Waves Unit Vocabulary

Question 1

Wave

Answer 1

In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance of one or more quantities. Periodic waves oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium value at some frequency

Question 2

Medium

Answer 2

a substance that can transmit energy

Question 3

Transverse Wave

Answer 3

a wave that oscillates perpendicularly to the direction of the wave’s advance. In contrast, a longitudinal wave travels in the direction of its oscillations. All waves move energy from place to place without transporting the matter in the transmission medium if there is one.

Question 4

Compressional Wave

Answer 4

Longitudinal waves are waves which oscillate in the direction which is parallel to the direction in which the wave travels and displacement of the medium is in the same direction of the wave propagation

Question 5

Sound Waves

Answer 5

the pattern of disturbance caused by the movement of energy traveling through a medium (such as air, water or any other liquid or solid matter) as it propagates away from the source of the sound

Question 6

Water Waves

Answer 6

Water waves are a combination of longitudinal and transverse waves and are surface waves. The distortions propagate with the wave speed while the water molecules remain at the same positions. Most of the ocean waves are produced by wind, and the waves towards the coast pass the energy from the wind offshore.

Question 7

Seismic Waves

Answer 7

Seismic waves are vibrations in the earth that transmit energy and occur during seismic activity such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and even man-made explosions. There are two types of seismic waves, primary waves and secondary waves.

Question 8

Crests

Answer 8

A crest is a point on a surface wave where the displacement of the medium is at a maximum. A trough is the opposite of a crest, so the minimum or lowest point of the wave.

Question 9

Troughs

Answer 9

A trough is the opposite of a crest, so the minimum or lowest point of the wave. When the crests and troughs of two sine waves of equal amplitude and frequency intersect or collide, while being in phase with each other, the result is called constructive interference and the magnitudes double (above and below the line).

Question 10

Refaction

Answer 10

In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave’s change in speed or by a change in the medium.

Question 11

Wavelength

Answer 11

In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave’s shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, troughs, or zero crossings

Question 12

Frequency

Answer 12

Frequency
Frequency, most often measured in hertz, is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as temporal frequency for clarity and to distinguish it from spatial frequency. Ordinary frequency is related to angular frequency by a factor of 2π.

Question 13

Amplitude

Answer 13

the maximum displacement of a wave from its resting position, essentially measuring the “height” of a wave, and is directly related to the amount of energy carried by that wave; a higher amplitude indicates a wave with more energy, like a loud sound having a larger amplitude than a quiet one.

Question 14

Refraction

Answer 14

In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave’s change in speed or by a change in the medium

Question 15

Diffractions

Answer 15

Diffraction is the deviation of waves from straight-line propagation without any change in their energy due to an obstacle or through an aperture. The diffracting object or aperture effectively becomes a secondary source of the propagating wave.

Question 16

Interference

Answer 16

In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two coherent waves are combined by adding their intensities or displacements with due consideration for their phase difference. The resultant wave may have greater intensity or lower amplitude if the two waves are in phase or out of phase, respectively

Question 17

Standing Wave

Answer 17

formed by the superposition of two travelling waves of the same frequency (with the same polarisation and the same amplitude) travelling in opposite directions. This is usually achieved by using a travelling wave and its reflection, which will ensure that the frequency is exactly the same.

Question 18

Resonance

Answer 18

Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration that matches its natural frequency. When this happens, the object or system absorbs energy from the external force and starts vibrating with a larger amplitude.

Question 19

Eardrum

Answer 19

The tympanic membrane is also called the eardrum. It separates the outer ear from the middle ear. When sound waves reach the tympanic membrane they cause it to vibrate. The vibrations are then transferred to the tiny bones in the middle ear.

Question 20

Cochlea

Answer 20

a fluid-filled, spiral-shaped cavity found in the inner ear that plays a vital role in the sense of hearing and participates in the process of auditory transduction. Sound waves are transduced into electrical impulses that the brain can interpret as individual sound frequencies.

Question 21

Intensity

Answer 21

In physics and many other areas of science and engineering the intensity or flux of radiant energy is the power transferred per unit area, where the area is measured on the plane perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the energy. In the SI system, it has units watts per square metre, or kg⋅s⁻³ in base units.

Question 22

Loudness

Answer 22

relates the intensity of any given sound to the intensity at the threshold of hearing. It is measured in decibels (dB). The threshold of human hearing has an intensity of about . 0000000000001 watts per meter squared and corresponds to 0 decibels.

Question 23

Decibel

Answer 23

The decibel is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel. It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a power ratio of 101/10 or root-power ratio of 101/20.

Question 24

Pitch

Answer 24

Pitch is the quality of a sound governed by the rate of vibrations producing it; the degree of highness or lowness of a tone.

Question 25

Ultrasonic

Answer 25

sound whose frequency is too high to be heard by the human ear, that is to say the frequency is above c 20 kHz. At the top end of the scale, ultrasound is used at frequencies up to several GHz.

Question 26

Doppler effect

Answer 26

the increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move towards (or away from) each other. Waves emitted by a source travelling towards an observer get compressed.

Question 27

Overtone

Answer 27

any resonant frequency above the fundamental frequency of a sound. (An overtone may or may not be a harmonic) In other words, overtones are all pitches higher than the lowest pitch within an individual sound; the fundamental is the lowest pitch.

Question 28

Acoustics

Answer 28

Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound.

Question 29

Echolocation

Answer 29

a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by means of sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as a bat) by the objects. Echolocation is used for orientation, obstacle avoidance, food procurement, and social interactions.

Question 30

Sonar

Answer 30

SOund Navigation And Ranging, sonar is used to find and identify objects in the water. Some types of sonar can be used to calculate distance to objects by measuring the time between when a sound wave is sent out and when the reflected sound, or echo, is received.