In this deck, you'll explore the electromagnetic spectrum. This is a family of waves that includes everything from the radio waves that bring you music, to the light you see with your eyes, and the X-rays used in hospitals. We'll cover their properties, their order, and their uses and dangers.

All electromagnetic, or EM, waves are part of a continuous spectrum, and they all share two very important properties. Firstly, they are all transverse waves. Secondly, they all travel at the same incredibly high speed when in a vacuum, known as the speed of light.

The electromagnetic spectrum is organised by wavelength and frequency. The seven main groups are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays. This order is arranged from the longest wavelength and lowest frequency, which is radio waves, to the shortest wavelength and highest frequency, which is gamma rays.

A key relationship to remember is that as the frequency of an electromagnetic wave increases, its wavelength decreases. Also, the energy that a wave transfers increases with its frequency. So, high-frequency waves like gamma rays transfer a lot more energy than low-frequency waves like radio waves.