College Physics : Fundamental Concepts
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Waves
When a ray of light is reflected off of the surface of another medium, some of the energy from the light is transferred into this medium. As a result, which of the following is true about the reflected light ray?
It has a lower frequency and a lower wavelength
It has a lower frequency and a higher wavelength
It has a higher frequency and a higher wavelength
It has a higher frequency and a lower wavelength
It has a lower frequency and a higher wavelength
For this question, we're told that light is reflected off of the surface of another medium. As a result, the light loses some of its energy, which is transferred into the medium where it reflected.
Because the light has lost some of its energy, we need to determine how the wavelength and frequency of the wave will be affected. To do this, we can recall the equation for the energy of a wave.
Where 
To see how the wavelength changes, it's important to recall the relationship that wavelength and frequency have with each other.
Where 
So, in summary, when the energy of light decreases, the frequency will decrease and the wavelength will increase.
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