Oscillations and Waves Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is oscillation?
If something is moving side to side from a fixed point, it is known as an oscillation.
Examples of oscillations:
Vocal cords vibrating when you speak;
oscillating fan/ac;
pendulum clock;
atoms in a solid.
What is a wave?
A wave is a way of carrying energy from one place to another.
How is a wave created?
An oscillation can create a wave in a particular medium.
What are electromagnetic waves?
- do not need a medium to travel.
-can carry energy through a vaccum.
What’s a medium?
The material or substance that a wave is carried through.
Give the electromagnetic waves:
Radio;
Microwaves;
Infrared;
Visible Light;
Ultraviolet;
X-rays;
Gamma rays.
What are the 7 visible lights?
ROYGBIV
What are mechanical waves?
Waves that need a medium to travel through.
Examples of mechanical waves:
Sound waves;
Water waves.
What are the two different ways oscillations can happen to produce waves?
Transverse waves;
Longitudinal waves.
What is a transverse wave?
The direction of the energy propagation is perpendicular to the direction of the oscillations.
What is a longitudinal wave?
The direction of energy propagation is parallel to the direction of oscillations.
What is the equilibrium?
When a wave is not disturbing the medium, the particles in the medium have a resting position. This position is called the equilibrium.
What is the amplitude?
The maximum displacement of a particle in a medium from its equilibrium is known as the amplitude.
What is amplitude is measured in?
Meters (m).
What is frequency?
The number of oscillations per second.
What is frequency measured in?
Hz (Hertz)
What is time period?
The time taken for a single oscillation.
Equation for Time Period:
T = 1/f
What is wavelength?
-Distance from a crest to the next consecutive crest, or the distance from a trough to the next consecutive trough (FOR A TRANSVERSE WAVE)
-Distance from a compression to the next compression (LONGITUDINAL)
Symbol for wavelength:
λ (lambda)
Unit
for wavelength:
Metres (m)
What is velocity:
Displacement per second.
