General Wave Info
Wave Characteristics
Sound
Light
Colors
100
What is a periodic disturbance that transfers energy?
a wave
100
What is the highest point of a wave?
crest
100
What type of wave are sound waves?
longitudinal (mechanical)
100
What type of waves are light waves?
electromagnetic
100
What is the bouncing back of a light wave after it hits a surface?
reflection
200

What is the physical environment that waves travel in?

medium

200
What is the lowest point of a wave?
trough
200

What is the determines how high or how low a wave sounds?

pitch

200
What is the bending of a light wave as it passes from one medium into a different medium?
refraction
200

How often a wave passes a given point per second is the wave's what?

frequency

300

What are waves that require a medium (such as sound)?

mechanical waves

300
What is the distance from a point on one wave to the same point on the next wave?
wavelength
300
What determines how loud or soft a sound is?
amplitude
300
What electromagnetic waves have the highest frequency?
gamma rays
300
What determines what color of visible light we see?
the frequency of the wave
400
What are waves where the particles move perpendicular to the direction of motion?
transverse waves
400
What is the distance (how high or how low) particles move from the baseline of the wave?
amplitude
400
What determines the pitch of a sound?
the frequency of the wave
400

What type of electromagnetic wave has the longest wavelength?

radio waves

400
What is the law of reflection?
The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection.
500
What is the medium for seismic waves?
earth/dirt
500
What is the time it takes for a wave to complete one cycle?
period
500
What causes sound waves?
vibrations
500

What speed does light travel in a vacuum?

Speed of light - 300,000 km/hr

500

What color of light has the shortest wavelength and the highest frequency?

Violet

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