Vocabulary
Mechanical waves must have a _______ to travel through.
media
In a transverse wave, the movement is p_______.
perpendicular
In a longitudinal wave, the movement is p_______.
parallel
The distance between two adjacent crests is called ___________.
wavelength
When a wave bounces off a surface, it is called ________.
reflection
Which type of wave moves BOTH parallel AND perpendicular?
surface wave
The highest point in a transverse wave is the ______.
crest
The regions of a longitudinal wave that are more dense, or closer together, are the __________.
compressions
Frequency is measured in these units:
Hertz (Hz)
When a wave moves from one medium to another and it bends, it is called ________.
refraction
When the particles travel in the SAME direction as the wave, the movement is called p_________
parallel
The lowest point of a transverse wave is a _______.
trough
The regions of a longitudinal wave that are less dense, or spread farther apart, are the _________.
rarefactions
Which property of a wave is related to how strong the disturbance is?
amplitude
When a wave crest hits an obstacle, it reflects as a _______.
trough
When the particles move left & right while the wave moves forward, the motion is called p____________.
perpendicular
If you double the frequency of a wave while keeping speed constant, what happens to the wavelength? (Hint: draw it out!)
The wavelength is cut in half.
Two waves have the same frequency, but one has double the amplitude. How do their energies compare? (Hint: draw it out!)
The wave with double amplitude has MUCH GREATER energy than the other--about 4 times as much energy!
Daily Double: (wave speed = wavelength x wave frequency) If a wave has frequency 12 Hz and wavelength 0.5 m, calculate the wave speed.
6 m/s
What term is used when the reflected wave looks different than the incoming wave?
out of phase