Wave Types
Which type of wave requires a medium to travel?
A mechanical wave
What wave behavior causes an echo?
Reflection
What is it called when a wave bounces off a surface?
Reflection
What type of wave is visible light?
Electromagnetic
What type of natural event produces seismic waves?
Earthquake
Which type of wave can travel through empty space?
Electromagnetic Waves
What happens to a sound's loudness when its amplitude increases?
It gets louder.
What is it called when a wave passes through a material?
Transmission
What makes an object appear black under white light?
It absorbs most or nearly all visible wavelengths of light.
Which wave property is associated with how much the water surface rises and falls?
Amplitude
Are seismic waves mechanical or electromagnetic?
Mechanical
Which type of wave contains compressions and rarefactions?
Light bends as it travels from air into water. What behavior does this demonstrate?
Refraction
A beam of light passes clearly through glass but cannot pass through wood. Classify both materials.
Glass is transparent. Wood is opaque.
What is resonance?
When an object vibrates more strongly because it is driven at or near its natural frequency.
A wave's particles move perpendicular to the direction the wave travels. Is this wave transverse or longitudinal?
Transverse
Two sound waves have equal frequencies, but Wave A has a greater amplitude. Which wave is louder, and how do their pitches compare?
Wave A is louder. They have the same pitch because their frequencies are equal.
Soundproofing panels make a room quieter by taking in sound energy. What wave behavior is occurring?
Absorption
What three wave behaviors can both sound and light demonstrate?
Reflection, refraction, and transmission.
Why can seismic surface waves be especially damaging to buildings?
They can produce large ground movements and strong shaking that damage structures.
Wave A travels through matter and empty space. Wave B only travels through matter. Classify A and B and explain why.
A is electromagnetic because it can travel through empty space. B is mechanical because it requires a medium.
A ringing buzzer becomes quieter when air is removed from a sealed container. Explain why it can still vibrate but cannot be heard clearly.
Sound is mechanical and requires particles of a medium to transfer energy. Removing air removes the medium.
A wave strikes a surface. Some energy bounces back, some passes into the material, and some is taken in. Identify all three behaviors.
Reflection, transmission, and absorption
A student shines light through a clear window while another student hears an echo. Which wave behavior is shown in each example, and how do you know?
Window: transmission because light passes through. Echo: reflection because sound bounces off a surface.
An ocean buoy rises and falls as waves pass, and a generator uses this movement to produce electricity. Explain how the device transfers energy and identify one challenge of using ocean wave energy.
Wave energy causes the buoy to move, and the generator converts that mechanical energy into electricity. A challenge is storm damage or high maintenance costs.