General Properties of Waves

Question 1

What do waves transfer?

Answer 1

Energy

Question 2

What are the 2 types of wave?

Answer 2

Transverse and Longitudinal

Question 3

What’s a transverse wave?

Answer 3

When wave oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer

Question 4

What’s a longitudinal wave?

Answer 4

When wave oscillations are parallel to the direction of wave motion

Question 5

What type of wave are electromagnetic waves?

Answer 5

Transverse waves

Question 6

What type of wave are sound waves?

Answer 6

Longitudinal waves

Question 7

What type of wave are mechanical waves?

Answer 7

They may be either transverse or mechanical

Question 8

What do all electromagnetic waves travel at the same speed through?

Answer 8

A vacuum (space)

Question 9

What do electromagnetic waves form?

Answer 9

A continuous spectrum

Question 10

What’s the order of electromagnetic waves from smallest to largest frequency?

Answer 10

Radio, micro, IR, visible, UV, X-ray, Gamma

Question 11

What do longitudinal waves show areas of?

Answer 11

Rarefaction and compression

Question 12

What 3 things can waves be?

Answer 12

Reflected, refracted, diffracted

Question 13

When does significant diffraction occur?

Answer 13

When the wave is of the same order of magnitude as the size of the gap or obstacle

Question 14

What to waves undergo when they are refracted at an interface?

Answer 14

A change of direction

Question 15

What’s wavelength?

Answer 15

The distance between two peaks or the distance between two troughs

Question 16

What’s amplitude?

Answer 16

Is measured from the peak (or trough) to the mid-point, and is the maximum displacement from the average position

Question 17

What’s frequency?

Answer 17

The number of complete cycles (complete waves) in one second

Question 18

What’s speed measured in?

Answer 18

m/s

Question 19

What’s frequency measured in?

Answer 19

Hz

Question 20

What’s wavelength measured in?

Answer 20

m

Question 21

Which 4 electromagnetic waves can be used for communication?

Answer 21

Radio, micro, IR, visible

Question 22

What type of communication are radio waves used in?

Answer 22

Television and radio

Question 23

What type of communication are microwaves used in?

Answer 23

Mobile phones and satellite TV

Question 24

What type of communication are infrared waves used in?

Answer 24

Remote controls

Question 25

What type of communication are visible waves used in?

Answer 25

Photography