Waves
This type of wave requires a medium, such as air or water, to travel.
What is a mechanical wave?
This is the most recognizable form of electromagnetic energy and allows us to see.
What is visible light?
Sound waves cannot travel through this because there are no particles to carry the vibrations.
What is space (or a vacuum)?
The property of a sound wave that determines how high or low a note sounds.
What is pitch?
This term describes how sound waves interact with a building’s surfaces to affect the way we hear it.
What is acoustics?
Unlike mechanical waves, this type of wave can travel through the vacuum of space.
What is an electromagnetic wave?
This type of electromagnetic wave is used for communication, including TV and AM/FM radio.
What are radio waves?
The speed of sound in air is about this many feet per second.
What is 1,130 feet per second?
This term describes the height of a sound wave and is directly related to loudness.
What is amplitude?
The phenomenon where an object vibrates in response to another object vibrating at the same frequency.
What is resonance?
Light waves are an example of this type of wave, where vibrations move perpendicular to the direction of the wave.
What is a transverse wave?
This type of wave is responsible for warming the Earth and is used in night vision goggles.
What are infrared waves?
Sound travels fastest through this type of medium: air, water, or metal.
What is metal?
The unit used to measure loudness, named after the inventor of the telephone.
What is the bel?
The sound effect that causes a siren to sound higher as it approaches and lower as it moves away.
What is the Doppler Effect?
Sound waves are an example of this type of wave, where vibrations move in the same direction as the wave.
What is a longitudinal wave?
This type of wave is used to detect broken bones and cavities in teeth.
What are X-rays?
These high-frequency sound waves are above the range of human hearing and are used in medical imaging.
What are ultrasound waves?
These extra vibrations occur at multiples of the fundamental frequency and give instruments their unique sounds.
What are overtones or harmonics?
A technology that uses reflected sound waves to detect objects underwater.
What is SONAR?
This kind of wave includes gamma rays, X-rays, and radio waves.
What are electromagnetic waves?
This is the fastest wave, traveling at 186,000 miles per second in space.
What is light (or an electromagnetic wave)?
This scientist demonstrated in 1660 that sound requires a medium by placing a ringing alarm clock in a vacuum.
Who is Robert Boyle?
If a string vibrates at 440 Hz, this is one possible frequency of one of its overtones.
What is 880 Hz or 1320 Hz?
When two sound waves meet and amplify each other, this type of interference occurs.
What is constructive interference?