Mechanical Basics
This type of wave requires a medium (like air or water) to travel.
What is a Mechanical Wave?
These EM waves have the longest wavelength and are used for communication.
What are Radio Waves?
If a wave has a frequency of 10Hz and a wavelength of 2m, this is its speed.
What is 20 m/s?
This phenomenon occurs when a wave "bounces" off a surface.
What is Reflection?
In this specific mechanical wave, particles move perpendicular to the wave direction.
What is a Transverse Wave?
This is the only part of the EM spectrum that the human eye can detect.
What is Visible Light?
A wave with a period (T) of 0.5 seconds has this frequency.
What is 2 Hz?
The "bending" of a wave as it passes from one medium to another.
What is Refraction?
Sound is this type of wave, where particles move parallel to the wave direction.
What is a Longitudinal Wave?
These high-energy waves are often used in medical imaging to see bone.
What are X-rays?
If you double the frequency of a wave in a constant medium, this happens to λ .
What is it is halved (cut in half)?
This happens when two waves meet and their amplitudes add together.
What is Constructive Interference?
This property of a wave is determined solely by the medium it travels through.
What is Wave Speed (Velocity)?
These waves are "felt" as heat; snakes can sometimes see them.
What is Infrared?
On a 4m string with 2 loops, this is the wavelength ( λ ).
What is 4m?
This occurs when a wave bends around a corner or through a small opening.
What is Diffraction?
The maximum displacement of a particle from its rest position.
What is Amplitude?
Unlike mechanical waves, EM waves can travel through this "empty" space.
What is a Vacuum?
Calculate the velocity of a wave with a wavelength of 150m and a period of 12s.
What is 12.5 m/s?
The "Medium Rule" states that changing frequency does NOT change this.
What is Wave Speed?
If a student increases the tension in a slinky while keeping the frequency of their hand movement the same, this specific wave property will increase.
What is Wave Speed (Velocity)? (Because tension changes the medium's properties).