Waves

Question 1

What is a wave?

Answer 1

Any disturbance that transmits energy through matter or space.

Question 2

What is a medium?

Answer 2

Material through which a wave travels.

Question 3

What is a transverse wave?

Answer 3

A wave that moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels.

Question 4

What is a crest?

Answer 4

Highest point of a wave.

Question 5

What is a trough?

Answer 5

Lowest point of a wave.

Question 6

What is wavelength?

Answer 6

Horizontal distance between the crests or between the troughs of two adjacent waves.

Question 7

What is amplitude?

Answer 7

Height of a wave; maximum disturbance from rest.

Question 8

What is a longitudinal wave?

Answer 8

A wave in which the vibration of the medium is parallel to the direction the wave travels.

Question 9

What is compression in a longitudinal wave?

Answer 9

The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together.

Question 10

What is rarefaction in a longitudinal wave?

Answer 10

A part in a longitudinal wave where the particles are spread apart.

Question 11

What is frequency?

Answer 11

How many wave peaks pass a certain point per given time.

Question 12

What is hertz?

Answer 12

Equal to one cycle per second. How frequency of waves is measured.

Question 13

What is reflection?

Answer 13

Energy waves bouncing off the surface of an object.

Question 14

What is refraction?

Answer 14

A change in direction of a wave when it changes speed as it travels from one material to another.

Question 15

What is diffraction?

Answer 15

Bending waves around barriers.

Question 16

What is constructive interference?

Answer 16

The interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a larger amplitude.

Question 17

What is destructive interference?

Answer 17

The interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a smaller amplitude.

Question 18

What is a mechanical wave?

Answer 18

A wave that requires a medium through which to travel.

Question 19

What is pitch?

Answer 19

An indication of how high or low a sound is, primarily determined by the frequency of the sound wave.

Question 20

What are decibels?

Answer 20

A unit of measurement of loudness.

Question 21

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

Answer 21

All of the different types of electromagnetic radiation according to wavelength and frequency.

Question 22

What are electromagnetic waves?

Answer 22

A form of energy that can move through the vacuum of space.

Question 23

What are gamma rays?

Answer 23

Extremely high frequency and high energy waves, given off by stars and radioactive substances.

Question 24

What is visible light?

Answer 24

Electromagnetic radiation that can be seen with the unaided eye.

Question 25

What is the relationship between frequency and wavelength?

Answer 25

As frequency increases, wavelength decreases.

Question 26

What is the relationship between amplitude and energy?

Answer 26

The more energy a wave is carrying, the greater its amplitude.

Question 27

What is the relationship between wavelength and energy?

Answer 27

The shorter the wavelength, the greater the energy being transferred.

Question 28

What is a digital signal?

Answer 28

A signal that encodes information as a string of 1's and 0's.

Question 29

What is an analog signal?

Answer 29

A signal having the characteristic of being continuous and changing smoothly over a given range.