What are waves vocabulary Flashcards
Energy
The ability to do work or cause change.
Waves
A disturbance that transfers energy from place to place.
Medium
The material through which a wave travels.
Mechanical Waves
A wave that requires a medium through which to travel.
Vibration
A repeated back-and-forth or up-and-down motion.
Transverse Waves
A wave that moves the medium at right angles to the direction in which the wave travels.
Crest
The highest part of a transverse wave.
Trough
The lowest part of a transverse wave.
Longitudinal Wave
A wave that moves the medium in a direction parallel to the direction in which the wave travels.
Compression
The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together.
Rarefaction
The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are far apart.
Surface Waves
Combination of transverse waves and longitudinal waves.