Waves Flashcards
What are waves
Vibrations that cause the transfer of energy without the transfer of matter
What are the 2 basic subtypes of waves
Transverse, Longitudinal
What are transverse waves
Particles move up and down, at right angles to the direction of the wave
What are types of transverse waves
Water waves, Electromagnetic waves, S waves of earthquakes
What is wavelength
The distance between two matching points on neighbouring waves
What is amplitude
The distance between the resting point of a wave, and it’s crest(top of the wave)
What happens if the amplitude is larger
greater energy of the wave
What are longitudinal waves
Particles vibrate back and forth, and the direction of their movement is parallel to the direction of the wave
Examples of longitudinal waves
Sound waves, P waves of an earthquake
What is frequency
The amount of waves passing a point each second
How is frequency measured
Hertz(Hz), 1 wave per second = 1Hz
How do you calculate the speed of a wave
Velocity = frequency x Wavelength (V=f x l)
What is a wave period
The time for one wavelength to pass a point - Period = 1/frequency (T=1/f)
What are the parts of a longitudinal wave
Compressions, rarefactions
What are compressions in a longitudinal wave
Sections that are pushed together
What are rarefactions in a longitudinal wave
Sections that are spread out
What are the pronumerals used for wavelength, frequency, and velocity
λ,f,v
What are the features of radio waves
- longer wavelength
- same speed
- less frequency
- less energy
What are the features of X-rays
- shorter wavelength
- same speed
- more frequency
- more energy
What is the electromagnetic spectrum
Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays
Which rays have the highest frequency
Gamma rays
What are electromagnetic waves
Transverse waves which travel through the vacuum of space
State what each of the EM waves are used for
- Radio waves - communication
- Microwaves - cooking
- Infrared - imaging
- Visible light - sight
- Ultraviolet - sterilisation
- X-rays - medical imaging
- Gamma rays - medical treatment
What type of wave is sound
compression/ longitudinal