the transmitter and the receiver. But if there are no wires, how do signals get from one place to another? Key facts

Radio signals are waves.

Like all waves, radio waves transfer energy.

Radio signals travel at 300 million (300,000,000) metres per second.

Questions 1. The Moon is about 450,000,000 metres away from the Earth. How long would it take a radio signal to travel from the Earth to the Moon?

2. The equator of the Earth measures about 40,000,000 metres. About how many times could a radio signal go round the Earth in 1 second?

Knox Academy Physics Dept

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio history

Lesson 2: extra

What are Waves?

We have already talked about waves but what are they and what do they? Perhaps the easiest place to start is at the beach. We have all seen waves crashing onto the beach and if you have been in the water at the time you will have felt the energy that they carry.

Radio waves carry energy too. They carry the signals from the radio transmitter to your radio. Although we cannot see radio waves we can think about them looking like water waves. Listen to your teacher describing radio waves and then complete the diagram and sentences below.

The wavelength of a wave is _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ The frequency of a wave is __________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

Radio over the years

Read this history of radio development, then answer the questions.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio history

Lesson 2: extra

Who discovered radio waves? In the 1860s, James Clerk Maxwell used maths to show that radio waves must exist. James Clerk Maxwell was a famous Edinburgh physicist. He has a building at Edinburgh University named after him. However, no-one had ever seen radio signals, or noticed any effects. The race was on to try to find evidence of radio waves but it took some time. Can you show that there are radio waves? In 1887, the German Heinrich Hertz finally showed that radio waves existed. He used a simple spark transmitter. This gave off a burst of radio waves that travelled across his laboratory. A receiver picked up the radio waves, and used the energy in them to create a very tiny spark.

How far can radio waves travel? In 1894, the Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi started doing experiments with radio waves. At first, he could only send signals a few metres. After further work, he increased the range to 2 kilometres. Marconi described his ideas to the Italian government, but they werent impressed. Because of this, Marconi moved to England. Marconi carried on increasing the range of radio signals. By 1899, he was sending signals across the English Channel. People were starting to take notice of this new method of communication. Finally, the big breakthrough came in 1901. Marconi sent a radio signal across the Atlantic, from Ireland to the USA a distance of about 4,000 kilometres.
Ireland

Atlantic Ocean

USA

How was radio technology improved?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio history

Lesson 2: extra

Radio technology steadily improved over the next few years. Marconi was ready to broadcast to the public by 1920. Only two daily programmes were broadcast, but they had a big effect. The famous international singer Dame Nellie Melba took part in one on 20th June 1920. The popularity of radio grew, and the BBC was set up in 1922. At first it could only broadcast signals to people living within 60 kilometres of London. By 1932, the BBC was broadcasting all over the world.

FM

Ring 60 km from London

The whole world

FM stands for Frequency Modulation. This is a way of changing the radio wave so that it can carry a better signal. Most radios station now broadcast on FM, as it gives better quality sound. FM was developed by Edwin Armstrong in 1934. It took many years for him to convince other people that FM was the future of radio. FM broadcasting did not start until in 1954 in the UK. Satellites Today, most international radio transmissions are handled by satellites. The first communications satellite was called Telstar. It was launched in 1962, and was also used to send the first TV pictures between the USA and Britain.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio history

Lesson 2: extra

1.

What nationality was James Clerk Maxwell?

2.

How many years did it take for scientists to show that radio waves existed?

3.

Describe Hertzs experiment.

4.

Why did Marconi move to England?

5.

Messages had been sent across the Channel using a cable on the sea bed. What are the disadvantages of this method?

6.

How many years ago did a radio signal first cross the Atlantic?

7.

Why do you think the radio programmes broadcast in 1922 had a big effect?

8.

Why do most radio stations now broadcast using FM?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 1

Lesson 3

Putting it together
All radios, whether very simple or very complicated, have the same basic parts, put together in much the same way. What to do - 1 1. Collect a set of Radio Cards. 2. 3. 4. Put them together in the right order. Check with your teacher. Copy the diagrams on the cards into these spaces.

What to do - 2 We sometimes show the parts of the radio as a block diagram. This just has the names of the parts. Complete this block diagram.

AERIAL

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 1

Lesson 3

The aerial
To work properly, all radios need an aerial. But sometimes, its not obvious. What to do 1. Collect a small pocket radio. 2. 3. Set it to AM. Dont extend the metal aerial. Tune it into a strong station. Move the radio around. What happens to the signal?

