Wave Vocabulary

Question 1

Wave

Answer 1

a disturbance caused by a vibration; Waves travel away from the source that makes them.

Question 2

Medium

Answer 2

the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance.

Question 3

Mechanical wave

Answer 3

a wave that is an oscillation of matter, and therefore transfers energy through a medium. While waves can move over long distances, the movement of the medium of transmission—the material—is limited. Therefore, oscillating material does not move far from its initial equilibrium position.

Question 4

Transverse wave

Answer 4

a wave that occurs when the particles of a medium are displaced perpendicularly to the direction of the wave.

Question 5

Longitudinal wave

Answer 5

a wave that occurs when the particles of a medium move parallel to the direction of the wave.

Question 6

Trough

Answer 6

the lowest point of a wave.

Question 7

Amplitude

Answer 7

height or “strength” of a wave.

Question 8

Wavelength

Answer 8

the distance between one peak and the next on a wave.

Question 9

Frequency

Answer 9

the number of cycles a wave completes in a period of time; the number of times something happens in a period of time.

Question 10

Reflection

Answer 10

to strike a surface and bounce back in the opposite direction.

Question 11

Refraction

Answer 11

to bend light as it passes through a material.

Question 12

Diffraction

Answer 12

the process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow aperture or across an edge, typically accompanied by interference between the wave forms produced.

Question 13

Interference

Answer 13

the action of interfering or the process of being interfered with.

Question 14

Electromagnetic spectrum

Answer 14

the full range of frequencies of electromagnetic waves.

Question 15

Radiation

Answer 15

a process by which energetic electromagnetic waves move from one place to another\electromagnetic energy.

Question 16

Electromagnetic wave

Answer 16

one of the waves that are propagated by simultaneous periodic variations of electric and magnetic field intensity and that include radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.

Question 17

Radio wave

Answer 17

an electromagnetic wave of a frequency between about 104 and 1011 or 1012 Hz, as used for long-distance communication.

Question 18

Microwave

Answer 18

an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength in the range 0.001–0.3 m, shorter than that of a normal radio wave but longer than those of infrared radiation. Microwaves are used in radar, in communications, and for heating in microwave ovens and in various industrial processes.

Question 19

Infrared light

Answer 19

one type of light that is invisible to us. Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet light, microwaves and radio waves are other types of invisible light. All of these rays and waves are the same type of electromagnetic energy.

Question 20

Ultraviolet light

Answer 20

a type of electromagnetic radiation that has a higher frequency than violet light: Ultrviolet light is invisible to humans.

Question 21

X-ray

Answer 21

an electromagnetic wave of high energy and very short wavelength, which is able to pass through many materials opaque to light.

Question 22

Gamma ray

Answer 22

penetrating electromagnetic radiation of a kind arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei.

Question 23

Transmission

Answer 23

the action or process of transmitting something or the state of being transmitted.

Question 24

Absorption

Answer 24

to take in matter or energy.

Question 25

Scattering

Answer 25

a small, dispersed amount of something.

Question 26

Polarization

Answer 26

a concept that comes from science, and it involves light, radiation, or magnetism moving in specific directions. Outside science, polarization usually refers to how people think, especially when two views emerge that drive people apart, kind of like two opposing magnets.

Question 27

Prism

Answer 27

a triangular piece of clear glass or plastic that can separate white light into different colors\a closed three-dimensional object with two congruent polygonal bases and faces which are parallelograms.

Question 28

Primary colors

Answer 28

any of a group of colors from which all other colors can be obtained by mixing.

Question 29

Primary pigment

Answer 29

The primary colors of pigment (also known as subtractive primaries) are used when producing colors from reflected light; for example, when mixing paint or using a color printer. The primary colors of pigment are magenta, yellow, and cyan (commonly simplified as red, yellow, and blue).