Waves Flashcards
(27 cards)
Wave
Disturbance that transfers energy throughout a medium
Medium
Material a wave travels through
Mechanical waves
Require a medium to travel through
-water, air, spring
Electromagnetic waves
Do not require a physical medium
-vacuum of space
One-dimensional waves
Wave that can only travel in a straight line
Wave pulse
Single disturbance travels through a medium
Continuous wave
Series of pulses that are the same
Transverse wave
Motion of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of wave motion
Longitudinal wave
Motion of the medium is parallel to the direction of wave motion
Fixed end
Held firmly
Free end
Not held
What stays the same in a wave
Frequency stays the same, speed and wavelength change
Constructive interference
2 crests, 2 troughs interfere
Destructive interference
Crest and trough interfere
Amp
Maximum height of a crest and lowest point on a trough
Frequency
How many cycles are produced per second
Compressions
Bunched up places in the medium
Rarefractions
Expansions in the medium
Nodes
Points that remain still the entire event
Antinodes
Points that experience max displacement
Fundamental frequency
Lowest frequency that produces standing waves
Overtones
Additional standing wave patterns
Refraction
Direction doesn’t change, unless it hits at an angle
Two-dimensional waves
Waves that move freely in 2 dimensions (along a surface of liquid)
