Physics Flashcards
Wave properties
- oscillations
- vibrations
What do sound waves do
vibrate air particles back and forth
What is a longitudinal wave
they are parallel waves to the direction of the wave travel
What is a transverse wave
vibrations are at right angles to the direction of the wave
Mechanical waves
cause oscillations of particles in a solid, liquid or gas and must have a medium to travel through.
What do electromagnetic waves cause …
cause oscillations in a electrical or magnetic field
What are all the parts of a wave
Rest position
frequency
amplitude
trough
peak wavelength
time period
rest position
the undisturbed position of particles or fields when they are not vibrating
Peak
the highest point of the wave
trough
lowest point of the wave
amplitude
the maximum displacement of a point of a wave from its rest position
Wavelength
distance covered by the full cycle of the wave
frequency
the number of waves passing through a point.
equation for time period
time period = 1/frequency
equation for speed
speed = distance / time
examples of longitudinal waves
ultrasound waves
sound waves
what do longitudinal waves show areas of …
compression and rarefaction
examples of transverse waves
ripples of water
vibrations of a guitar string
Mexican wave
how are transverse waves shown
moving a rope up and down
What kind of waves are electromagnetic waves
transverse
what do all electromagnetic waves have
- transfer energy as radiation
- can travel through a vacuum
- can travel at the same speed in a vacuum then it can air
electromagnetic spectrum
Radio waves
microwaves
infrared
visible light
UV
X rays
Gamma rays
Radio waves
Communication
Microwaves
cooking or satellite communications
UV
can not see it but can cause damage
What are types of ionising radiation
Gamma, UV, X rays
they can remove electrons from molecules producing electrically charged ions
Risks of UV
- Skin cancer
- burns
- age prematurely
Risks of Gamma and X rays
Mutation in genes, which can lead to cancer
What can waves do
( reflection )
Reflect at the boundary between two different materials
What is reflection from a smooth flat surface called
sepcular reflection
What happens if the surface is rough
( diffuse reflection )
instead of forming an image the reflected light is scattered off into all directions
What is rarefaction
It is the change in the direction of the wave
What is the Leslie cube
It is a cube that has 5 different surfaces on each face.
Matte black
shiny black
Matte white
Shiny white
Shiny Sliver
scalar
only have magnitude or size
examples of scalars
temp
mass
energy
density
distance
vector
have both magnitude and direction
contact force
Forces that act between two objects that physically touching each other
examples of contact forces
tension
air resistance
friction
non contact
forces that act between two objects that are not physically touching each other
examples of non contact forces
magnetic field
electrostatic force
gravitational force
balanced force
when forces are acting on a object and are the same size but going in different directions this is called balance
