Waves Flashcards
What type of waves are transverse waves?
Light waves and other types of electromagnetic waves
What are waves?
Vibrations that transfer energy from place to place without matter being transferred.
What type of waves are longitudinal waves?
Sound waves
Where is the the amplitude of a wave?
The amplitude is the distance from the half way line to the peak or trough of the wave
How do you measure the wavelength?
From the peak to the next peak along or from the trough to the next trough along
What is the frequency of a wave?
The frequency of a wave is the number of waves that pass by a fixed point every second.
What is the speed of the wave related to?
The frequency and wavelength
When and why does refraction happen?
Sound and light waves change speed when they pass across the boundary between two substances with different densities, such as glass and air.
When doesn’t refraction happen, even when crossing material boundaries?
If the wave crosses the boundary at an angle of 90 degrees (the normal) - in that case they carry on straight.
When and why does diffraction happen?
When waves meet a gap in a barrier, they carry on through the gap. However, the waves spread out to some extent into the area beyond the gap.
When sound or light reflects of a surface, what two angles are the same?
The angle of incidence and the angle of reflection
What states can sounds waves travel through?
Solid, liquid or gas
How does the amplitude effect the volume of a wave?
The bigger the amplitude, the louder the wave
How does the frequency effect the pitch of the wave?
The greater the frequency, the higher the pitch.
What is the range of the average humans hearing?
20Hz to 20,000Hz
