WAVES Flashcards
Waves transfer ______ in the ___________ they are _______
waves transfer energy in the direction they are travelling
what is the amplitude of a wave
is the maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its undisturbed position
what is the wavelength of a wave
is the distance between the same point on two adjacent waves
what is the frequency of the wave
is the number of complete waves passing a certain per second
what is frequency measured in
hertz
what is the equation for the period of a wave
T=1/F
T= PERIOD
F=FREQUENCY
THE TWO TYPES OF WAVES
transverse and longitudinal
in transverse waves….
the oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer
examples of transverse waves
all electromagnetic waves
waves in water
a wave on a string
in longitudinal waves
the oscillations are parallel to the direction of energy transfer
examples of longitudinal waves
sound waves
shock waves
equation for wave speed
frequency * wavelength
waves can be….
absorbed, transmitted or reflected
angle of incidence =
angle of reflection
what is specular reflection
specular reflection is when a wave is reflected in a single direction by a smooth surface
what is diffuse reflection
is when a wave is reflected by a rough surface and the reflected rays are scattered in lots of different directions
all EM waves are…
transverse waves
all EM waves travel…
at the same speed through air or a vacuum
WHEN a wave crosses a boundary between materials at an angle
it changes direction
what depends on how much a wave is refracted
how much the wave speeds up or slows down
and density
the higher the density
the slower the wave travels through the material
what is refraction
when waves change direction at a boundary
what happens if a wave crosses a boundary and it slows down
it bends towards the normal