4. 5.

Switch to FM and try to pick up a signal. Now extend the metal aerial? Is the reception different in any way?

The job of the aerial is to collect radio signals.

When you are listening on AM, youre using an internal aerial. If you move the radio around, this can affect the reception. When you are listening on FM, youre using an external aerial. Without this aerial, its often very difficult to pick up a signal.

Radio signals and metal boxes

Tune the radio to a strong station, then put it into a box made from metal mesh. 1. What happens when the radio is in the box?

2.

Can you explain why?

3.

Can you explain why radio reception in this school is poor?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Marconi

Lesson 3: extra

Guglielmo Marconi
Practical radio was developed by the Italian scientist, Guglielmo Marconi. Collect Information Card 2.3. Read it carefully, complete the Marconi Fact File, and then answer the questions.

Date of birth: ________________ Date of death: _______________ What he worked on

Place of birth: _______________ Education: __________________ Achievements

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ____________

1.

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ____________

What was unusual about Marconis childhood?

2.

Where did Marconi carry out his first experiments?

3.

Which other scientists work was important to Marconi?

4.

Why did Marconi move to England?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Marconi

Lesson 3: extra

5.

Why do you think that the Post Office was interested in Marconis work on radio?

6.

What is a patent and why was it important for Marconi to get a patent for his work?

________________________________________________________________

7.

How did Marconi demonstrate the power of radio in 1901?

8.

Describe how was radio used to bring Dr. Crippen to justice.

9.

Why do you think that the Dr. Crippen case helped radio to become more popular?

10.

Why was radio important during World War 1?

11.

Marconi wasnt part of the Italian army, but he still received a medal. Why do you think this happened?

12.

How old was Marconi when he died?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 2

Lesson 4

The tuner
The air around you is full of radio signals signals from all the different radio stations the radio waves given off by electrical sparks the radio waves given off by the Sun and so on. For a radio to work, its important that only one signal is selected.

The tuner selects one radio signal

Study this table, listing the frequencies of different radio stations. Use it to answer the questions. AM (amplitude modulated) Station Clyde 2 Forth Northsound Radio Scotland Radio 4 Radio 5 Frequency 1152 kHz 1548 kHz 1035 kHz 810 kHz 198 kHz 909 kHz FM (frequency modulated) Station Clyde 1 Forth Tay Northsound 1 Scot FM Radio 1 Frequency 102.5 MHz 97.3 MHz 102.8 MHz 96.9 MHz 100.3 MHz 99.8 MHz

kHz stands for kilohertz. One kilohertz = 1000 hertz. MHz stands for megahertz. One megahertz = 1,000,000 hertz. 1. Do AM or FM stations have the higher frequency?

2.

Which AM station has the lowest frequency?

3.

Which FM station has the highest frequency?

4.

Which stations frequency is between Northsound and Radio 1?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 2

Lesson 4

The amplifier
The radio signals picked up by a radio are turned into tiny electrical signals inside the radio. If you want to turn these tiny signals into sound and listen to them, they need to be boosted.

An amplifier boosts the tiny electrical signals in a radio.

How can we see this happen? What to do Your teacher will use set up two oscilloscopes. These will be used to examine the electrical signal going into an amplifier and the electrical signal coming out of the amplifier.

Signal going into the amplifier INPUT SIGNAL

Signal coming out of the amplifier OUTPUT SIGNAL

Carefully draw the traces shown on the two oscilloscope screens. 1. How are the signals different?

2.

How will this affect the volume of the sound from the radio?

3.

The amplified signal has more energy. Where has this energy come from?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 3

Lesson 5

Hearing the signal

So far, you have learnt that: the aerial collects lots of radio signals the tuner selects just one of those signals the amplifier boosts the signal, using energy from the battery None of this is much good unless the electrical signal is converted into sound so you can hear it. This is done by the loudspeaker. Copy and complete this key point:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The loudspeaker converts _________ energy into _______ energy.

