Science sound and light Flashcards
what is sound?
Sound is a type of energy made by vibrations.
what is a Medium?
A medium is a material that moves energy or light from one substance to another or from one surface to another.
what does sound rely on to travel?
Mediums
What is a soundwave?
Sound waves are vibrations that transmit sound through matter.
What is a compression?
its the high density peak of a wave
what is a rarefaction?
A low density peak in a soundwave
What is a transverse wave?
Transverse waves are waves that travel at right angles to the direction of energy transfer
What is a longitudinal wave?
A longitudinal wave is a type of wave that travels in the direction of the medium
What is the frequency of a wave?
pitch, the frequency of a wave is the number of vibrations a sound source makes per second,
What is frequency measured in?
Hertz, vibrations per second
What is wavelength?
The size of the soundwave measured from one peak to the next
What kind of wavelength does a low frequency sound have?
A long wavelength
What characteristics does a high frequency soundwave have?
Bunched compressions, short wavelength, high pitched sound
what characteristics does a low frequency wave have?
Spread out compressions, long wavelength, low pitched sound
what is amplitude?
Amplitude is a measurement of the amount of energy
transferred by a wave.
What causes all soundwaves?
Vibrations
what quality of sound does the frequency determine?
pitch
What will sound do if the particles are closer together?
The sound will travel faster
what is the formula for calculating the speed of sound?
speed = distance / time
What causes an echo
hard surfaces reflecting sound
what are the parts of the human ear
outer, middle and inner ear, eardrum, ear canal, inner ear bones, cochlea, auditory nerve
What is the purpose of the ear canal?
Directs the sound to the ear drum
what is the purpose of the ear drum?
To send vibrations to the inner ear
What is light?
Light is a type of electromagnetic radiation that allows the human eye to see or makes objects visible
How does light travel?
Light waves travel out from their source in straight lines called rays, reflecting off objects
what is refraction?
the bending of light
what is an electromagnetic wave?
waves that are created as a result of vibrations between an electric field and a magnetic field
what colours have low frequency?
red, orange, yellow
what colours have high frequency?
Blue, indigo, violet
what is colour
Reflected light
what causes reflection?
Reflection occurs when light traveling through one material bounces off a different material
What is transmission of light?
light passes through an object
what is absorption of light?
Light is transformed into heat inside an object.
what does a smooth surface cause light rays to do?
Reflect in a regular pattern
what does a rough surface cause light rays to do?
Reflect light rays in all different directions (diffuse)
what is the law of reflection?
It states that when a ray of light reflects off a surface, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
what is the bending of light as it passes from one material into another called
refraction
what is a concave lens
A lens that is curved inwards and is thinner in the middle
what is a convex lens?
A lens that is curved outwards and is thicker in the middle
which way does light bend when it slows down while passing from air to water?
towards the normal
If light is travelling from a less dense to a more dense substance what happens?
The light will bend toward the normal as it slows down
what is the normal?
The normal is an imaginary line angled at 90 degrees from the surface
what is refraction?
Refraction is the bending of light
What is the refractive index?
It is the measure of how easily light travels through different substances
If a substance was to have a high refractive index would the substance be dense?
Yes
What is the purpose of the snells law?
to calculate the refractive index of a transparent substance.
what does the term converge mean?
To spread out
what does the term diverge mean?
To come together
What is a concave lens
A lens that is curved inwards and thinner in the middle, causing light rays to diverge.
What is a transparent substance
Clear or see through
what is a translucent substance?
A partially clear substance
What does a rough surface do to light?
causes diffuse reflection
what is the law of reflection?
That light rays get reflected at right angles.
what is diffuse reflection?
When light gets reflected in all different directions by a rough surface.
what does luminous mean?
Creates or emits its own light
what does transmission of light mean?
Light travelling through a substance
what does opaque mean?
light absorbed, not transmitted
what is light absorption?
light being absorbed by a substance transferring its energy as heat into the particles in the substance
what is the focal point?
where the refracted (bent) light rays cross over.
