WAVE BASICS
A disturbance that transfers energy without transferring matter.
What is a wave?
When a wave bounces off a surface it cannot pass through.
What is reflection?
A mechanical, longitudinal wave caused by vibrations.
What is sound?
A non-contact force that acts between charged objects.
What is electric force?
A non-contact force that can attract or repel certain materials.
What is magnetic force?
A wave that needs a medium like air or water to travel.
What is a mechanical wave?
When a wave bends as it enters a new medium.
What is refraction?
Sound travels fastest in this state of matter.
What are solids?
The particle in an atom with a negative charge.
What is an electron?
The two poles found on every magnet.
What are the north and south poles?
The distance between two crests or two troughs in a wave.
What is wavelength?
When waves spread out after passing through an opening or around an edge.
What is diffraction?
This sound property depends on frequency.
What is pitch?
The rule describing how charges interact.
What is “like charges repel and opposite charges attract”?
A temporary magnet created when electric current flows through a wire.
What is an electromagnet?
This wave property increases when the energy of a wave increases.
What is amplitude?
When two waves combine to make a larger amplitude.
What is constructive interference?
This effect causes a siren to sound higher as it moves toward you.
What is the Doppler effect?
Stored energy due to the position of electric charges.
What is electric potential energy?
Adding more wire coils does this to an electromagnet’s strength.
What increases it?
When frequency increases, this wave property decreases.
What is wavelength?
When vibrations match an object’s natural frequency and cause strong motion.
What is resonance?
Bats use reflected sound waves to locate objects using this process.
What is echolocation?
Increasing this causes electric force to decrease rapidly.
What is distance between charges?
A device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.
What is an electric motor?