wave unit vocab Flashcards
Wave
A disturbance that transfers energy from place to place
Medium
Material through which a wave travels
Transverse Wave:
Compressional Wave
Compressional Wave
A wave that moves the medium parallel to the direction of the wave.
Sound Waves
Longitudinal waves caused by vibrating objects in a medium.
Water Waves
Waves on the surface of the water, involving both transverse and longitudinal waves
Seismic Waves
Waves resulting from earthquakes.
Crests
The highest parts of a transverse wave
Troughs
The lowest parts of a transverse wave.
Refraction
The bending of waves as they enter a new medium at an angle.
Wavelength
The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave.
Frequency
The number of complete waves that pass a point in a given time.
Amplitude
The maximum distance the particles of the medium move from their rest positions as a wave passes through.
Refraction
the change in the direction of a wave passing from one medium to another
Diffraction
The spreading out of waves as they pass through an opening or around obstacles.
Interference
The interaction between waves that meet.
Standing Wave
A wave that appears to stay in one place and does not seem to move through the medium
Resonance
When one object vibrating at the same natural frequency of a second object forces that second object into vibrational motion.
Eardrum
The part of the ear that vibrates when sound waves hit it.
Cochlea
A spiral-shaped, fluid-filled inner ear structure responsible for converting sound vibrations into nerve impulses.
Intensity
The amount of energy a sound wave carries per second through a unit area.
Loudness:
How loud or soft a sound seems to a listener, related to the amplitude of the sound wave.
Decibel
A unit used to measure the intensity of a sound.
Pitch
How high or low a sound is, related to the frequency of the sound wave.
