Chapter 12 Terms Flashcards
Periodic motion
Recurring back-and-forth or cyclical motion of a system in a regular time interval.
Rest position
The position of an oscillating system exactly halfway between the maximum displacements of its oscillations.
Amplitude
The maximum displacement from the rest position of a system experiencing periodic motion.
Cycle
One complete back-and-forth motion or rotation in periodic motion, where the system has returned to its starting point.
Period (T)
The time it takes to complete one cycle.
Frequency (f)
The number of oscillations or other periodic changes completed per unit of time.
Restoring force
The force that acts on an oscillating system to return it to its rest position.
Damping
Reducing the amplitude of periodic motion through friction or other resistance.
Resonance
The condition of an oscillating system when its amplitude increases due to reinforcement by energy added at its natural frequency.
Natural frequency
The frequency at which an oscillating object experiences resonance.
Pendulum
A mass attached to the end of an arm suspended from a pivot point that is free to swing back and forth under the influence of gravity or other forces.
Foucault pendulum
A pendulum first constructed by Jean Foucault in 1851 to demonstrate that the earth rotates on its axis.
Wave
An oscillation in matter or mutually interacting electromagnetic fields that transfers energy from one place to another.
Mechanical wave
A wave that travels through matter by the periodic motion of its particles.
Crest
Compared to the rest position in a wave- form, the highest point of a wave (as in water waves) or the location of greatest particle density (as in sound waves).
Trough
The lowest point of a wave compared to the rest position (as in water waves) or the location of least particle density (as in sound waves).
Wavelength
The distance between corresponding points on adjacent waveforms, such as crest-to-crest or trough-to-trough.
Medium
Matter that oscillates as a wave travels through it.
Pulse
A single wave cycle or a very short burst of waves.
Transverse wave
A wave in which the oscillations are at right angles to the direction of wave travel.
Longitudinal wave
A wave in which the oscillations are parallel to the direction of wave travel.
Compression
In longitudinal waves, regions of maximum particle density.
Rarefaction
In longitudinal waves, regions of minimum particle density.
Reflection
Phenomenon of a wave bouncing off a surface.
Refraction
Phenomenon that occurs when a wave’s speed changes as it moves through a boundary between different media .
Interference
The interaction of two or more intersecting waves, resulting in a net waveform with amplitudes and periods different from those of the interacting waves.
Constructive interference
The interaction of interfering waves resulting in a waveform with a larger amplitude than those of the interfering waves.
Destructive interference
The interaction of interfering waves resulting in a waveform with a smaller amplitude than those of the interfering waves.
Standing wave
A waveform whose nodes appear to be stationary and whose crests and troughs periodically alternate between the nodes.
Node
A point in a standing wave that experiences no vertical displacement.
Beat
A large-amplitude, slowly varying wave that is the result of interference between two continuous waves having slightly different wave lengths.
Diffraction
The bending of waves around the edges of objects or after passing through openings or gratings.
Doppler effect
The perceived difference in received frequency compared to the frequency of a wave source due to the relative motion of the observer and the source.
