Types of Waves
Properties of Waves
Wave Amplitude and Energy
Behavior of Waves
Visible Light
100
In what type of wave do the particles move perpendicular to the direction of the wave?
Transverse waves
100
How do you calculate the velocity of a wave?
v = fλ or f/T
100
Describe one way to calculate the amplitude of a wave.
Crest to trough distance divided by 2 or distance from middle to crest/trough
100
What wave behavior does echolocation use?
Wave reflection
100
What is the speed of light?
3.0 x 108 m/s
200
What type of wave is a sound wave?
Longitudinal wave
200
Describe how you can measure the wavelength of a wave without using the crests or troughs.
You can measure from any point on the wave as long as you measure to the same point on the next wave.
200
Given the same initial energy, will a wave traveling through the ground have a greater or smaller amplitude than a wave traveling through water?
Smaller
200
What happens when a wave is absorbed?
The wave loses energy to the medium due to friction and other dampening forces.
200
What colors of visible light makes white light? What about the color black?
All colors combine to make white light.
Darkness is the absence of light. In other words, the material absorbs all light and doesn't reflect any back.
300
What are rarefractions?
The lowest density parts of a longitudinal wave.
300
What happens to the wavelength of a wave when its frequency increases but its speed stays the same?
wavelength decreases
300
If the amplitude of a wave is increased, will the frequency always also change?
No; amplitude can be increased without changing the frequency (e.g. increasing loudness without changing pitch of a sound).
300
What is the difference between Diffusion and Reflection?
Diffusion makes the waves reflect in multiple directions, which makes them weaker than the original wave.
Reflection makes the wave bounce off in mostly one direction.
300
White light shines through a cyan filter then through a red filter. What light would someone see on the other side? Be specific about how the filters will change what light transmits through.
None; the cyan filters allows blue and green light to transmit through. Then, the red filter will absorb that blue and green light.
400
What type of wave is an earthquake?
Both transverse (s-waves) and longitudinal (p-waves).
400
Describe how the period affects the motion of the particles in sound waves and how that affects what you hear.
The period changes the amount of time it takes for the particles to push up close to each other and then move away from each other. With a longer period you will hear a lower pitch.
400
Tom has tied a small metal slinky to the end of a much larger metal slinky. Tom then starts a transverse wave by flicking the end of the small metal slinky. What will happen, if anything, to the amplitude of the wave when it reaches the more massive metal part?
The amplitude will decrease
400
How do earplugs work in preventing you from hearing anything? Describe what happens to the waves.
Earplugs are made of a soft foam so when sound waves hit your earplugs, dissipative forces like friction absorb the wave and lets very little transmit through.
400
On the following diagram, add and label the following:
reflected ray, refracted ray, angle of reflection, angle of refraction
The light ray will refract from a less dense medium into a more dense medium.
500
Describe the motion of water waves.
Water waves combine transverse and longitudinal waves and move in a circular motion.
500
A theater's walls are designed to allow as little sound as possible leak out of the room. However, if the sound is loud enough, you can sometimes hear lower-pitched, muffled sounds from the outside. Use wave behaviors to describe why this happens.
The inside of the theater probably uses a material that absorbs sound and also diffuses it. This process can result in the muffled sound that leaks out. Lower-pitched sounds are able to travel farther because they lose less energy than higher-pitched sounds.
500
An engineer is harnessing the power in ocean waves. If the ocean waves are currently 10m high and provide 2 J of energy, how high must the waves be to provide 72 J of energy?
E ~ A2
72/2 = 36E ~ (6A)2
10m * 6 = 60m
500
Will a flute playing a really high note or a tuba playing a really low note sound louder to a person that is 10 km away? Why?
The tuba because it is a lower frequency wave so it will lose less energy as it travels, resulting in a larger amplitude when it reaches that person.
500
Complete the following diagram by drawing in light rays to show how the eye sees the image, but not where the object actually is.
