Chapter 5.1 - Basic waves Flashcards
What is a wave?
A means for transferring energy via oscillations
What is the displacement of a wave?
Position of a particular point on a wave at a particular instant in time measured from the mean position.
What is the amplitude of a wave?
The magnitude of the maximum displacement reached by an oscillation in a wave
Frequency
The number of complete wave cycles per second
Frequency equation
1 / time period
What is the wavelength?
The distance between a point on a wave and the same point on the next cycle of a wave
What is the period
The time taken for one complete oscillation at one point on the wave
Period equation
1 / frequency
What Is the phase
The stage at a given point on a wave is through a complete cycle measured in radians
What is wave speed
Rate of movement of wave
What is the wave equation?
Wave speed = frequency x wavelength
What is an example of a longitudinal wave?
Sound waves
What are transverse waves
A wave in which the oscillations occur perpendicular to the direction of the wave energy
What are longitudinal waves?
A wave in which the oscillations occur parallel to the direction of movement of the wave energy
What Is compression in a longitudinal wave
An area in which the particle oscillations put them closer to each other than their equilibrium state
