Wave Flashcards
Wave
A repeating distance or movement that transfers energy through matter or space.
Medium
The matter the waves travel through.
Transverse Wave
Matter in the medium moves back and forth at right angles to the direction that the wave travels.
Compressional Waves
Matter in the medium moves back and forth along the same direction that the wave travels.
Sound Waves
These are COMPRESSIONAL waves
Water Waves
Not purely transverse waves, water moves up and down as waves go by.
Seismic Waves
A combination of compressional and transverse waves.
Crests
An alternating high point
Troughs
An alternating low point.
Rerefraction
A less dense region of a compressional wave.
Wave Length
A distance between one point on a wave and the nearest point just like it.
Frequency
The number of wave lengths that pass a fixed point each second.
Amplitude
Related to energy carried by a wave.
Refraction
The bending of a wave caused by a change in its speed as it moves from one medium to another.
Diffraction
Occurs when an object caused a wave to change direction and bend around it.
Interference
When two or more waves overlap and combine to form a new wave.
Standing Wave
A special type of wave pattern that forms when waves in equal wavelength and amplitude, but travelling in opposite directions, continuously interfere.
Resonance
When an object is made to vibrate by absorbing energy at its natural frequencies.
Eardrum
A tough membrane about 0.1 mm thick.
Cochlea
A spiral shaped structure that is filled with liquid and contains tiny hair cells.
Intensity
The amount of energy that flows through a certain area in a specific amount of time.
Loudness
The human perception of sound intensity.
Decibel
Each unit on the scale for sound intensity.
Pitch
How low or high a sound seems to be.
Ultrasonic
Sound frequencies most people cannot hear.
Doppler Effect
The change in pitch or wave frequency due to moving wave source.
Music
Noise that has random patterns and pitches.
Sound Quality
Describes the differences among sounds of the same pitch and loudness.
Overtone
A vibration whose frequency is a multiple of the fundamental frequency.
Resonator
A hollow chamber filled with air that amplifies sound when air inside of it vibrates.
Acoustics
The study of sounds.
Echolocation
The process of locating objects by emitting sounds and interpretation the sound waves that are reflected back.
Sonar
A system that uses the reflection of underwater sound waves to detect objects.
