Chap 11: Wave Motion Flashcards
• Displacement:
Distance in a specified direction from its equilibrium position of a particle on a wave.
• Amplitude:
Magnitude of the maximum displacement from its equilibrium position of a particle on a wave.
Period:
Time taken for a particle on the wave to complete one oscillation.
Frequency:
Number of oscillations completed by each particle of the wave per unit time.
Phase difference (btw waves and btw particles on wave) :
Phase difference between two waves is the measure of the fraction of a cycle that one wave (or one particle) is moving out of step with the other.
o Phase difference between two particles along a wave is the measure of the fraction of a cycle that one particle is moving out of step with the other.
• Wavelength:
Shortest distance between two points on a progressive wave which are oscillating in phase.
(Wave) speed:
Distance travelled by the wave per unit time.
• Progressive waves:
Energy is transferred in the direction of wave propagation by the oscillations of the particles in the medium. The waveform appears to be moving although the particles in the medium do not get transported along the wave.
Transverse waves:
The plane of oscillations of the particles in the medium are at right angles to the direction of energy transfer
• Longitudinal waves:
Particles in the medium oscillate along an axis parallel to the direction of transfer of energy.
• Intensity:
Power per unit area transferred across an area perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer.
What is an unpolarised transverse wave
Unpolarised transverse wave is a wave where the oscillations are in all directions in a plane normal to the direction of energy transfer.
What is a plane-polarised transverse wave
Plane-polarised transverse wave is a wave where the oscillations are confined to one direction only in a plane normal to the direction of energy transfer
