Mechanical Waves, Sound and Hearing

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about mechanical waves, sound, and hearing.

Wave

A disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another.

Vibrate

To move back and forth rapidly.

Medium

A material that carries a wave.

Mechanical waves

Waves that require a medium to travel through.

Electromagnetic waves

Waves that do not require a medium to travel through.

Transverse waves

Waves in which particles of the medium move perpendicular to the direction of wave travel.

Longitudinal waves

Waves in which particles of the medium move parallel to the direction of wave travel.

Amplitude

The distance the particles of the medium move from rest position.

Wavelength

The distance between two corresponding points on a wave.

Frequency

The number of wavelengths that pass by a point in a certain time.

Sound

Made of longitudinal waves created when objects vibrate.

Loudness

The human perception of the volume of a sound.

Decibels

Unit that measures sound intensity.

Pitch

The human perception of how high or low a sound is.

Music

Ordered sound made of sound waves in a regular pattern.

Noise

Disordered sound made of sound waves with no regular pattern.

Ultrasonic

Sound waves with frequencies above the range of human hearing.

Infrasonic

Sound waves with frequencies below the range of human hearing.