Making a loudspeaker
Its quite easy to make your own basic loudspeaker. Follow these instructions. Collect a metal C-core, and long length of wire, two magnets and a tin lid. Wrap the wire around the metal C-core as many times as you can. Connect the two ends of the wire to the amplifier that your teacher has set up. Stick the tin lid to the C-core with the two magnets and listen. You may have to hold the magnets tight against the tin lid. Draw a labelled diagram of your loudspeaker set-up.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Parts of the radio - 3

Lesson 5

Improving a speaker
Does the size of a loudspeaker make any difference to the quality of the sound? Try making your loudspeaker with different sizes of tin lids. Fill in your results in this table. diameter of lid (cm) quality of sound

Write down any conclusions that you have come to.

Real loudspeakers
Your teacher will show you a working loudspeaker. The front of the speaker has been removed so you can see the moving parts. Watch the demonstration, then answer these questions. 1. Which part of the loudspeaker moved?

2.

Describe the movement when the loudspeaker was playing a low note.

3.

How did the movement change when the loudspeaker was playing a high note?

4.

How did the movement change when the loudspeaker was playing a loud note?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Build a radio

Lesson 5: extra

D-I-Y radio
Youve learnt that a radio has just a few basic parts. This makes it quite easy to build your own radio. Collect: a battery pack an FM receiver board and an aerial a power amplifier board a loudspeaker four leads two yellow connectors and one brown connector. Connect the equipment together like this.

battery pack

FM receiver

Power amplifier

loudspeaker

yellow connector

yellow connector

brown connector

1.

Connect the aerial to the FM receiver board. Can you pick up any radio stations? Which ones?

2.

Which control do you adjust to alter the volume?

3.

Try rotating the aerial. Does it make any difference to the signal you receive?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Build a radio

Lesson 5: extra

Frequency and wavelength

Radio stations transmit radio waves at certain frequencies. But we can also measure the wavelength of the radio waves. This table shows the wavelengths of radio waves of different frequencies. Use the information to plot a line graph of wavelength against frequency. wavelength (metres) 300 150 100 75 60 50 43 38 frequency (hertz) 1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000 7,000,000 8,000,000

Title: ______________________
300

250

200

150

100

50

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Question
Try multiplying together each pair of wavelength and frequency values. What do you find? Does it mean anything?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio freqencies

Lesson 6

Sorting out the stations

With all those different radio stations broadcasting, how come the signals dont get mixed up? Why can you tune in to Radio 1, but not hear all the other stations? Complete these key points.

Radio stations can be identified by the f_______ of the radio signals they t________. The frequency of a radio station is the number of radio w_____ it produces in one s_______. Frequency is measured in h______ (Hz). 1500 waves per second is 1500 h_____.

Radio stations often use their frequency as part of their name. For example, the radio station Beat 106 transmits on 106 megahertz. What to do Collect Info Card 2.6. Use it to answer these questions. 1. What frequency does Tay AM transmit on?

2.

Which station transmits on 1152 kHz?

3.

Which radio stations transmit to West Lothian?

4.

All the FM stations have something in common about their frequencies. What is it?

5.

All the AM stations have something in common. What is it?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio freqencies

Lesson 6

6.

Is Radio Scotland a FM station or an AM station? Explain your answer.

7.

Is NorthSound1 a FM station or an AM station? Explain your answer.

8.

Forth 1 FM and The Wave 102 both broadcast on 102.0 MHz. How can two stations both broadcast on the same frequency without interfering with each other?

9.

Which other two stations broadcast on the same frequency? Does your answer for question 8 explain this one as well?

10.

Someone living in Glasgow wants to hear sports news. Which two stations could they listen to?

11.

Which FM station has the highest frequency?

12.

What does the MFR stand for in MFR AM, broadcasting on 1107 kHz?

13.

A listener in Edinburgh wants to hear up-to-date music. Which stations could they listen to?

14.

Real Radio FM broadcasts on 100.3 MHz and 101.1 MHz. Why does it do this?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio quizzes

Lesson 6: extra

Anagrams
Solve the anagrams all the answers are words connected with telecommunications. DARIO NUTER REALIA GILSAN _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ OMICRAN __________________ THREZ REMOS __________________ __________________

LEXMAWL__________________

A to Z (well, some of them)

A: used to boost a small electrical signal B: what an amplifier does to a signal C: used to send secret messages D: one of the basic parts of a radio __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

E: loudspeakers convert __________ energy into sound __________________ F: measured in hertz or kilohertz or megahertz H: unit of frequency J: Maxwells first name L: radio signals travel at the speed of M: Italian inventor of radio R: used to pick up radio signals S: a type of code that uses flags T: selects one radio signal W: radio signals travel as __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________ __________________

Unit 2: Telecomms

Radio quizzes
2

Lesson 6: extra

4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

13

Clues across 1. 300 million metres per second. 4. Part of the radio that picks up radio waves. 5. Hz stands for _________.

