Waves

Wave

A repeating disturbance that moves energy through matter or space.

Medium

The matter (solid, liquid, gas) that mechanical waves travel through.

Crest

The highest point of a transverse wave.

Trough

The lowest point of a transverse wave.

Wavelength

The distance a wave travels in one wave cycle.

2 major types of waves

Mechanical, (need a medium) and electromagnetic, (do not need a medium)

2 types of mechanical waves

Transverse and longitudal

Amplitude (in general)

in a compressional wave, the amplitude depends on the density of the medium in the compressions and rarefactions.  (Very high amplitude compressional waves have very dense compressions and very low density rarefactions) the greater the amplitude, the more energy the wave carries if you increase the AMPLITUDE of a compressional wave, the VOLUME gets louder

Amplitude of a sound wave

Volume

Frequency (in general)

The number of waves that pass a fixed point each second.

Frequency in a sound wave

Pitch

Transverse wave

Energy in the medium moves back and forth at right angles to the direction the waves travels.

Longitudinal wave

Also known as compressional wave. The energy movs back and forth in the same direction that the wave travels.

Electromagnetic waves

DO NOT need a medium to travel through in order to transfer energy. They can through a vacuum (space). Examples are microwaves, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, visible light.

Wavelength of a transverse wave

Distance from one point of a wave to the nearest point just like it (from crest to crest or from trough to trough)

If wavelength increases then the frequency decreases (the opposite is true too)

Compression

An area on the wave where the medium becomes more dense (squeezed tightly together)

Rarefraction

An area on the wave where the medium is less dense

Wavelength of a compressional wave

Distance from one point of a wave to the nearest point (from compression or from rare fraction to rare fraction)

Reflection

The process by which a wav hits an object and bounces off of it.

Absorption

When a wave hits a material and it is not reflected back (instead it gets sucked in)

Transmission

“To go through”