What do waves transfer?
Waves transfer energy, not matter.
1/17
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| What do waves transfer? | Waves transfer energy, not matter. |
| What do mechanical waves require to travel? | A medium (solid, liquid, or gas). |
| How do particle motions differ in transverse vs. longitudinal waves? | Transverse = particles move perpendicular to wave direction; Longitudinal = particles move parallel to wave direction. |
| Give examples of transverse and longitudinal waves. | Transverse = water waves, guitar strings, seismic S-waves; Longitudinal = sound waves, slinky compressions, seismic P-waves. |
| What is the crest of a wave? | The highest point of a transverse wave. |
| What is the trough of a wave? | The lowest point of a transverse wave. |
| What is compression in a longitudinal wave? | A region where particles are close together. |
| What is rarefaction in a longitudinal wave? | A region where particles are spread apart. |
| What does displacement measure in a wave? | How far a particle is from its rest position. |
| What is amplitude? | The maximum displacement from rest; linked to wave energy. |
| What is the period of a wave? | The time for one full cycle of the wave. |
| What is frequency? | The number of cycles per second (measured in Hz). |
| What is wavelength? | The distance between two consecutive crests or compressions. |
| What is wave velocity? | The speed at which the wave propagates through a medium. |
| Define reflection, refraction, diffraction, and superposition. | Reflection = bouncing off a surface; Refraction = bending in a new medium; Diffraction = spreading around corners; Superposition = overlapping waves combine. |
| How does the wave model of light explain reflection and refraction? | Reflection = angle in = angle out; Refraction = wave bends because speed changes in new medium. |
| What happens to a wave at the boundary between two media? | Part of the wave is reflected back, and part is refracted (changes speed and direction). |