Science - Physics (Waves) Flashcards
wave
rhythmic disturbance that travels through matter or space
wave motion
transferring energy
transverse wave
matter vibrates at right angles to the direction in which the wave travels
longitudinal wave
matter vibrates back and forth along the path that the wave travels
periodic motion
motion that repeats itself over and over again
periodic wave
motion that repeats itself at regular intervals and that transfers energy but not mass
period
time it takes for the motion to repeat itself
frequency
how often a cycle repeats itself
what unit is frequency usually measured in?
hertz - cycles per second
amplitude
maximum distance a wave rises or falls as it travels
crest of a transverse wave
max upward displacement
trough
max downward displacement
wavelength
distance between two successive crests
wave speed
frequency of the wave times the wavelength
diffraction
bending of waves around an obstacle
resonance
vibration of one system results in the vibration of the other system at the same frequency
photons
tiny packets of energy (light waves are made up of these)
electromagnetic waves
moving photos generate electric and magnetic fields
electromagnetic spectrum
complete spectrum of light arranged in order of their wavelength
visible light (part of electromagnetic spectrum)
portion that is visible to human eye
what does the electromagnetic spectrum consist of?
radio waves infrared waves visible light ultraviolet light X-rays gamma rays
what kind of waves are sound waves?
longitudial
how is the loudness of a sound wave determined?
amplitude
whenever there is relative motion between the source of waves and the observer
doppler effect
refraction
bending of light rays as they pass from one medium to another
dispersion
separating light into its component colors
lens
any transparent material that refracts light
convex lens
a lens that is thicker in the center than the edges
focal point
point at which the light rays meet
concave lens
thicker at the edges than it is in the middle
images of an object produces by concave lenses are…
smaller than the object