Waves in Matter (OCR)

what are waves?

what are waves?

Waves transfer energy without transferring matter from a point to another.

what is meant by direction of propagation?

direction in which the wave is moving or traveling.

do mechanic waves need a medium to travel?

yes

give some example of mechanic waves?

sound waves, sea waves, seismic waves, waves in a rope or spring.

do electromagnetic waves need medium to travel?

no but can pass through a medium too

give some examples of EM waves

gamma and X-rays, UV rays, visible light, infrared, microwaves, radio waves.

what are transverse waves?

The direction of vibration (of the source or the medium's particles) is at right angles to the direction of wave motion.

what are the high points in transverse waves called?

crests

what are low points in a transverse wave called?

troughs

whhat are longitudinal waves

The direction of vibration (of the source or the medium's particles) is parallel to the direction of wave motion.

what is an example of longitudinal wave

sound waves

what happens in compression?

particles are closest together (high pressure zone).

what happens in rarefraction?

particles are farthest apart (low pressure zone).

what is amplitude?

The height of a crest or the depth of a trough is amplitude

what is time period?

Time taken to produce one complete wave/oscillation.

what is frequency?

The number of waves passing a point per second (or produced per second) is frequency.

what is wavelength

The length of one complete wave is wavelength.

what is wave speed?

the distance traveled by a waveform per unit time.

what is a wavefront?

An imaginary line that joins all crests or troughs of waves travelling parallel to one another.

what is refraction?

Refraction is the change in wave speed and wavelength as the wave travels from a medium to another, or from one depth to another.