3.1 Longitudinal & Transverse Waves Flashcards
What is a progressive wave defined as?
A wave that transfers energy from one point to another without transferring the medium itself
What are the properties of a progressive wave? (6(
- displacement
- amplitude
- wavelength
- time period
- frequency
- speed
What is the displacement of a wave?
- distance of a point on the wave from its equilibrium position
What is the Amplitude of a wave?
- the maximum displacement of a particle in the wave from its equilibrium position
What is the wavelength of a wave?
- the distance beterrn points on successive oscillations of the wave
- measured in metres
What is the time period of a wavE?
- the time taken for one complete oscillation or cycle of the wave
- measured in seconds
What is the frequency of a wave?
- the number of complete oscillations per unit time
- measured in Hertz
What is the equation for frequency?
frequency = 1/time period
What is the speed of a wave?
- the distance travelled by the wave per unit time
- (metres per second)
What is the wave equation?
speed of a wave = frequency x wavelength
What does the wave equation show?
as the wavelength increases, the frequency decreases and vis a versa
What is phase difference?
the phase difference between two waves is a measure of how much a point or wave is in front or behind another
how can you find the phase difference?
- the relative position of the crests or troughs of two different waves of the same frequency
What determines whether 2 waves are in or out of phase?
- when crests and troughs are aligned in phase
- when crest of one wave aligns with the trough of another they are in anti phase
How can the phase difference be calculated?
- from 2 different points on the same wave
- same point on 2 different waves
How can phase difference be measured?
- fractions of a wavelength
- degrees
- radians
if a wave is in phase, how can it be described?
- 360 degrees
- 2π radians
if a wave is in anti-phase, how can it be described?
- 180 degrees
- π radians
What are the 2 types of waves?
- transverse
- longitudinal
How can you determine what type of wave a wave is?
by the direction of the oscillations in relation to the direction the wave is travelling
What is a transverse wave?
a wave in which the particles oscillate perpendicular to the direction of the wave travel and energy transfer
What are the properties of transverse waves?
- show areas of crests and troughs
- can be shown on a rope
- can be polarised
What are 2 examples of transverse waves?
- electromagnetic waves
- vibrations on a guitar string
- waves on a string
- seismic waves
Longitudinal wave is defined as:
a wave in which the particles oscillate parallel to the direction of the wave travel and energy transfer