wave and wave properties Flashcards
eoy (25 cards)
what is a wave
In physics, a wave is a disturbance or oscillation that travels through space and matter, transferring energy from one point to another without the transport of matter.
what is a longtidudinal wave with example
A longitudinal wave is a type of wave in which the particles of the medium move parallel to the direction of the wave’s propagation. sound wave
what is a transverse wave with an example
A transverse wave is a type of wave where the particles of the medium move perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling. water wave
what is meant by the amplitude of a wave and identify this on a wave
The amplitude of a wave is the maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its rest (equilibrium) position. It tells us how “tall” the wave is and is a measure of the wave’s energy.
how do you define a wavelength of a wave
Wavelength is the distance between two matching points on a wave — like crest to crest or trough to trough.
what is meant by the frequency of a wave
Frequency is the number of waves that pass a point in one second.
what property of a wave affects the volume of sound
The volume (or loudness) of a sound is determined by the amplitude of the sound wave.
what property of a wave affects the pitch of a sound
The pitch of a sound is determined by the frequency of the sound wave.
which state of matter travels fastest and why
Waves travel fastest in solids. In solids, particles are packed very close together.
what is an echo
n echo is a sound that bounces back after hitting a surface and is heard again.
how does echolocation work
The animal makes a sound (like a beep or click).
The sound travels and hits an object.
The sound bounces back as an echo.
The animal listens to the echo to know where the object is and how far away it is.
what is white light
White light is light that contains all the colors of the visible spectrum mixed together.
what causes an object to look white
An object looks white because it bounces back all colors of light to your eyes.
what causes an object to look black
An object looks black because it soaks up almost all the light and doesn’t bounce any back to your eyes. Without light coming back, it looks black.
what are the primary colours of light
The primary colors of light are red, green, and blue.
what are the secondary colours of light
cyan magenta and yellow
what primary colours make the secondary colours of light
Cyan = Green + Blue
Magenta = Red + Blue
Yellow = Red + Green
why do we see objects as the colours we do
We see colors because objects bounce back some colors of light and soak up the others.
what happens to colours that are not reflected by an object
Colors that are not reflected by an object get absorbed by it.
They don’t bounce back to your eyes, so you don’t see those colors.
what is the law of reflection
Light bounces off a surface at the same angle it hits it.
what is the normal line
The normal line is a straight line that stands up at 90° to a surface.
It helps us measure angles when light bounces off.
where are the angles of incidence and reflection measured from
The angles are measured from the normal line — the straight-up line at the surface.
We see how far the light comes in and bounces off from that line.
what happens to waves when they enter a medium of different density or refraction index
When waves go into something thicker or thinner, they slow down or speed up and bend.
This bending is called refraction.
what is refraction
Refraction is when light bends because it moves into something different, like air to water.
