Question

If you and a friend are on opposite sides of a hill, you can communicate with walkie-talkies but not with flashlights. Explain.

a) Walkie-talkies use radio waves that diffract over the hill, while flashlights emit light in a straight line.
b) Walkie-talkies produce interference that penetrates obstacles, unlike the focused light of flashlights.
c) Flashlights have longer wavelengths that are absorbed by the hill, while walkie-talkies use shorter wavelengths.
d) Walkie-talkies generate diffraction patterns that allow communication around obstacles.

Answer 1

Walkie-talkies can communicate over a hill because they use radio waves that diffract, while flashlights cannot because visible light travels in straight lines and won't bend around the hill.

Step-by-step explanation:

If you and a friend are on opposite sides of a hill, you can communicate with walkie-talkies but not with flashlights because walkie-talkies use radio waves that can diffract over the hill. Walkie-talkies can communicate over a hill because they use radio waves that diffract, while flashlights cannot because visible light travels in straight lines and won't bend around the hill.

This phenomenon occurs because radio waves have wavelengths that are comparable to the size of the hill, enabling them to bend around it, while the visible light from the flashlight travels in straight lines and does not bend around obstacles at this size scale.

The correct answer to the question is: a) Walkie-talkies use radio waves that diffract over the hill, while flashlights emit light in a straight line.