Waves Flashcards
What is a WAVE?
A disturbance that transfers energy from place to place.
What is a MECHANICAL WAVE?
A wave that transfers energy through matter.
What is an ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVE?
A wave that transfers energy through empty space.
What is a MEDIUM?
Material (Matter) through which mechanical waves can travel.
In what direction does a wave move relative to its source (the point of the disturbance)?
It moves in the opposite direction of its source (away/outward from the source)
When a wave travels through a medium, only _________________ moves from place to place, not the particles of the medium.
Energy
What happens to water particles as a wave moves through the water?
They do not move forward with the wave. They move in circular motions.
Water waves carry __________________.
Energy
Water is a _______________ for waves.
Medium
Particles move in ___________________ as wave energy movies forward.
Circles
Some waves, such as ______________ waves, DO NOT REQUIRE A MEDIUM.
Electromagnetic
Light waves can travel through ______________________.
Empty space.
When a wave moves through a medium, only ___________________ moves from place to place.
Energy
What is a transverse wave?
a wave in which the particles of the medium move up and down at right angles to the direction of wave motion (the direction the energy travels).
What is the crest of a wave?
It is the high point of a transverse wave.
What is the trough (troff) of a wave?
It is the low point of a transverse wave.
What is a longitudinal wave?
a wave in which the particles of the medium move back and forth in the direction of the wave motion.
What is compression in a longitudinal wave?
part of a medium where the particles are pushed close together
What is rarefaction in a longitudinal wave?
part of a medium where the particles are far apart.
What are the two types of mechanical waves?
Transverse (like ocean) and Longitudinal (like sound)
What is the difference between transverse and longitudinal waves?
The difference is in the movement of particles in the medium.
How do particles move in a transverse wave?
The particles move at right angles (perpendicular) to the direction the energy is traveling through the medium.
How do particles move in a longitudinal wave?
The particles stretch and compress in the same direction as the direction the energy is traveling through the medium.
What are the two parts of a transverse wave?
Crest (high point) and Trough (low point)
What is the medium for sound?
Air is the medium
What are the two parts of a longitudinal wave?
Compression (particles close together) and Rarefaction (particles are far apart).
All waves carry ____________.
Energy
The difference between the longitudinal and transverse waves depends on how the ________________ of the medium move.
Particles
The particles of the medium move up and down in a __________________ wave.
Transverse
The particles of the medium move back and forth in a ___________________ wave.
Longitudinal
The parts of the transverse wave are the crest and the ________________.
Trough
Clapping your hands produces which type of wave?
Longitudinal (sound)
