Waves

Crest

Highest point of a of a transverse wave

Trough

Lowest point of a transverse wave

Wavelength

The measurement from one crest to another

Amplitude (in general)

The distance between from the mid point to the crest of a transverse wave

Medium

Any kind of matter that is distributed by energy

Wave

Transfers energy from one place to another

Two mechanical waves

Transverse and Longitudinal/compressional

Frequency

The number of waves that pass a point in one second.

The two major types of waves

Mechanical and electromagnetic waves

Amplitude in a sound wave

Volume

Frequency in a sound

Pitch

Two electromagnetic waves

Light waves and Microwaves

Electromagnetic wave

Wave does not need a medium to transfer energy.

Mechanical waves

Wave needs a medium to transfer energy

Compression

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

Rarefaction

An are 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 just like it (from compression to compression or from rarefaction to rarefaction)

Amplitude in a compressional wave

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

Reflection

The process by which a wave hits an object and bounces off it

Absorption

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

Transmission

“To go through”