Categorize That Wave
This type of wave requires a physical medium, such as air or water, to travel through.
What is a Mechanical Wave?
This is the maximum displacement of a particle from its rest (equilibrium) position.
What is Amplitude?
If a wave has a frequency of 10 Hz and a wavelength of 2 meters, this is its speed.
What is 20 m/s?
This is the standard unit for frequency, often abbreviated as Hz.
What is Hertz? (Accept: 1/s or s^{-1})
To calculate the speed of a wave pulse using only distance and time, you would use this fundamental linear motion formula.
What is v =d/t?
In this specific type of wave, particles move perpendicular to the direction of wave travel.
What is a Transverse Wave?
Measuring from one crest to the very next crest gives you this value.
What is Wavelength (λ)?
This is the frequency of a wave that has a period of 0.5 seconds.
What is 2 Hz? (f = 1/T)
According to the Reference Table, this is the speed of sound in air at STP.
What is 3.31 x 10^2 m/s? (Accept: 331 m/s)
Two points are considered "completely out of phase" if they are separated by this fraction of a wavelength.
What is one-half wavelength (or 0.5λ )?
This term describes a single, non-repeating disturbance that moves through a medium.
What is a Pulse?
This is the number of wave cycles that pass a fixed point in exactly one second.
What is Frequency (f)?
A sound wave travels at 340 m/s with a frequency of 170 Hz. This is its wavelength.
What is 2 meters?
This Greek letter is used in the Wave Equation to represent wavelength.
What is Lambda (λ )?
If the period of a wave is 0.25 seconds, this is the formula and resulting value for its frequency.
What is f= 1/T, which equals 4.0 Hz?
Sound is the most common example of this wave type, where vibrations move parallel to wave velocity.
What is a Longitudinal Wave?
This term describes the amount of time required for one single, complete wave cycle to occur.
What is the Period (T)?
If you double the frequency of a wave in a constant medium, this happens to its wavelength.
What is it is halved?
To find the relationship between Period and Frequency, you look under this section heading on Page 5.
What is Waves?
When using the formula v = f λ , the wavelength (λ) must be expressed in this specific SI base unit to yield a velocity in m/s.
What are meters (m)?
These are the two primary parts of a longitudinal wave, replacing the "crests and troughs" of a transverse wave.
What are Compressions and Rarefactions?
In a mechanical wave, the amplitude of the wave is directly related to this characteristic of the signal.
What is Energy? (Accept: Loudness for sound).
If a wave pulse travels 30 meters in 6 seconds, this is the speed of the wave.
What is 5 m/s? (v = d/t)
This is the "hidden" variable you must look up on the front page if a problem mentions "an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum."
What is c (or $=3.00 x10^8 m/s)?
In a constant medium where v is fixed, this is the mathematical relationship between frequency and wavelength as shown by the wave equation.
What is an inverse relationship? (Or: f = v/ λ )