Waves Flashcards
Transverse Wave
A transverse wave is a wave vibrating at right angles to the direction of its propagation.
Compression Wave
A compression wave is a longitudinal wave (such as a sound wave) propagated by the elastic compression of the medium.
Crest
The highest point of a wave.
Trough
The lowest point of a wave.
Compression
Compression is the action of compressing or being compressed.
Rarefraction
Rarefaction is the reduction of an item’s density, the opposite of compression. Like compression, which can travel in waves (sound waves, for instance), rarefaction waves also exist in nature. A common rarefaction wave is the area of low relative pressure following a shock wave.
Frequency
The frequency of a wave is the number of waves passing a point in a certain time.
Amplitude
The amplitude of a wave is the distance from the center line (or the still position) to the top of a crest or to the bottom of a trough.
Wavelength
The distance between a point on one wave to the identical point on the next wave.
Medium
In the case of a water wave in the ocean, the medium through which the wave travels is the ocean water. In the case of a sound wave moving from the church choir to the pews, the medium through which the sound wave travels is the air in the room.
Electromagnetic Wave
Electromagnetic waves are waves that are created as a result of vibrations between an electric field and a magnetic field.
Mechanical
A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation of matter, and therefore transfers energy through a medium.
Pitch
How high or low the sound seems to be.
Refraction
The bending of light because of a material.
Absorption
Absorption is the process or action by which one thing absorbs or is absorbed by another.
