Properties of Waves
The distance between two identical points on a wave (crest to crest).
What is wavelength?
Formula for wave speed.
What is speed = wavelength x frequency
Sound waves require this to travel.
What is a medium?
True or False? Light waves can travel through empty space.
What is true?
An echo is an example of what wave behavior?
What is reflection?
If amplitude increases, what happens to the energy carried by the wave?
What is energy increases?
A wave has a wavelength = 4 m and frequency = 3 Hz. Find the speed of the wave. (Be sure to include correct unit!)
What is 12 m/s?
If sound amplitude increases, what happens to loudness?
What is loudness increases?
Why does a black shirt feel hotter in sunlight than a white shirt?
What is black absorbs more light energy and converts it into heat energy?
What unit is frequency measured in?
What is Hertz (Hz)?
Identify the wave type: particles move parallel to wave direction.
What is a longitudinal wave?
A wave travels at 20 m/s. Its wavelength is 5 m. Find frequency.
What is 4 Hz?
Why do astronauts need radios to communicate in space?
What is sound cannot travel without a medium?
Why can you see your reflection in still water but not in rough water?
What is because smooth surfaces reflect light evenly, rough surfaces scatter light?
Why are thick curtains used in recording studios?
What is they absorb sound?
Two waves travel at the same speed. Wave A has a higher frequency than Wave B. Which wave has the shorter wavelength?
What is Wave A?
A sound wave travels at 340 m/s.
If its wavelength is 0.85 m, find the frequency. Then, explain whether this would be higher or lower pitch than a wave with frequency of 100 Hz.
What is frequency = 400 Hz,
Higher pitch because higher frequency?
If pitch increases, what must happen to frequency?
What is frequency increases?
Why does light bend when entering water?
What is because light changes speed when entering a new medium?
Explain how the color of an object is related to its absorption and reflection of light.
What is the color of an object depends on which wavelengths of light it reflects and which it absorbs. An object appears a certain color because it reflects light of that color to our eyes while absorbing the other wavelengths. For example, a red apple appears red because it reflects red wavelengths of light and absorbs most of the other colors in the visible spectrum.
If no medium is present, can mechanical waves transfer energy? Explain why or why not.
What is no, because mechanical waves require matter to transfer energy?
A wave travels at 24 m/s. Its frequency is 6 Hz.
Find wavelength and explain what would happen to wavelength if frequency increased.
What is wavelength = 4 m,
If frequency increases, wavelength decreases?
A student hears thunder after 5 seconds after seeing lightning. Explain why.
What is light travels faster than sound?
This occurs when light waves spread out after passing through a narrow slit or around an obstacle.
What is diffraction?
Sound waves travel at different speeds depending on the medium. Rank the 3 states of matter from fastest to slowest. Explain why the order occurs based on particle density.
What is sound waves travel fastest in solids because particles are tightly packed together, allowing waves to transfer quickly. Liquids have less tightly packed particles, so sound is slower. Gases have particles far apart, making sound the slowest.