Chapter 3: Waves Flashcards
What is a wave?
A regular disturbance that carries energy from one place to another
What does a wave transport?
Energy, not matter
When a wave is present in a medium, what happens to the individual particles?
They are temporarily displaced from their rest position; there is always a force acting upon the particles that restores them to their original position
What are the two ways of showing wave motion in a graph?
displacement-time graphs
What is displacement?
Instantaneous distance from the equilibrium position
What is amplitude?
The maximum displacement from the equilibrium position
What is wavelength?
The distance between any two points on adjacent cycles which are vibrating in phase
What does “in phase” mean?
that two waves are the same point in their cycle
What is frequency?
The number of oscillations (or cycles) in one second
The equation for time period if found on the data sheet. what do the symbols stand for?
T= 1/f
T = 1/fT= time period f= frequency
the wave speed equation is found on the data sheet. what do the symbols stand for?
c=fλ
c =fλ
c= wave speed f=frequency
λ=wavelength
What is phase difference?
The difference between two waves having the same frequency and referenced to the same point in time
What is phase difference expressed in?
Degrees, radians or fractions of a cycle
Would two oscillators with the same frequency and different phases have a phase difference?
Yes - they would be out of phase with each other
What is the range of values for phase difference?
• degrees - 0 to 360
* radians - 0 to 2π
