Waves Vocabulary Flashcards
Frequency
The number of cycles a wave completes in a period of time; the number of times something happens in a period of time.
Period
The name given to a horizontal row on the periodic table.
Wavelength
The distance between one leak and the next on a wave.
Crest
The highest point of a wave.
Trough
The lowest point of a wave.
Medium
A subject that makes something to transfer energy.
Amplitude
Height or “strength” of a wave.
Longitudinal Wave
A wave that vibrates in the same direction as it travels and it is also called a comprehension wave.
Electromagnetic Waves
A wave that is propagated by simultaneous periodic variations of electric and magnetic field instantly and that include radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma waves.
Transverse Waves
A wave that oscillates perpendicular to the a is which the wave travels.
Compression
The action or state of being squished down or made smaller or more pressed together.
Rarefaction
A decrease in the density of something in rarefaction.
Refelection
To strike a surface and bounce back in the opposite direction (related word: reflection).
Refraction
The bending of light as it passes from one substance to the other.
Diffraction
The process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow aperture or across an edge, typically accompanied by interference between wave forms produced.