Clues down 2. Radio waves carry _______. 3. What this unit is about. 4. Short for amplitude modulation. 6. Radio signals travel as ______ .

7. 24 hours. 9. Invented by Marconi. 10. It picks up radio signals. 11. Used to select different stations. 12. Youll usually find a radio in a ___. 13. Converts electrical energy into sound energy. (Short name.) 7. Part of a radio or someone who unscrambles? 8. There are 86,4000 ________ in a 7 across.

Unit 2: Telecomms

The television

Lesson 7

The parts of a TV
Televisions seem much more complicated than radios but they are surprisingly similar in the way that they work. TVs receive radio waves, just like radios but:

2. 4.

Television signals are radio signals with a higher frequency.

What to do - 1 1. Collect a set of TV Cards. Put them together in the right order, then check with your teacher. Copy the diagrams on the cards into these spaces.

Unit 2: Telecomms

The television

Lesson 7

Match the parts to the jobs

The descriptions of all the parts of a TV are on the labels below, but they are mixed up. Match each label to the right part, and complete the sentences.
turns the electrical signal into sound separates the sound signal from the TV wave

selects one signal

boosts the sound signal

picks up all the TV signals

boosts the picture signal

turns the electrical signal into light energy

separates the picture signal from the TV wave

The TV aerial ___________________________________________ The TV tuner ____________________________________________ The sound decoder _______________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The picture decoder ______________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The sound amplifier_______________________________________

The picture amplifier _____________________________________

The loudspeaker _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ The picture tube _________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

Unit 2: Telecomms

The television

Lesson 7

Unit 2: Telecomms

How a TV tube works

Lesson 7: extra

Pictures from electrons

In a TV tube, tiny particles called electrons are fired at the screen. When they hit a special paint on the screen, they give off a flash of light. But this is just the beginning of how a TV tube works. Watch the demonstration your teacher will show you. Label the diagram below, the answer the questions.

1.

Which part of the TV tube produces the electrons?

2.

The TV tube has no air in it a vacuum. Why is this?

3.

How is the electron beam moved up and down the screen?

4.

When the beam is moving very quickly, the dot turns into a line. Why is this?

Unit 2: Telecomms

How a TV tube works

Lesson 7: extra

Getting the colours

In a colour TV, there are three types of paint on the screen. One gives off red light, one gives off green light and one gives off blue light.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Mixing red, green and blue light produces all the colours seen on a TV screen

What to do 1. Collect a ray-box kit, a screen and a power supply. Put the three-colour filter into the ray-box, then plug in to the power supply. Use a pencil or a piece of card to block the red ray of light. Move the screen back until the green and blue rays mix. What colour do you see? Now block the green ray of light. What colour do you see when red and blue mix? Block the blue ray. What colour do you see when red and green mix? Dont block any of the colours. What do you see when red, green and blue all mix? Red and blue light combine to give __________. Red and green light combine to give _________ . Blue and green light combine to give __________. Red and blue and green light combine to give _________.

R Y G M B

W C

Unit 2: Telecomms

Satellites

Lesson 8

Communications from space

In 1957, Russia launched the first satellite. It was called Sputnik. Sputnik did prove that satellites could orbit the Earth But it didnt do very much else. People realised that satellites could be used for communication. They realised that signals could be sent up to the satellite, which could then send them back down to a different place on the Earths surface. In 1962, the satellite Telstar was launched from Cape Canaveral. Telstar took about two hours to orbit the earth. It only travelled a few thousand kilometres above the surface. This meant that communications were only possible for about 20 minutes as it passed overhead. Nevertheless, the first TV pictures were sent between America and Britain. Within a few years, many more satellites had been launched. Satellites were used to send telephone calls as well as TV signals. For satellites to be really useful, we must be able to communicate with them all the time not just when they pass overhead. The higher a satellites orbit, the longer it takes to go round the Earth. At 36,000 kilometres above the Earths surface, a satellite takes 24 hours to make an orbit. Because the Earth turns round once every 24 hours, the satellite stays above the same point on the Earths surface. These types of satellites are called geostationary. The first geostationary satellite, Early Bird, was launched in 1965. 1. Sputnik didnt do very much. Why was it useful?

