Term 2 Science (9)

Waves

A disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another

Two types of waves

Mechanical and Electromagnetic

Mechanical Waves

Only travel through a medium (solid, liquid, gas)

Electromagnetic Waves

Can travel through empty space - no medium

Types of mechanical waves

Transverse and Longitudinal

Transverse Waves

Waves that move through the medium at right angles to the direction the waves travel

Crest (transverse)

Highest point of a wave (top)

Trough (transverse)

Lowest point of a wave (bottom)

Rest position (transverse)

Where the medium shows no disturbance

Amplitude (transverse)

The vertical distance between a peak or a valley and the resting position in a transverse wave

Wavelength (transverse)

The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave

Longitudinal Waves

The medium moves parallel to the direction the waves are travelling