Grade 10 · CAPS

Grade 10 Electromagnetic Radiation

Physical Sciences practice questions and a worked example

Grade 10 electromagnetic radiation covers the electromagnetic spectrum and photons. The questions here ask you to order the types of radiation by frequency or wavelength, name uses and dangers of radiation such as X-rays, infrared and microwaves, and calculate the energy of a photon with E = hf and c = fλ. They come from the DBE Grade 10 common Paper 1 for November 2016, 2017 and 2018, each with the answer from the marking guideline.

Worked example

Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.2 Write down ONE use of each of the following types of radiation: 8.2.1 Infrared

Answer & explanation

Any one: keeping food warm / remote controls / optical fibres / animals like snakes which hunt / infrared scanners for picking up heat.
Infrared radiation is commonly used in various applications due to its ability to transfer heat. One common use is in keeping food warm, such as in restaurants where infrared lamps are used to maintain the temperature of food. Another use is in remote controls, where infrared signals are used to communicate with devices like televisions. Infrared is also used in optical fibres for communication, as it can transmit data over long distances. Additionally, some animals, like snakes, use infrared to detect heat from their prey. Infrared scanners are used to pick up heat signatures, useful in night vision equipment.

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Electromagnetic Radiation

Question 1 of 3

Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.1 Choose the frequency from COLUMN B that matches the type of electromagnetic radiation in COLUMN A. COLUMN A (type of radiation): 8.1.1 Ultraviolet; 8.1.2 Gamma; 8.1.3 Radio COLUMN B (frequency in Hz): A 10²³; B 10⁷; C 10¹⁶ Write only the letter (A–C) for each.

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More practice questions

Explore additional Grade 10 Electromagnetic Radiation questions.

  • 2
    Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.2 Write down ONE use of each of the following types of radiation: 8.2.2 Microwaves
  • 3
    Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.3 When doctors need to establish the seriousness of a fracture, a picture is taken of the broken bone. The picture below shows a fracture. [Source: learning radiography.com] Write down the following: 8.3.2 Property of this type of radiation which enables it to perform this procedure
  • 4
    Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.3 When doctors need to establish the seriousness of a fracture, a picture is taken of the broken bone. The picture below shows a fracture. [Source: learning radiography.com] Write down the following: 8.3.3 Danger of overexposure to this type of radiation
  • 5
    Different types of electromagnetic radiation have different frequencies. This can influence their properties and what each could be used for in our daily lives. 8.4 A radio programme is transmitted in the FM band on a wavelength of 3 m. Calculate the energy of a photon of the radio wave.

Common mistakes

  • Reversing the order of the spectrum. Gamma rays have the highest frequency and energy and the shortest wavelength; radio waves have the lowest frequency.
  • Forgetting that energy is directly proportional to frequency (E = hf), so higher frequency means higher energy.
  • Not converting nanometres. 1 nm = 1 × 10⁻⁹ m.

More Grade 10 Physical Sciences topics

Aligned to CAPS Grade 10 Physical Sciences — Electromagnetic Radiation. Curriculum source: CAPS for the FET Phase, Department of Basic Education.

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