2.

Why was Telstar not very useful for communication?

3.

How does the time taken for a satellite to orbit depend on its height above the Earth?

4.

Complete this key point. A g____________ satellite stays above the s_____ p_____ on the Earths surface.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Satellites

Lesson 8

Why are satellite dishes curved?

If you have a satellite dish at home, youll know that its shaped a bit like a bowl. The huge dishes used to send signals up to satellites have the same sort of shape. Why is this? What to do 1. Collect a ray-box with a triple slit, a power supply and a curved mirror. 2. 3. 4. 5. Set up the ray box with the triple slit and plug in to the power supply. Slide the bulb along the ray-box until the three rays are parallel. Shine the three rays against the curved mirror. Complete this diagram to show what happens to the light rays after they hit the mirror.

Did you see a particularly bright spot? The light was stronger at this point. Curved reflectors can do this with other types of signal as well.

A curved reflector on receiving aerials (like a satellite dish) makes the signal stronger.

Complete this passage to explain why a curved reflector makes signals stronger. Unlike a normal TV aerial, a curved reflector has a large ______. This means it can gather more ______. The curved shape means that all the signals are _______ at a single point. If a receiver is put at this point, it will pick up a very ________ signal. Choose some from: strong, area, wavelength, focused, picture, signal.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Satellites

Lesson 8

Check what youve learnt

The questions below cover all the things you should have learnt in lessons 1 - 8. See how many questions you can answer from memory then read over your notes and correct any answers you got wrong or missed out. 1. Complete this sentence. Radio communication does not need ________ between the transmitter and the receiver. 2. 3. Radio signals are waves which transfer ________? What speed do radio waves travel at?

4.

Name the 5 parts of the radio, in the correct order.

5.

What does the aerial do?

6.

What does the tuner do?

7.

What does the amplifier do?

8.

What does the loudspeaker do?

9.

What unit is used to measure frequency?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Review

Lesson 8: extra

10.

How can you identify a radio station?

11.

How are TV signals different to radio signals?

12.

What does the picture decoder in a TV do?

13.

What does the sound amplifier in a TV do?

14.

How does a TV tube work?

15.

What colour do you get if you mix red light and blue light?

16.

What colour do you get if you mix red, green and blue light?

17.

What is a geostationary satellite?

18.

Why are satellite dishes curved?

My score out of 18:

____

Unit 2: Telecomms

Reflecting light

Lesson 9

Bouncing light
Complete this diagram to show what happens when a light ray hits a mirror.

Light can be reflected.

But light can be reflected in other ways. What to do 1. Collect a ray box, a power supply and a semi-circular block of perspex. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Put the semi-circular block on the diagram below. Dont worry if its a different size. Set up your ray box to produce a single narrow beam of light. Shine the light along ray 1. On your diagram, draw what happens to the ray of light. Repeat for rays 2 and 3.
2 3

What happened to ray 3?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Reflecting light

Lesson 9

Total internal reflection

When a ray of light hits the inside of a piece of glass at a big enough angle, the glass acts like a mirror. The ray of light is reflected inside the glass. This is called total internal reflection. What to do 1. Collect a curved perspex rod. 2. 3. Use your ray-box to shine a ray of light into one end of the piece of perspex. Complete this diagram to show what happens to the ray of light.

If you have a long piece of glass or perspex, you can bounce light all the way along it using total internal reflection This idea is used to make optical fibres. Your teacher will show you some optical fibres. Complete these key points.

An optical fibre is a long thread of very pure g_______. Light travels along an optical fibre by t______ __________ _______________.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Reflecting light

Lesson 9

Optical fibres can be used to guide _______ from one place to another.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical fibres

Lesson 9: extra

Video questions
Watch the video about optical fibres. Afterwards you will try to answer the questions below. Then we will watch the video again to complete the sheet. 1. How fine is the glass thread at the start of the video?

2.

What does the triangular prism do?

3.

How was light used to send messages in the past?

4.

What is the name of the angle when the light grazes the edge of the semi-circular block of glass?

5.

Why could optical fibres not be made in 1960?

6.

Why is glass green when you look at it edge-on?

7.

Why is optical fibre made with a second layer of glass?

8.

What type of lasers are used for optical communication?

9.

