TYPES OF WAVES
The type of wave requires a medium to travel.
Mechanical Waves
The lowest and highest point of a wave.
Trough and Crest
A type of wave that can travel through the vacuum of space.
Electromagnetic Waves
The region of the electromagnetic spectrum located between infrared and ultraviolet.
Visible Light
The electromagnetic wave used to produce thermal images in night vision cameras.
Infrared radiation
The type of wave that has particles vibrating parallel to the direction of wave travel.
Longitudinal Waves
The distance between two consecutive crests.
Wavelength
Property that electromagnetic waves have in common when traveling in a vacuum.
They all travel at the speed of light in a vacuum (3.0 × 10⁸ m/s).
Electromagnetic wave that has the shortest wavelength.
Gamma Rays
This EM wave is vital for nondestructive testing (NDT).
Gamma rays
A wave on a stretched rope moves upward and downward while traveling horizontally.
Transverse Wave
The number of times a repeating event occurs within a specific period of time.
Frequency
The two fields that vibrate at right angles to each other in an electromagnetic wave.
Electric field and magnetic field
The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that has wavelengths longer than infrared but shorter than radio waves.
Microwaves
A communication satellite sends signals to Earth. Which electromagnetic wave is most commonly used for this purpose?
Microwaves
A slinky is pushed and pulled to produce areas where coils are crowded together and spread apart. What type of wave is produced?
Longitudinal waves
The maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation, measured from the resting (equilibrium) position.
Amplitude
Two electromagnetic waves have different wavelengths. Which wave carries more energy—the one with the shorter wavelength or the longer wavelength? Explain your answer.
The wave with the shorter wavelength carries more energy because energy increases with frequency, and shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies.
Which color from the visible light has the longer wavelength?
Orange or Indigo
Orange has the longer wavelength.
Why are X-rays useful in hospitals?
They can pass through soft tissues but are absorbed more by bones, creating images of the skeletal system.
A scientist wants to transmit sound through outer space. Explain why this cannot happen using sound waves but can happen using electromagnetic waves.
Sound waves are mechanical waves and require a medium, while electromagnetic waves do not require a medium and can travel through the vacuum of space.
The low-pressure region where particles are spread further apart in longitudinal waves.
Rarefaction
Ultraviolet light has a frequency of 2.50×10^15 Hz. What is the energy of one photon?
E=1.66x10^-18 J
List the electromagnetic (EM) waves in the electromagnetic spectrum in order of decreasing frequency.
Gamma rays → X-rays → Ultraviolet (UV) → Visible light → Infrared (IR) → Microwaves → Radio waves
A company is developing a security system for a museum. The system must detect people moving through dark rooms, communicate wirelessly with the control center, and inspect sealed packages for hidden objects. Identify the most appropriate electromagnetic wave for each task.
Detecting people in the dark → Infrared (IR) waves
Wireless communication → Microwaves
Inspecting sealed packages → X-rays