Brisbane Boys' College Library: Year 10: Term 3: Waves, Sound and Light

Claim 1: Waves

Knowledge of different types of waves, and their motion through the ocean and the continents allows prediction of the possible extent of damage or the timing of tsunamis and earthquakes.

Britannica database: Wave types

Access Science database: Wave types and tsunamis

SMS-Tsunami Warning: Tsunamis and other wave types

Physics of Tsunamis
This second edition reflects significant progress in tsunami research, monitoring and mitigation within the last decade. Primarily meant to summarize the state-of-the-art knowledge on physics of tsunamis, it describes up-to-date models of tsunamis generated by a submarine earthquake, landslide, volcanic eruption, meteorite impact, and moving atmospheric pressure inhomogeneities. Models of tsunami propagation and run-up are also discussed. The book investigates methods of tsunami monitoring including coastal mareographs, deep-water pressure gauges, GPS buoys, satellite altimetry, the study of ionospheric disturbances caused by tsunamis and the study of paleotsunamis. Non-linear phenomena in tsunami source and manifestations of water compressibility are discussed in the context of their contribution to the wave amplitude and energy. The practical method of calculating the initial elevation on a water surface at a seismotectonic tsunami source is expounded. Potential and eddy traces of a tsunamigenic earthquake in the ocean are examined in terms of their applicability to tsunami warning.

Claim 2: Sound waves

Using an understanding of the behaviour of sound waves, acoustical engineering can reduce noise pollution by planning structures that absorb sound waves or that do not reflect and amplify sound in an unwanted way.

Access Science database: Acoustic engineering and sound waves

Science Daily: Acoustics

Silica aerogel/polyester blankets for efficient sound absorption in buildings

The creation and regulation of sports equipment: implications for the future

Claim 3: Waves and resonance

Applying knowledge of waves and resonance has improved the design of sporting equipment to allow for greater performance by athletes.

Lumen Learning: Standing waves and resonance

All About Circuits: Standing waves and resonance

Macquarie University: Standing waves and resonance

Claim 4: Optics

Improvements in the field of optics have revolutionised the way information is communicated over the past 50 years.

Science Daily: Optical system promises to revolutionize undersea communications

The world communicates

Optical fibre transmission

High speed and spectrally efficient optical communication system - review of the recent advances and emerging trends

Claim 5: Light

Developments in the way materials interact with light will have profound implications for a range of industries over the next 25 years.

Data of the future may ride light waves

Physicists use light waves to accelerate supercurrents, enable ultrafast quantum computing

Scientists use light to accelerate supercurrents, access forbidden light, quantum properties

Leading Lights

QCAA Exemplars of Year 11 IA3 Research Assignments

Advanced Google Web Searching

Google Advanced search techniques

1. You can complete an advanced search in Google Advanced Search, which helps narrow or refine your search for better, more specific results.

2. Narrow your results to one particular domain type, by adding site: and a domain name to your search terms.

Looking for an educational site - genetic engineering site:edu
Looking for a government site - genetic engineering site:gov
To restrict your search to Australian websites, add '.au' - genetic engineering site:edu.au

3 letter Domain names

gov - Government
go - some countries such as Indonesia use .go only
edu - Educational
org - Organizations (nonprofit)
mil - Military
com - commercial
net - Network organizations

2 letter Domain names for country of origin

au - Australia
uk - United Kingdom
cn - China
in - India
id - Indonesia

A complete list can be found on the CIA World Factbook

3. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.

4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', .you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3 to 5 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

5. Use Boolean searching

Use double inverted commas ("...") to enclose a phrase eg "plastic pollution". This command forces Google to return results where these 2 words are exactly side by side.
Use AND to limit your results: A search for this phrase - Australian AND Indonesian "plastic pollution" will force Google to return results where both Australian and Indonesian plastic pollution is mentioned in the same article.
Use NOT to limit your results (in a different way): A search for this - "plastic pollution" NOT marine - will force Google to return results about plastic pollution which do not include anything related to the ocean.
Use OR to expand your results: A search for this - global OR worldwide "plastic pollution" - will force Google to return results for global as well as its synonym worldwide.
Use filetype:pdf to search in Google for only pdf articles - "plastic pollution" filetype:pdf - will force Google to return results on plastic pollution which are only pdf articles (PDFs are great sources sometimes deeply buried in Google results and remain unseen).

ONESearch Resource Explorer

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

Useful Science Websites

The world’s largest collection of open access research papers

An inclusive journal community which believes all rigorous science needs to be published and discoverable, widely disseminated and freely accessible to all

A free distribution service and an open archive for scholarly articles in the fields of science

An American website that aggregates press releases and publishes lightly edited press releases about science

Breaks down the stories behind the most interesting news and photos on the Internet

Offers the best intelligent, informed science and technology coverage and analysis on a daily basis

Provides the latest science news, in-depth articles, analysis and opinion, photo galleries, video and podcasts from the ABC

Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google. Google Scholar's searches are set to cover scholarly material more often than 'regular' Google. Read the article below on the advantages an disadvantages of using it. TIP: To get PDFs only, type in 'filetype:pdf'. It's great!

Advantages / Disadvantages of Google Scholar

How to use Google Books

Google Books can be very frustrating because often much of the book is missing and you are expected to purchase it to read the full content. So after you put in your search term you are interested in (eg biodiesel), and get some results up, you should then go immediately to the search box (on the left - above 'About this box')
and type in a particular word or term you are interested in (eg CO2 emissions OR methanol) you should get a number of pages pop up. Choose one that looks useful - you should get some good results this way!

Best Physics Websites

Physics.org

Template Sheet for QUT's C.R.A.A.P. Test Evaluation of Sources Used

C.R.A.A.P. Test Evaluation Sheet for Sources Used

Choose the sources you wish to evaluate. Save this document to your tablet, complete the evaluation of the sources (one per page) and print out to attach to the back of your assignment.

Useful Databases

How To Write In-Text References for Science

In-Text Referencing for Science

C.R.A.A.P. Test for Evaluating Websites

Check the quality of your websites using these criteria (adapted from QUT Library):
Currency: Timeliness of the information When was the information published, posted or last updated? Is the information current for your topic and field of study? How recent does it have to be? Can older sources work just as well?
Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs Is the information appropriate for a senior secondary course? Is this an adequately in-depth examination or a quick summary of the topic? Who's the intended audience? Is it the general public, a student, a researcher or industry? Is the level of information too basic or too advanced for your needs?
Authority: Source of the information Is the author/authoring body (individual person, or institution, or organisation) established and reputable? Are their qualifications, credentials, expertise, experience, educational background and previous work (if any) relevant and do they add credibility to the source? Has the piece been published by a well-known and respected publisher or organisation? Do references to other sources support the writing ie is a Bibliography or Reference List provided?
Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the information Where does the information come from, and is it supported by evidence? Does it have a Reference List or Bibliography so you can easily find and verify the sources used? Are there any spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose: Reason the information exists What is the purpose of the information? Why was it written? Does the point of view appear objective, unbiased and impartial? Is the viewpoint of the author's affiliation/ sponsors reflected in the message or content? Does the author acknowledge alternative versions of the issues or facts?

Zotero - Online Referencing Tool Hints

Zotero can be set to the same Harvard AGPS (Australia) style that CiteAce uses, called 'Melbourne Polytechnic - Harvard'. Please read the instructions carefully.

Any issues - see your Library Staff