IB Physics 2 More Waves

Wave Phenomena

IB Course Companion

THE DOPPLER EFFECT IB COURSE COMPANION CH 9, P. 381 - 386

16. Describe and explain the Doppler effect. Students should recognize that in general the velocities of source
and/or detector are specified with respect to the medium. They should know however that light in a vacuum is
unique and, in this case, it is the relative velocity of source and detector that is relevant.
17. Construct wavefront diagrams for moving-detector and moving-source situations.
If there is relative motion between the observer and the source, then in general the observer will receive the wave
at a frequency which is different from that which was emitted.
The Doppler effect (measuring a different frequency) comes about because wavefronts from a moving source or
incident on a moving observer appear to bunch together or spread apart depending on the type of motion involved.

Stationary source / observer

18.

Moving source / stationary observers

Stationary source / moving observer

Derive the equations for the Doppler effect for sound in the cases of a moving detector and a moving source.
First, lets look at a moving source
Suppose that the speed of sound in air is v and the source is moving with a speed v s
We can find the frequency measured by observer B in our picture on the
previous page as follows:
1. The first wavefront is emitted and will take a time t to reach the observer.
vt
It travels a distance vt.
2. At a time T (the original period) later a second wavefront is emitted.
B
During this time the source has moved some distance closer to the
vsT
vt - vsT
observer. This distance is vsTo.
3. The second wavefront only has to travel a distance vt vsT to reach the
#2
observer. Traveling at a speed of v, it will take this wavefront a time of
#1
(vt vsT) / v to reach the observer.
4. So, lets recap what has happened. At t = 0 a wavefront is emitted and
arrives at the observer some time t later. A second wavefront is emitted at t = T and takes (vt - vcT) / v
more to reach the observer. So from the beginning, the second wavefront arrives at time T + (vt vsT) / v.
5. The difference in these two times is the observed period of the waves from the point of view of the
obsever: T/ = T + (vt - vsT) / v t = T (vs/v)T = T(1 vs/v)
6. To find the observed frequency use f/ = 1/T/ = 1 / T(1 vs / v) = f / (1 vs/v) = f/
We can find the frequency measured by observer A in our picture in a similar way:
1. The first wavefront is emitted and will take time t to reach the observer. It travels a distance vt.
2. At a time T later a second wavefront is emitted. During the time T the source has moved a distance v sT
farther from the observer.
3. The second wavefront has to travel a distance vt + vsT to reach the observer. It takes a time of
(vt +
vsT) / v to reach the observer.
4. So, the first wavefront arrives at time t. The second wavefront arrives at time T + (vt + v sT)/v later.
5. The difference in these two times will be the observed period of the waves: T = T + (vt + v sT)/v t which
gives: T/ = T + (vs/v)T = To(1 + vs/v).
6. The observed frequency becomes f/ = 1/T/ = f / (1 + vs/v) = f/
To sum up: when the source moves towards the observer a higher frequency is observed and when the source
moves away from the observer a lower frequency is observed.
Now, lets look at a moving observer
Suppose the speed of sound in air is v and the observer is moving with a speed v o
If the observer is moving towards the source, then the distance between waves doesnt change but the waves
appear to be coming at a faster rate because they are traveling with a speed v + vo relative to the observer. So,
to find the observed frequency we can use the definition of wave speed: (v = f) as follows:
1. f/ = v/ / / = (v + vo) / because / =
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IB Physics 2 More Waves

2. But, = v/f. So, f/ = (v + vo) / (v/f) = f (v + vo) / v = f (1 + vo/v) = f/

If the observer is moving away from the source, then the distance between the waves doesnt change, but the
waves appear to be coming at a slower rate because they are traveling with a speed v vo relative to the
observer. So, to find the observed frequency we can use the definition of wave speed (v = f) as follows:
1. f/ = v/ / / = (v vo) / because / =
2. But, = v /f. So, f/ = (v vo) / (v/f) = f(v vo) / v = f(1 vo/v) = f/
To sum up: when the observer moves towards the source a higher frequency is observed and when the
observer moves away from the source a lower frequency is observed.
Solve problems on the Doppler effect for sound. Problems may include both a moving source and a moving
detector but not both simultaneously.

19.

20.

Solve problems on the Doppler effect for electromagnetic waves.

In the case where the relative speed between the source is small compared to the speed of light (it can still be a
very large speed, it just needs to be small compared to 3 x 10 8 ms-1) we can apply an approximation to calculate
the Doppler shift, f.

v
f
c

In the case of light, we can refer to a decrease in observed frequency as a Red Shift and an increase in observed
frequency as a Blue Shift. The equation gives us the amount of shift measured (usually quite small).

where f is the frequency of the source and v is the relative speed between source and observer.

See the IB Course Companion for examples of the Doppler Effect, such as the shift in frequency of light from distant
galaxies, the use of Doppler shifts to determine the speed and rotation of thunderstorms, etc.

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