What is optical fibre made from?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical fibres

Lesson 9: extra

Using light to send sound

Your teacher will show you an experiment where an optical fibre is used to send music from one side of a desk to the other. What to do - 1 Watch the experiment. In the box, draw and label a diagram of the experiment. Use these labels. laser radio laser beam receiver optical fibre

What to do - 2 Complete this passage to describe how the system works. The ______ produces a narrow beam of _______. A music signal from a tapeplayer is used to _________ or change the ________ of the laser beam. The beam then travels down an __________ fibre. It travels down it like this:

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical fibres

Lesson 9: extra

When the beam reaches the __________, a detector picks up the l______ signal and converts it back into a s_______ signal. Choose from: optical sound light receiver light laser brightness modulate

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical fibres in the home

Lesson 10

Glass revolution
Read the passage, the complete the key points and questions. Twenty-five years ago, most homes only had one phone. There were only three television channels. Only big companies had computers. The Personal Computer (PC) wasnt even an idea. Fax machines were rare. The internet had just begun, but it was only used for very specialist purposes. The last ten or twenty years have been called the Information Age. We are all bombarded with information every day. There are loads of TV channels, mobile phones that are never quiet, text messages, e-mail. This huge increase in the sending of information has needed a complete change in technology. This is where optical fibres come in. Today, many telecommunications links into the home are by optical fibres. An optical fibre can carry a huge amount of information. In an optical fibre, flashes of light travel down threads of glass at almost 200 million metres per second. A typical home may have cable TV, telephones, internet and e-mail all supplied by optical fibres. Optical fibres have several advantages. They carry huge amounts of information. They are cheap (because theyre made from sand). They dont get interference, and they are almost impossible to tap. One disadvantage of using optical fibres to deliver information to the home is that streets have to be dug up to lay cables. This can cause a lot of disruption.

Optical fibres transmit l_____ signals. Signals in optical fibres move at a speed of ___________________. Telecommunications services that are brought into the home by optical fibres include: * _________________ * _________________ One advantage of optical fibres is ___________________________ ________________________________________________________. One disadvantage of optical fibres is _________________________

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical fibres in the home

Lesson 10

________________________________________________________.

Speedy signals
Although light signals in optical fibres travel very fast, they are not as fast as light signals in air.

1.

The speed of light in air is 300 million (300,000,000) metres per second. The speed of light in an optical fibre is 200 million (200,000,000) metres per second.

Use these key points to answer these questions. How far can light travel in air in 5 seconds?

2.

How far can light travel in an optical fibre in 5 seconds?

3.

A beam of light X is sent through the air. At exactly the same time, a beam of light Y is sent down an optical fibre. a) Which one will be in the lead after 3 seconds?

b)

How far ahead will it be?

4.

Scientists plan to install an optical cable from the Earth to the Moon. The Moon is 450,000,000 metres away from Earth. a) How long will it take a laser beam to travel along this cable?

b)

How long would it take if the laser beam was fired through the air?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical illlusions

Lesson 10: extra

Now you see it

Whether light travels through the air or through an optical fibre, its not that difficult to fool the brain. Can you sort these out?

A man in a canoe fishing? Or a big bird upside-down?

Try counting the white circles. And how many black circles?

Look at the dot in the centre and move your head backwards and forwards.

Are two heads better than one?

Which line is longer?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Optical illlusions

Lesson 10: extra

An Eskimo looking into a cave or not?

Are the horizontal lines level? Duck or rabbit?

How many legs has the elephant got?

Stare at the black dot. What happens to the grey mist?

A skull or a woman at a mirror?

Unit 2: Telecomms

The telephone

Lesson 11

Phones everywhere
In the last 100 years or so, phones have changed tremendously. They used to be large, heavy and only a few people owned them. Now phones are small and getting smaller. Theyre digital, theyre mobile, they play games. Soon, youll have a mobile phone built into the skin on your arm. But all phones work in basically the same way.

In a telephone, messages are sent out by a transmitter and picked up by a receiver.

What to do 1. Try out the model phones that your teacher has set up. 2. Whistle a low-pitched note into the phone, then a high-pitched note. What patterns do you see on the oscilloscope?

Low pitch sound

High pitch sound

3.

How did the signal change?

Unit 2: Telecomms

The telephone

Lesson 11

4.

Whistle a loud note into the phone, then a quiet note. What patterns do you see on the oscilloscope?

Louder sound

Quieter sound

5.

How did the signal change?

How is the signal sent?

