Waves Flashcards
What is a wave?
A transfer of energy through a receptive pattern
Transverse wave
Particles that move perpendicular to wave motion
Longitudinal wave
Particles that move parallel to wave motion
Wavelength
Blue arrow
-Distance from to next repeating
Crest
Red dot
-point above equilibrium
Trough
Pink dot
-Point below equilibrium
Amplitude
Green arrow
-distance from equilibrium to max or min
Compression
Yellow box
-particles are close
Rarefraction
Purple box
-Particles are far apart
Medium
a material that moves energy or light from one substance to another
EX = A child creates small waves in a puddle on a sidewalk by tapping his finger on the water surface 3 times a second.
Mechanical wave
a wave that is an oscillation of matter and is responsible for the transfer of energy through a medium
EX = light, sound, waves in ocean
Electromagnetic wave
When a light wave encounters an object, they are either transmitted, reflected, absorbed, refracted, polarized, diffracted, or scattered depending on the composition of the object and the wavelength of the light.
Sound wave
Are longitudinal waves
Inverse/proportional relationships
Inverse = Frequency and period
-time period and wavelength are proportional
Eq for T (period)
T = total time / # of events
Eq for frequency (hz)
f = # of events / total time
2 Eq for speed (v)
V = distance / time
V = f * wavelength
Eq for one
1 = f * T
Resonance & Interference
When two or more things have the exact same frequency
-Increases the amplitude & motion, transfers energy
(In sync)
Destructive Resonance
Energy is transferred to the same energy
-Can have too much energy
-Amplitude got really big
Interference & Superposition
When two waves meet in the same material (same type of material)
Constructive interference
Crest meets a crest or a trough meets a trough they get super!
-Adds amplitude
Destructive interference
Crest meets trough cancels each other out
-Amplitude gets smaller
Mechanical waves like sound, water waves, and earthquakes require a medium (material) to travel through (T/F)
True
Reflection
Change of direction when it meets its boundary
-Waves BOUNCE off boundary
Refraction
Refraction involves a change in speed and path a wave takes when it passes through a boundary instead of bouncing off as in reflection.
-Waves CHANGE DIRECTION due to medium (speed)
Diffraction
The spreading of waves as it passes through/around objects
-Waves CURVE AROUND the edge of boundary
