TYPES OF WAVES
This type of wave requires a medium and cannot travel through space.
mechanical wave
The highest point of a transverse wave, labeled in the rope diagram.
Crest
This wave behavior occurs when a wave bounces off a surface, like light off a mirror.
Reflection
This formula is shown in the speed section of the chapter.
Wave speed = wavelength × frequency
This type of electromagnetic wave has a shorter wavelength than visible light and is responsible for sunburns when people are exposed for too long.
Ultraviolet waves
This type of wave does not require a medium and is able to transfer energy through empty space
Electromagnetic wave
The lowest point of a transverse wave shown below the rest position line.
Trough
This wave behavior causes waves to bend when they enter a new medium at an angle, shown with light entering water.
Refraction
A wave has a wavelength of 2 meters and a frequency of 3 hertz. What is the wave’s speed?
6 meters per second
A classroom demonstration shows a dark surface heating up faster than a light surface when light shines on both. Which wave behavior is being observed?
Absorption
This mechanical wave has particles vibrating perpendicular to the direction the wave travels, like the rope example shown in the book.
Transverse Wave
The maximum distance from the rest position to the crest or trough is called this.
Amplitude
the bending and spreading of waves (like light, sound, or water waves) as they pass around obstacles or through narrow openings, causing them to deviate from a straight path
Diffraction
A wave travels 20 meters per second and has a frequency of 5 hertz. What is its wavelength?
4 meters
According to the spectrum pages, which electromagnetic waves have the shortest wavelength and highest energy.
Gamma rays
Sound waves are an example of this type of wave, where particles vibrate back and forth in the same direction the wave travels.
Longitudinal Waves
This wave property is defined as the distance a wave travels before it repeats, shown as crest to crest in the diagram.
Wavelength
When wave energy is transferred to a material and not reflected or transmitted, this behavior is occurring.
Absorption
A wave with a wavelength of 1.5 meters moves at a speed of 12 meters per second. What is the frequency of the wave?
8 Hertz
This is the only part of the electromagnetic spectrum humans can see, shown as a small band in the diagram.
Visible Light
Radio waves, microwaves, and visible light are all examples of this type of wave.
Electromagnetic wave
This property measures how many waves pass a point in one second and is measured in hertz.
Frequency
You can hear music from a room even though the door is slightly open and you cannot see the speaker. Which wave behavior explains this?
Diffraction
A wave travels through water with a wavelength of 4 meters and a frequency of 5 hertz. A second wave in the same medium has half the wavelength and twice the frequency.
Compare the speeds of the two waves and explain your reasoning using the wave speed equation.
Both waves travel at the same speed because halving the wavelength and doubling the frequency results in the same product when multiplied.
In a longitudinal wave diagram using a spring, this is the region where particles are closest together.
Compression