Different types of phones send messages in different ways. Electrical currents, flashes of laser light and radio waves can all be used to send telephone signals. Complete these key points.

Telephones can use e___________ signals. These travel along m_______ wires at a speed of almost 300 million metres per s________. Telephones can use l_______ signals. These travel along o________ f________. Mobile phones send signals as r_______ waves through the a___.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Telephone history

Lesson 11: extra

Video questions
Watch the video The Secret Life of the Telephone. Answer these questions as you watch the programme. 1. About when was the telephone invented?

2.

Before telephones, what were electromagnets first used for?

3.

Who invented the first telephone?

4.

Why did his family emigrate to the USA?

5.

What was the name of his assistant?

6.

On a modern telephone, what is the diaphragm made from?

7.

Who patented the improved microphone?

What type of granules were used in the improved microphone?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Telephone history

Lesson 11: extra

9.

How did telephone companies persuade people to buy telephones?

10.

What was the horse-collar phone used for?

11.

Why were male telephone operators not used?

12.

Why was Strowgers rival undertaker doing such good business?

13.

Why are Strowger exchanges called click and bang?

14.

What electronic device, invented in 1947, replaced mechanical switches?

15.

How did Shockley disgrace himself?

16.

Digital exchanges have reduced failed connections from 5% to ?

17.

Why was a kitchen phone so unusual?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Sending and receiving

Lesson 12

All-in-one
In early telephones, you spoke into one part of the phone and listened to a separate part. In all modern phones, the handset does both jobs. Use these words to label this handset: earpiece mouthpiece microphone loudspeaker

Complete these key points.

The m______________ of a phone is a transmitter and it contains a m______________. The e_____________ of a phone is a receiver and it contains a l_______________ .

What to do - 1 1. Collect a telephone handset. 2. 3. Take it apart (you may need a screwdriver). See if you can identify the microphone and the loudspeaker.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Sending and receiving

Lesson 12

What to do 2 1. Think about the energy changes that take place when you speak to someone on the phone. a) What happens to the sound energy of your voice?

b)

What type of energy travels along the wire?

c)

How fast do you think the signal travels along the wire?

d)

What happens at the loudspeaker?

2.

Use your answers to help you label this diagram.

3.

Complete these key points. In a microphone, _________ energy is turned into ____________ energy. In a loudpeaker, __________ energy is turned into _________ energy. A telephone signal travels along metal wires at a speed of almost _____________________ metres per second.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Pictures by phone

Lesson 12: extra

Getting your fax right

Todays mobile phones can send photos easily enough. But to send documents or detailed diagrams over the phone, you need a facsimile machine (fax for short).

2. 3. 4. 5.

Fax is the name given to sending documents by telephone.

How fax works 1. You need to work with a partner. One of you is the sender, one of you is the receiver. If you are the sender, collect Info Card 2.12. If you are the receiver, use the blank grid below. The senders instructions are on the Info Card. If you are the receiver: work across the grid from left to right, row by row if your partner says blank, leave the square blank if your partner says fill, colour in the square.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Pictures by phone

Lesson 12: extra

How fax works (continued)

A real fax machine scans a page, breaking it into thousands of tiny boxes. It detects whether the box is black or white, and sends that information down the phone line. The fax that receives the information then prints the page, tiny square by tiny square. It either fills the squares in black, or leaves them blank. If you look at a fax document carefully, you can sometimes make out the edges of the tiny squares.

Choosing a fax
Use this page from a fax machine brochure to answer the questions. Model number A400 A650 A700 A1000 1. Pages per minute (send) 4 6.5 7 10 Pages per minute (receive) 12 8 8 9 Cost of toner cartridges () 22 18 27 20 Price () 215 299 350 419

The Arcol Company needs a new fax. They dont send many faxes, but receive a lot from clients. Which fax should they choose and why?

2.

Dave decides to buy the A700 as its a bit faster than the A650. Joe tells him its a bad decision. Who is right and why?

3.

The A650 uses 6 toner cartridges a year. How much will it cost to buy an A650 and run it for three years?

4.

A new fax is introduced which can send 15 pages per minute. What is its model number?

