Definitions (TA3)

Question 1

what is a wave/wave motion?

Answer 1

periodic motion repeated at regular intervals, transferring energy from one point to another without any transfer of matter/the medium

Question 2

what is an oscillation?

Answer 2

complete to-and-fro motion from one extreme position to the other extreme position, and back

Question 3

what is a crest/preak of a wave?

Answer 3

highest point of a transverse wave

Question 4

what is a trough of a wave?

Answer 4

lowest point of a transverse wave

Question 5

what is a wavefront?

Answer 5

imaginery line joining all points of the waves that are in phase

Question 6

what are transverse waves?

Answer 6

waves that travel in a direction perpendicular to the direction of vibration of particles

Question 7

what are longitudinal waves?

Answer 7

waves that travel in a direction parallel to the direction of vibration of particles

Question 8

what is a wavelength?

Answer 8

shortest distance between two points in phase on a wave

Question 9

what is amplitude of a wave?

Answer 9

maximum displacement of a particle from the rest position in a wave

Question 10

what is a period?

Answer 10

time taken for one complete oscillation/wave

Question 11

what is frequency?

Answer 11

number of complete oscillations per unit time

Question 12

what is an echo?

Answer 12

reflected sound heard as a separate sound after an interval of silence

Question 13

what is a reverberation?

Answer 13

reflected sound that cannot be heard as a separate sound but which seems to just prolong the original sound

Question 14

what is ultrasound?

Answer 14

sound frequencies above the upper hearing limit of the human range of audibility

Question 15

what is infrasound?

Answer 15

sound frequencies below the lower hearing limit of the human range of audibility

Question 16

what is an electromagnetic wave?

Answer 16

transverse wave that travel with the same speed in vacuum, the speed of light

Question 17

what is ionisation?

Answer 17

process whereby one or more electrons are removed from a neutral atom by the action of radiation

Question 18

what is a compression of a wave?

Answer 18

regions in a longitudinal wave where air pressure is slightly higher than the surrounding air pressure

Question 19

what is a rarefaction of a wave?

Answer 19

regions in a longitudinal wave where air pressure is slightly lower than the surrounding air pressure

Question 20

what is pressure?

Answer 20

force acting per unit area

Question 21

what is density?

Answer 21

mass per unit volume

Question 22

what is energy?

Answer 22

capacity to do work

Question 23

what is kinetic energy?

Answer 23

energy in the kinetic store of a body in motion

Question 24

what is gravitational potential energy?

Answer 24

energy in the gravitational store of a body due to its position relative to the ground

Question 25

what does the Principle of Conversation of Energy state?

Answer 25

energy cannot be created or destroyed it can only be transferred from one store to another the total energy in an isolated system is constant

Question 26

what is work done?

Answer 26

product of a force on an object and the distance moved in the direction of the force

Question 27

what is 1 joule?

Answer 27

work done by a force of one newton to move an object through a distance of one metre in the direction of the force

Question 28

what is power?

Answer 28

work done or energy transferred per unit time

Question 29

what is 1 watt?

Answer 29

work done or energy transferred of one joule per second

Question 30

what is efficiency?

Answer 30

ratio of useful energy output to total energy input

Question 31

what is renewable energy?

Answer 31

energy from sources that can be replenished naturally

Question 32

what is non-renewable energy?

Answer 32

energy from natural sources that cannot be replenished at a sustainable rate

Question 33

what is a derived quantity?

Answer 33

physical quantities derived from base quantities