Kinds of Waves
What is a Mechanical Wave?
Waves that travel through matter
What is the zero or equilibrium line?
The line where a transverse wave travels up and down across
What does the Latin prefix "Trans" mean?
The Latin prefix Trans means "across" or "Through"
TRANSverse waves
What is reflection? give an example
A wave strikes a surface and bounces off
light in a mirror, echo in a canyon
what is a medium? give 2 examples
a medium is a matter that a wave travels trough.
solid liquid or gas
sound,water,transverse Waves,Longitudinal Waves
What is the definition of a crest and a trough?
A crest is the highest part of a wave.
A trough is the lowest part of a wave.
What does the Latin root "verse" mean?
The Latin root meaning " Turn"
transVERSE waves
What is Snell's law?
The angle of incidence = the angle of reflection.No matter what angle a wave hits a smooth surface, it will reflect back at the same angle.
What is a rhythmic disturbance that carries energy without carrying matter and some require a medium to travel through?
a Wave!
What is an Electromagnetic Wave?
Waves that travel through empty space.
What is amplitude in a wave? Also what happens when the amplitude is larger?
The amplitude is how far a wave travels up or down from the equilibrium/zero line. More Amplitude= more energy carried by the wave
What does the Latin prefix "Re"mean?
“back” or “again”
REfraction
What is refraction?
The bending of a wave as it moves from one medium to another. Defined in terms of the normal.normal= an imaginary line perpendicular to the line where two mediums meet.
Do waves act in isolation?
Waves don’t act in isolation. Right now, There are light waves, sound waves, radio waves, and more all flying around and even through you! When these waves cross paths with each other, they can interact to form new waves. Waves can also interact with barriers to change.
Name three examples of electromagnetic waves
light,x-rays,radio,microwaves
What is wavelength? also give 2 examples
Crest to crest, trough to trough, or zero to zero. Distance from one point on a wave to the corresponding point on an adjacent wave
What does the Latin prefix "Dif" means
“a different direction” or “away from”
DIFfraction
What is Refraction?
The bending of a wave as it moves from one medium to another. Defined in terms of the normal.This is the reason objects underwater look like they are in a different place than they really are.
What is Interference?
What is Constructive interference?
What is Destructive interference?
Interference-the ability of two or more waves to combine and form a new wave.
Constructive interference- multiple wave crests combine to make a bigger wave.
Destructive interference- a crest and a trough combine to cancel each other out
What are the differences of a longitudinal wave and a transverse wave?
Transverse waves cause the medium to move perpendicular to the direction of the wave. Longitudinal waves cause the medium to move parallel to the direction of the wave.
What is Frequency? What happens when the frequency is greater? What is Frequency measured in ?
Frequency is The number of waves that pass a point per second.The greater the frequency, the more energy.
Measured in Hertz (Hz)
1 Hz = 1 wave per second
What is the meaning of the Latin roots " flect" and "Fract"
flect- A Latin root meaning “bend”
fract- A Latin root meaning “break”
ReFLECTion
ReFRACTtion
Give the definition of Absorption and Diffraction ( try your best)
Absorption-Sometimes, when a wave hits a surface, some of the energy from the wave is absorbed by the material.This means the energy from the wave goes into the molecules of the material making them vibrate.This means there is less energy to be reflected
Diffraction-The bending/curving of waves around a barrier
What is the Formula for calculating the speed of a wave?
Speed = Wavelength x Frequency
v=f*𝛌ۗ v=wave speed(in m/s) f=frequency(in Hz) 𝛌=wavelength(in m)