waves and sound Flashcards
mechanical waves
a wave that must travel through some sort of matter called a medium
electromagnetic waves
waves that can travel through a vacuum, they do not need a medium or matter
ex. light
what type of wave is a sound wave
mechanical and longitudinal
longitudinal wave
a wave where the direction of vibrations is in the same direction of the wave travel
transverse wave
a wave where the direction of vibrations is perpendicular to the direction of the wave travel
interference
when one wave come into contact with another wave and produces an interference pattern, the waves will combine if they are at the same place at the same time
name the order in which sound travel the fastest through and explain
solids, liquids, gases
explanation: the vibrating molecules are the closest
constructive interference
when two waves meet having the same peaks and troughs and form a larger wave together
destructive interference
when two waves meet having different peaks and troughs and form a smaller wave or cancel out
beats
when the two frequencies of the interfering waves are a bit different, there will be a resulting wave form showing a series of constructive and destructive regions
beat frequency formula
f1-f2
resonance
the tendency for a system to vibrate with greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others
- occurs when frequency of force applied to something matches to the natural frequency vibration of that thing
standing wave
a fixed pattern of vibration formed when identical waves travel in opposite directions; remains in constant position, consists of nodes and antinodes
harmonics for a string
L = wavelength/2
harmonics for an open pipe
F = nv/2L
