Waves Flashcards
What is displacement?
How far a point on the wave has moved from its undisturbed position.
What is amplitude?
The maximum magnitude of displacement.
What is wavelength?
The length of one whole wave cycle.
What is period?
The time taken for a whole cycle to complete.
What is frequency?
The number of cycles per second passing a given point.
What is phase?
A measurement of the position of a certain point along the wave cycle.
What is phase difference?
The amount one wave lags behind another.
What does an oscilloscope measure and display?
A cathode ray oscilloscope measures voltage. It displays waves from a signal generator as a function of voltage over time.
What is the displayed wave called?
A trace.
What are the names of the squares the screen is split into?
Divisions.
What is on the vertical axis and how do you control it?
Volts. The volts per division shown on this axis is controlled by the gain dial.
What is on the horizontal axis and how do you control it?
Seconds (also called timebase). Seconds per division can be controlled by the timebase dial.
What is a transverse wave?
A wave where the vibration is at right angles to the direction of travel.
What type of waves are electromagnetic waves?
Transverse.
