Chapter 11: General Wave Properties Flashcards
What is a wave and what is it made up of?
A disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another
Periodic motion
What is a periodic motion?
Motion repeated at regular intervals
How are waves formed?
- Waves in a rope
- Water waves in a ripple tank
- Waves in a spring
What are the properties of waves
- The source of a wave is a vibration or an oscillation
- Waves transfer energy from one point to another
- Waves transfer energy without transferring the medium
What are transverse waves? Example?
Waves that travel perpendicular to the direction of the vibration
Water waves
Light waves
What are longitudinal waves? Example?
Waves that travel parallel to the direction of the vibration
Sound waves
What is amplitude? SI Unit?
The maximum displacement of a point from its rest position
Metre (m)
What does it mean by in phase?
- Same direction of motion
- Same speed
- Same displacement
from their rest position
What is crest?
The highest point of a transverse wave
What is trough
The lowest point of a transverse wave
What is wavelength? SI Unit?
The shortest distance between any two points in phase
Metre (m)
What can you find from displacement-distance graph
- Amplitude
2. Wavelength
What can you find from displacement-time graph?
- Amplitude
2. Time
What is period? SI unit?
The time taken to produce one complete wave
second (s)
What is frequency? SI unit? Formula?
The number of complete waves produced per second
Hertz (Hz)
f = 1 / T
