Section 3 Flashcards
Transverse waves
Energy is transferred at a perpendicular angle to the direction of travel
Longitudinal waves
Energy is transferred in the same direction and the direction of travel
Examples of transverse waves
- light waves
- waves travelling on the surface of water
Example of longitudinal waves
-sound waves
frequency
how many complete waves there are passing a certain point per second
wavelength
the distance from one peak to the next
amplitude
the height of the wave (from rest to crest)
period
the time it takes for one complete wave to pass a point
refraction
going through a new material and changing direction
reflected
where the waves ‘rebound off’ a material
red
longest wavelength
lowest frequency
violet
shortest wavelength
highest frequency
the waves are arranged in order of
decreasing wavelength
how to find the refractive index of a glass block
- draw around the glass block
- direct a ray of light through it at an angle
- trace the incident and emergent rays
- draw in the refracted ray between them
- draw in the normal
- use a protractor to measure the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction
- calculate the refractive index using Snell’s law
