The Electromagnetic Spectrum (Physics) · Physics Reference Tables (2025 Edition)
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The Electromagnetic Spectrum chart from the Reference Tables for Physical Science: Physics (2025 Edition) shows the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum by frequency, with the radio and microwave bands used by everyday devices marked and the visible-light region expanded to show its colors. It primarily supports HS-PS4-4, and the device bands make it useful for HS-PS4-5 and HS-PS4-1 as well. The chemistry reference tables have their own version of this chart, by wavelength and frequency.
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What the electromagnetic spectrum chart shows
A single frequency scale, in hertz, runs from 105 Hz to 1021 Hz. Radio, microwave, infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma radiation are marked as bands along it, with visible light as a narrow band between infrared and ultraviolet; the chart has no wavelength scale, so a wavelength has to be converted with v = fλ and c. Above the radio band, smaller boxes mark the AM broadcast band, the TV and FM band and the cell-phone band. A note says that spectral boundaries are not discrete and that the biological effects of adjacent forms of radiation overlap.
Two regions are expanded below the scale. The WiFi region runs from 1.00 × 109 Hz to 6.00 × 109 Hz (1 to 6 GHz, read with Prefixes for Powers of 10), with GPS marked near its low end and Bluetooth near 2.4 × 109 Hz. The visible region is divided into six colors:
| Color | Frequency (Hz) |
|---|---|
| Red | 4.28 × 1014 to 4.80 × 1014 |
| Orange | 4.80 × 1014 to 5.08 × 1014 |
| Yellow | 5.08 × 1014 to 5.31 × 1014 |
| Green | 5.31 × 1014 to 6.00 × 1014 |
| Blue | 6.00 × 1014 to 6.59 × 1014 |
| Violet | 6.59 × 1014 to 7.50 × 1014 |
The chemistry chart gives the same visible boundaries but merges blue and violet into one band, and it carries a wavelength scale in meters as well as the frequency scale. The 2006 edition of the physics reference tables showed both wavelength and frequency; the 2025 edition keeps frequency only and adds the device bands.
Regents Exam Questions
Released Regents questions that cannot be answered without this table, listed by exam. Each link opens the question with its answer key; the standard is the one the question assesses.
| Exam | Cluster | Question | Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 Physics Regents | Flashlight Physics | Question 31 | HS-PS4-1 |