Unit 2: Telecomms

Phones on the go

Lesson 13

Mobile mania
Twenty years ago, the mobile phone didnt exist. Fifteen years ago, they were the size (and weight) of a brick and cost about 3000. Ten years ago, they started to take off and now theyre everywhere. Mobile phones use very different technology to normal phones especially in how the signals are sent. What to do - 1 1. You need two mobile phones and a microwave detector. 2. 3. 4. Switch on the microwave detector. The red LED will come on for a couple of seconds. Put one of the phones next to the microwave detector. Ring the phone from the other mobile. Dont answer the call.

What happens?

What to do 2 Ring the phone again. Gradually move the phone away from the detector. How far can you move the phone before the red LED goes off?

Mobile phones send signals by microwaves, which are a type of radio wave. These waves travel through the air at the speed of light: 300 million metres per second. The microwaves are particularly strong during the handshake this is when two mobile phones are linking together. Mobile phones are really small microwave radios. When you speak on a mobile phone, the message is transmitted as microwaves. When you listen on a mobile, the message is being received as microwaves. Complete this key point:

Unit 2: Telecomms

Phones on the go

Lesson 13

A mobile phone acts as a radio t____________ and a radio r___________.

Mobiles bad for the brain?

Over the last few years, there have been stories in the press about how mobile phones or the microwaves they use may be damaging to health. Read these two articles written by people with different points of view. Article A Everyday you hear about mobile phones frying your brain and its all nonsense. Its true that mobile phones emit microwave radiation but so do microwave ovens and satellite transmitters, and nobody worries too much about those. Microwaves certainly do heat things up and studies show that using a mobile phone could raise the temperature of your brain by 0.1 degrees Celsius. That seems worrying until you realise that jogging raises the temperature of your brain by 1 degree Celsius. What a lot of people forget is how many lives mobile phones have saved. Think of the people who have accidents in remote parts of the country. In the past, they could die before anyone knew anything was wrong. Now theyre just a phone call away from help. Kids who miss the last bus can phone home, rather than walking back in the dark. Everyone is in touch all the time and that keeps everyone safer. I know mobiles can be irritating Im sick of hearing them go off when Im at the cinema or in a restaurant but Im happier knowing that my daughter can get in touch with me any time she needs.

Turn over for article B

Unit 2: Telecomms

Phones on the go

Lesson 13

Article B If you think mobile phones are just a handy way of staying in touch, try living next to a mobile phone mast. Since they put a mast up just a hundred metres from my house, Ive never been right. I seem to get ill all the time, I feel depressed and its affecting my family. My wee boy hes thirteen now used to be full of life. Now hes quiet and moody and Im worried theres something serious wrong with him. My friend told me how her aunt got cancer from using her mobile too much. I wont let my kids have a mobile. Its hard, because all their friends have them but youve got to look after their health. I mean, lets face it, these things use microwaves. Have you seen what microwaves will do to a piece of meat? It cant be right to do that to your brain. And theres people out there who drive while theyre using mobiles how many car crashes and deaths has that caused? We coped OK before mobile phones. Im sure we can cope well enough without them. Which article do you agree with and why?

Which article seems to be the most scientific? Explain your answer.

Complete these key points.

One advantage of mobile phones is:

Unit 2: Telecomms

Phones on the go

Lesson 13

One disadvantage of mobile phones is:

Unit 2: Telecomms

Review

Lesson 13: extra

Check what youve learnt

The questions below cover all the things you should have learnt in lessons 9 - 13. See how many questions you can answer from memory then read over your notes and correct any answers you got wrong or missed out. 1. _ 2. Complete this sentence: Optical fibres work by t____________ i____________ r____________. What are optical fibres made from?

3.

What speed does light travel at in an optical fibre?

4.

How far would light travel along an optical fibre in 0.25 s?

5.

Name two services that optical fibres can bring into the home.

6.

Give one advantage and one disadvantage of optical fibres.

7.

Who invented the telephone?

8.

Complete the following sentence:

In a telephone, messages are sent out by a t_______________ and picked up by a r_______________.

Unit 2: Telecomms

Review

Lesson 13: extra

9.

Draw a sketch of a) a loud, high frequency signal b) a quiet, low frequency signal

10.

What is the speed of electrical signals along metal wires?

11.

Where in a phone do you find a microphone?

12.

Where in the phone do you find a loudspeaker?

13.

What is the energy change in a microphone?

14.

What is the energy change in a loudspeaker?

15.

What is fax short for?

16.

What type of waves do mobile phones use?

18.

Give an advantage and a disadvantage of mobile phones.

My score out of 18:

____