mechanical waves vocab

mechanical waves

a wave created by energy causing a vibration through a medium

medium

the material in which a wave travels (gas, liquid, solid)

crest

the highest point of the wave about the rest position

trough

the lowest point below the rest position

transverse wave

a wave that causes the medium to vibrate perpendicular to its direction of travel

compression

an area where the particles in a medium are spaced closed (found in longitudinal waves)

rarefraction

an area where the particles in a medium are spread out (found in longitudinal waves)

longitudinal wave

a wave where the medium vibrates parallel to the direction of travel

surface waves

a wave that travels along the surface of a medium

periodic motion

any motion that repeats at regular time intervals

period

is the time where a wave makes one complete cycle

frequency

is the number of complete cycles in a given time

hertz

frequency per second

wavelength

the distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next cycle of the wave

amplitude

the maximum displacement of the medium from its rest position