Wave Vocab

Question 1

What is a wave ?

Answer 1

A disturbance that transfers energy from one place to another without requiring matter to move the full distance.

Question 2

What does medium mean?

Answer 2

A substance through a wave moves.

Question 3

What is a mechanical wave?

Answer 3

A wave such as a sound or seismic wave that transfers kinetic energy through matter.

Question 4

What is a transverse wave?

Answer 4

Wave in witch the disturbance moves at right angles to the wave.

Question 5

What is a longitudinal wave?

Answer 5

A wave in witch the disturbance moves in the same direction as the wave travels.

Question 6

What is the crest?

Answer 6

The highest point In a wave.

Question 7

What is the trough?

Answer 7

The lowest point in a wave.

Question 8

What is amplitude?

Answer 8

The maximum distance that a disturbance causes a medium to move from it’s resting position.

Question 9

What is Frequency

Answer 9

The number of waves that pass a fixed point in a given time

Question 10

What is reflection?

Answer 10

The bouncing back of a wave as it hits a barrier

Question 11

What is refraction?

Answer 11

The bending of light as it it crosses a boundary between two mediums at an angle other that 90 degrees.

Question 12

What is an interference?

Answer 12

The meeting and combining of waves the adding or subtracting of wave amplitudes that occur as waves overlap.

Question 13

What is an electromagnetic wave?

Answer 13

A type of wave such as a light wave or radio wave that does not require a medium to travel through. a disturbance that transfers energy through a field.

Question 14

What is radiation?

Answer 14

Energy that travels across distances in the form of electromagnetic waves.

Question 15

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

Answer 15

The range of all electromagnetic frequencies.

Question 16

What are radio waves?

Answer 16

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves of the lowest frequencies.

Question 17

What is a microwave?

Answer 17

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with higher frequencies than radio waves but lower than inferred waves.

Question 18

What is ultraviolet light?

Answer 18

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with frequencies higher than visible light but lower than X-rays

Question 19

What are X-rays?

Answer 19

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with high energy and high frequencies; electromagnetic wave with frequencies ranging from 10 to the 16th power to 10 to the 21st power.

Question 20

What are gamma rays?

Answer 20

The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of waves with the highest frequencies.

Question 21

What is transmission?

Answer 21

The passage of waves through a medium.

Question 22

What is scattering?

Answer 22

The spreading of light in all directions as parties reflect and absorb light.

Question 23

What is polarization?

Answer 23

A way of filtering light so that all waves go in the Same direction.

Question 24

What is a prism?

Answer 24

An optical tool that uses refraction to separate the different wavelengths that make up light.

Question 25

What are primary colors?

Answer 25

Three colors of light that can be mixed to produce all possible colors

Question 26

What are primary pigments?

Answer 26

Three colors of substances that can be mixed to produce all possible colors.

Question 27

What is wavelength?

Answer 27

The distance between two crests.