levo

Magnetism and Magnetic Fields

The microphone

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

What a microphone does, which part the sound moves, the coil attached to the diaphragm, how the induced signal is produced, and how louder or higher-pitched sounds change it.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

In a dynamic microphone, what is attached to the diaphragm, how is a signal produced, and what changes when the sound is louder?

Key term

What is attached to the diaphragm of a dynamic microphone?

Key term

Explain how a dynamic microphone produces an electrical signal from a sound wave.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What does a microphone do?

    Model answer

    It converts the pressure variations of a sound wave into a varying electrical current.

  2. 2

    Which part of a dynamic microphone is moved directly by the sound wave?

    Model answer

    The diaphragm.

  3. 3

    What is attached to the diaphragm of a dynamic microphone?

    Model answer

    A coil of wire that sits in the field of a permanent magnet.

  4. 4

    Explain how a dynamic microphone produces an electrical signal from a sound wave.

    Model answer

    The pressure variations in the sound make the diaphragm and its coil vibrate near the magnet, so the magnetic field through the coil keeps changing and induces a varying potential difference across it.

  5. 5

    Which effect does a dynamic microphone depend on?

    Model answer

    Electromagnetic induction.

  6. 6

    How does making a sound louder change the signal from a microphone?

    Model answer

    The diaphragm and coil move further each time, so a larger current is induced.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Electricity
Energy
Forces
Global Challenges

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Mass × .
velocityaccelerationweight

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AGamma radiation is the most penetrating.
BAlpha radiation is the least penetrating.
CAlpha radiation is the most strongly ionising.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Current means the rate of flow of electric charge.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Magnetism and Magnetic Fields, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.