Chapter 10

Question 1

What is a wave?

Answer 1

A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from one place to another

Question 2

What are transverse waves?

Answer 2

Transverse waves are waves in which the direction of the vibration is perpendicular to the propagation of the wave

Question 3

What are longitudinal waves?

Answer 3

Longitudinal waves are waves in which the direction of vibration is parallel to the propagation of the wave

Question 4

What is are mechanical waves?

Answer 4

Mechanical waves are the vibration of particles

Question 5

What are electromagnetic waves?

Answer 5

Electromagnetic waves are the disturbance/vibration of electric and magnetic fields

Question 6

What are periodic travelling waves?

Answer 6

Periodic travelling waves are a regularly repeating cycle that appears to move in the direction of propagation of the wave

Question 7

What is a crest?

Answer 7

A crest is the highest point of a transverse wave

Question 8

What is a trough?

Answer 8

A trough is the lowest point of a transverse wave

Question 9

What is an oscillation?

Answer 9

An oscillation is one complete vibration of the source

Question 10

Give an example of a longitudinal wave

Answer 10

Sound, compression waves on a slinky

Question 11

Give an example of a transverse wave

Answer 11

Electromagnetic spectrum, waves in water, waves on a rope

Question 12

What is a wavelength?

Answer 12

A wavelength is the distance from one point on a wave to the corresponding point on an adjacent wave

Question 13

What is frequency?

Answer 13

Frequency is the number of waves passing a point per second (measured in hertz, Hz)

Question 14

What is amplitude?

Answer 14

Amplitude is the maximum distance from the undisturbed position

Question 15

What is the velocity of a wave?

Answer 15

The velocity of a wave is the product of wavelength and frequency

Question 16

What is reflection of a wave?

Answer 16

Reflection is when a wave bounces off an object in its path

Question 17

What is refraction of a wave?

Answer 17

Refraction is the changing of direction of a wave when it goes from one medium to another

Question 18

What is diffraction?

Answer 18

Diffraction is the spreading out of a wave into the space beyond a barrier

Question 19

What is interference?

Answer 19

Interference is the addition of two or more waves, forming a single resultant wave

Question 20

What is constructive interference?

Answer 20

Constructive interference is when two or more waves combine, resulting in a single wave of greater amplitude than the source waves

Question 21

What are coherent wave sources?

Answer 21

Wave sources are coherent when they produce waves of the same frequency that are either in phase of a constant phase difference apart

Question 22

What are waves in phase?

Answer 22

Waves are “in phase” when the crests from one source meet crests from another

Question 23

What is destructive interference?

Answer 23

Destructive interference is when two or more waves combine, resulting in a single wave of smaller amplitude than the source waves

Question 24

What are out of phase waves

Answer 24

Waves are out of phase when the crests from one source meet the troughs from another

Question 25

What is an interference pattern?

Answer 25

An interference pattern is the pattern formed when waves from two (or more) coherent sources combine; it contains a repeating pattern of constructive and destructive interference

Question 26

What is polarisation?

Answer 26

Polarisation is when the direction of vibration of a wave is restricted to one plane

Question 27

What is the Doppler Effect?

Answer 27

The Doppler Effect is the apparent change in frequency of waves due to the relative motion between a wave source and observer