Chapter 15 Vocabulary - Waves

  1. wave – a disturbance that transfers energy from place to place
  2. energy – the ability to do work or cause change
  3. medium – the material through which a wave travels
  4. mechanical wave – a wave that requires a medium through which to travel
  5. vibration – a repeated back and forth or up and down motion
  6. transverse wave – a wave that moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels
  7. crest – the highest part of a transverse wave
  8. trough – the lowest part of a transverse wave
  9. longitude wave – a wave that moves a medium in a direction parallel to the direction in which the wave travels
  10. compression – the part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together
  11. rarefaction – the part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are far apart
  12. amplitude – the maximum distance the particles of a medium move away from their rest positions as a wave passes through the medium
  13. wavelength –the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave
  14. frequency – the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time
  15. hertz – (Hz) – unit of measurement for frequency
  16. reflection – the bouncing back of an object or wave when it hits a surface through which it cannot pass
  17. law of reflection – the rule that the angle of reflection equals the angle of incidence
  18. refraction – the bending of waves as they enter a new medium at an angle
  19. diffraction – the bending of waves as they move around a barrier or pass through an opening
  20. interference – the interaction between waves that meet
  21. constructive interference – the interference that occurs when waves combine to make a wave with a larger amplitude
  22. destructive interference – the interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a smaller amplitude
  23. standing wave – a wave that appears to stand in one place, even though it is really two waves interfering as they pass through each other
  24. node – a point of zero amplitude on a standing wave
  25. antinode – a point of maximum distance the particles of a medium move away from their rest positions as a wave passes through the medium
  26. resonance – the increase in the amplitude of a vibration that occurs when external vibrations match an object’s natural frequency
  27. seismic wave – a wave produced by an earthquake
  28. P wave – a longitudinal seismic wave
  29. S wave – a transverse seismic wave
  30. surface wave – a combination of a longitudinal wave and a transverse wave that travels along the surface of a medium
  31. tsunami wave – a wave that moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels
  32. seismograph – an instrument used to detect and measure earthquake waves