Wave Properties
What is the highest part of a transverse wave called?
The Crest
You observe 20 waves roll onto the shore of the Great Salt Lake in 75 seconds. What is the period of the wave?
3.75 s
What wave interaction enables you to admire yourself in the mirror?
Reflection
Is light a particle or a wave?
Both, or not just one!
What are the units for force?
Newtons
The distance between two identical parts of a wave.
Wavelength
You hear sound with a frequency of 150 Hz. What is the period of the wave?
0.007 s
OR
1/150 s
An ocean wave encounters a sand barrier with multiple small opening as it enters the bay. On the shore are two piers. One gets tall waves that splash onto the pier and the other gets small, calm waves. What type of interaction is this?
Interference
Give an example of light behaving like a wave.
Answer varies.
What is the equation for gravitational potential energy?
mgh
The number of waves that pass by a point in 1 second.
You hear thunder in the distance. This clap of thunder has a frequency of 50 Hz. You recall that sound moves at a speed of 343 m/s. How long is each sound wave from the thunder?
6.86 m
Bored during the summer, you do a science experiment. The bars of light shining through the blinds of a window appear to be wider that the actual gap in the blinds. What type of wave interaction is this?
Diffraction
As the wavelength of light increases, how does its energy change?
It decreases
An 0.5 kg bird is flying 20 m in the air at a speed of 15 m/s. What is its momentum (with units!)
7.5 kgm/s
The type of wave where the medium moves parallel to the wave motion.
Longitudinal Wave
Red light has a frequency of 4*10^14 Hz. What energy does a single photon of red light have?
2.65*10^-19 J
When a wave enters a new medium, it bends. This is called refraction. What property of the wave changes to cause this bending?
Acceptable answers:
Speed, Wavelength
We call light "electromagnetic radiation." Why?
Light is described as oscillating electric and magnetic fields.
A penny has a mass of 2.5 grams and is dropped from the top of the Empire State Building (380 m). How much kinetic energy will it have when it hits the ground?
9.31 J
The least dense part of a longitudinal wave.
Rarefaction
The speed of light is 3*10^8 m/s. The radius of the Earth is 6.4*10^6 m. How would it take light to travel in a circle around the Earth? (Assuming it can move in a curved path)
About 0.14 s
"Beating" or the wobbling noise when two sounds have similar but different frequencies is caused by which wave interaction?
Interference
Describe the Photoelectric effect, and state which model of light (wave or particle) is required to explain it.
Light knocks electrons off of metal. The particle model.
What does temperature measure on a molecular scale?
The average kinetic energy of the particles in an object
OR
A measure of the average motion of the particles in an object.