Physics HN Unit 4 Vocab

Periodic motion

motion that cycles (repeats itself

period

length of time to complete one full cycle

frequency

number of cycles per second

amplitude

max distance from equilibrium

restoring force

a force that tries to return an oscillating object to equilibrium

simple harmonic motion

a type of period motion defined by two characteristics (must be a restoring force, restoring force is proportional to amplitude)

pendulum periodic motion

type of simple harmonic motion for pendulums

spring periodic motion

type of simple harmonic motion for springs

natural frequency

frequency at which a system or material wants to vibrate at

resonance

when an applied force matches the natural frequency

wave

a disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another

mechanical wave

requires a medium to travel through (sound, water, seismic)

non-mechanical wave

can occur in a vacuum (light, radio)

transverse wave

particles move up and down (perpendicularly) as the wave passes through

longitudinal wave

particles move side to side (parallel) as the wave passes through

crest

height of a wave

trough

bottom of a wave

wavelength

repeat length of a wave

sound

a wave formed by a vibrating object creating alternating regions of compressed and expanded air

lungs

push air through vocal chords

vocal chords

muscle tissue in larynx that vibrate, producing sound

nose/mouth

where sound travels out of

ear drum

converts sound waves into vibrations

cochlea

produces nerve impulses in response to sound vibrations

loudness

the human perception of the intensity of a sound

ambient noise

all noise present in a given environment

pitch

frequency of a sound wave as perceived by humans

ultrasonic

sound higher than we can hear

infrasonic

sound that is lower that we can hear

supersonic

things that can travel faster than the speed of sound

intensity

the amount of sound power passing through a given area

the Doppler Effect

when a source of sound moves toward an observer, the frequency heard is higher than the frequency produced by a sound (& vice versa)