Waves Vocabulary Flashcards
Frequency.
Number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time.
Period.
Length or portion of time.
Wavelength.
Distance between successive crests of a wave.
Crest.
Top of a mountain or hill.
Trough.
Long and narrow or shallow channel or depression.
Medium.
Matter of a wave.
Amplitude.
Length from rest point to crest.
Longitudinal Wave.
Displacement of the medium is in the same direction as, or the opposite direction to, the direction of propagation of the wave.
Electromagnetic Spectrum.
Range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.
Compression.
Reduction in volume.
Transverse Wave.
Wave vibrating at right angles to the direction of its propagation.
Rarefaction.
Separation of matter in compressional wave.
Reflection.
Throwing back by a body or surface of light, heat, or sound without absorbing it.
Refraction.
Fact or phenomenon of light, radio waves, etc.
Diffraction.
Process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out.
