Waves Flashcards

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1
Q

What are waves

A

Vibrations that cause the transfer of energy without the transfer of matter

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2
Q

What are the 2 basic subtypes of waves

A

Transverse, Longitudinal

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3
Q

What are transverse waves

A

Particles move up and down, at right angles to the direction of the wave

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4
Q

What are types of transverse waves

A

Water waves, Electromagnetic waves, S waves of earthquakes

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5
Q

What is wavelength

A

The distance between two matching points on neighbouring waves

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6
Q

What is amplitude

A

The distance between the resting point of a wave, and it’s crest(top of the wave)

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7
Q

What happens if the amplitude is larger

A

greater energy of the wave

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8
Q

What are longitudinal waves

A

Particles vibrate back and forth, and the direction of their movement is parallel to the direction of the wave

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9
Q

Examples of longitudinal waves

A

Sound waves, P waves of an earthquake

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10
Q

What is frequency

A

The amount of waves passing a point each second

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11
Q

How is frequency measured

A

Hertz(Hz), 1 wave per second = 1Hz

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12
Q

How do you calculate the speed of a wave

A

Velocity = frequency x Wavelength (V=f x l)

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13
Q

What is a wave period

A

The time for one wavelength to pass a point - Period = 1/frequency (T=1/f)

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14
Q

What are the parts of a longitudinal wave

A

Compressions, rarefactions

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15
Q

What are compressions in a longitudinal wave

A

Sections that are pushed together

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16
Q

What are rarefactions in a longitudinal wave

A

Sections that are spread out

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17
Q

What are the pronumerals used for wavelength, frequency, and velocity

A

λ,f,v

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18
Q

What are the features of radio waves

A
  • longer wavelength
  • same speed
  • less frequency
  • less energy
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19
Q

What are the features of X-rays

A
  • shorter wavelength
  • same speed
  • more frequency
  • more energy
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20
Q

What is the electromagnetic spectrum

A

Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays

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21
Q

Which rays have the highest frequency

A

Gamma rays

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22
Q

What are electromagnetic waves

A

Transverse waves which travel through the vacuum of space

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23
Q

State what each of the EM waves are used for

A
  1. Radio waves - communication
  2. Microwaves - cooking
  3. Infrared - imaging
  4. Visible light - sight
  5. Ultraviolet - sterilisation
  6. X-rays - medical imaging
  7. Gamma rays - medical treatment
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24
Q

What type of wave is sound

A

compression/ longitudinal

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25
Q

How is sound produced

A

Energy creating vibrations, which then get passes onto surrounding particles

26
Q

What medium does sound travel the fastest in

A

Solids - higher density means faster travel

27
Q

What are ultrasounds

A

Frequencies over 20,000Hz (above human hearing) which is used in pregnancies

28
Q

What is heat

A

The transfer of thermal energy

29
Q

Describe the process of sound

A
  1. Sound waves are collected by the outer ear(pinna)
  2. sound waves travel through all matter as vibrations
  3. when they reach our ears, they make the eardrum vibrate
  4. Brain recognises vibrations as sounds of different things
  5. Size and shape of sound wave determines what kind of sound is heard
30
Q

What are insulation materials

A

Prevent heat from escaping, also affect the transfer of energy carried by EM waves

31
Q

What are the 3 types of light waves

A

transparent, translucent, opaque

32
Q

What is transparent

A

All/ most light passes through

33
Q

What is translucent

A

Some light passes through

34
Q

What is opaque

A

No light passes through

35
Q

Describe the air pressure of compressions and rarefactions

A

Compressions = high air pressure
Rarefactions = low air pressure

36
Q

What is transmittion

A

Light passing through a medium/ object

37
Q

What can happen when light hits a surface

A

Reflection, refraction, or absorption

38
Q

What is absorption

A

light is taken in by a material and converted to thermal energy. Dark coloured objects absorb more light and become warm to the touch

39
Q

What is reflection

A

Light bounces back from a surface. Mirrors have a smooth surface that reflects light

40
Q

What is the angle of incidence in reflection

A

Angle of incidence = angle of reflection

41
Q

What is refraction

A

Bending of light as it passes from one medium to another. Bending occurs because light travels at different speeds in different mediums

42
Q

Describe the bending of light through different densities

A
  • Light bends towards the normal line when moving from less dense medium to a denser medium (e.g air to glass)
  • Light bends away from the normal line when moving from a denser medium to a less dense medium
43
Q

Describe convex lenses

A
  • bends light rays towards the normal
  • used for long - sightedness
44
Q

Describe concave lenses

A
  • bends light rays away from the normal
  • used for short- sightedness
45
Q

What is dispersion

A

The splitting of visible light into its component colours

46
Q

What are the 2 types of radio

A

AM(amplitude modulation), FM(frequency modulation)

47
Q

Describe FM radio waves

A
  • affected by less electrical interference than AM radio
  • higher quality transmission of sound
48
Q

Describe AM radio waves

A
  • amplitude modulated wave
  • affected more by electrical interference
49
Q

How do phones transmit signals

A
  • signals are transmitted to a base station
  • waves may be radio waves or microwaves
  • base station connects signal to the fixed telephone system
50
Q

What is heat

A

the energy transfer that takes place between objects of different temperatures- measured in joules

51
Q

Where is thermal energy contained

A

the motion and vibration of an objects atoms

52
Q

What are the 3 types of heat transfer

A

conduction, convection, radiation

53
Q

what is radiation

A

transfer of heat energy by waves can travel through spaces with no particles in it

54
Q

what is conduction

A

transfer of heat energy through a substance from a hotter part to a cooler part

55
Q

what is convection

A

transfer of heat through the movement of particles themselves. energy moves from hotter areas to cooler areas

56
Q

what is dispersion

A
  • white light goes through a prism and splits up into the colours of the rainbow
57
Q

describe the process of dispersion

(hint:what happens when colours hit the prism + when they leave it)

A
  • white light goes through a prism + splits into colours
  • white light is made up of mixtures of colours - each colour is bent different amounts by the prism because they slow down different amounts when they get to the glass
  • the light ray refracts towards the normal as it enters the block and away from the normal as it leaves the glass block
58
Q

What happens to longer wavelengths in dispersion

A

slowed less and refracted less

59
Q

what happens to shorter wavelengths in dispersion

A

slowed more and refracted more

60
Q

How do mobile phones transmit signals

(hint:what happens to electrons in antenna)

A
  • electrons in antenna are made to oscillate rapidly
  • radio waves travel through the air at 300,000km per second
  • radio waves cause electrons in the receiving antenna to oscillate rapidly, producing an electrical signal on it
61
Q
A