P. Sci. Waves

Put all answers on a separate sheet of notebook paper.

  1. Mechanical waves need a ____ through which to transport energy.
  2. The particles in a surface water wave move _____
  3. Waves in which the particles of medium move at right angles to the direction of the wave are _____ waves.
  4. The _____ of a wave is measured from the crest of one wave to the crest of the next.
  5. If the wavelength of a given wave decreases, you know that its frequency will _increase / decrease / stay the same_
  6. Two waves have the same frequency and wavelength, but the first wave has a greater amplitude. The energy of the first wave is _greater than / less than / equal to_that of the second.
  7. Wave A has a greater frequency than wave B, but the amplitude of the two waves is the same. The energy of wave A is _greater than / less than / equal to that of wave B.
  8. The unit for frequency is the ____.
  9. A wave will travel only as long as it has ____ to carry
  10. When you squeeze together the coils of a spring and then release them, you are creating a _____ wave
  11. Waves in which the particles of the medium move only in the same direction as the motion of the wave are ___ _ waves
  12. You are creating a wave on a spring. If you start shaking the spring more slowly, the wavelength of the resulting wave will _increase / decrease / stay the same_.
  13. If you are lying on a raft, and you notice that the number of waves that go past the raft increases, you also find that the distance between each crest _increases / decreases / stays the same
  14. Wave A carries more energy than wave B. Wave B has a smaller ___ than wave A
  15. The energy a wave carries is measured by its ____.
  16. For a given wave, if the frequency doubles, the wavelength ____.
  17. When a wave passes from a less dense medium to a more dense medium, the ____ may change
  18. Repeating disturbances that transfer energy through matter or space are ____
  19. The two types of mechanical waves are ____ and ___
  20. If the frequency of a water wave changes, its ___ must also change
  21. The symbol  (lambda) stands for the ___.

Figure 11-1

  1. In Figure 11-1, identify the following structures:

___ wavelength, ___ crest, ___ amplitude

  1. Speed can be determined by dividing the distance traveled by the time. The water waves in a lake travel 4.4 m in 2.0 s. What is the speed of the waves?(show your work) ____
  2. An ocean wave has a frequency of 2.0 Hz with a wavelength of 10 m. What is the velocity of the wave?(show your work) ___

  1. The wavelength of the wave in the diagram is ___
  2. The amplitude of the above wave is ____
  3. A man is standing on the shore of a beach, up to his knees in water. Every 5 seconds a wave breaks on him. What is the period of the wave?(show your work) _____
  4. A child is sending pulses down a stretched rope at a rate of 2 pulses per second. The distance between the pulses is 5 meters. What is the speed of the wave? (show your work) _____
  5. A train of waves is moving at a speed of 30 m/s. The frequency of the waves is 10 Hz. What is the wavelength?(show your work) ____
  6. A person is standing still and listening to a siren sounding an alarm. The frequency of the sound is 500 Hz. The person begins running toward the sound at a rate of 20 m/s. The frequency of the sound the person hears will_increase / decrease / stay the same_
  7. Which type of electromagnetic wave has the greatest wavelength?

visible light, microwaves, radio waves, X rays

  1. A wave with a frequency of 0.5 Hz and a speed of 10 m/s has a wavelength of ___ (show your work)
  2. A(n) ___ is a disturbance that transmits energy through matter or space.
  3. The matter through which a wave travels is called the ____.
  4. A(n) ___ is defined as a wave that requires a medium.
  5. A(n) ___ consists of changing electric and magnetic fields and does not require a medium.
  6. A wave that causes the particles of the medium to vibrate perpendicularly to the direction the wave travels is called a(n) ___.
  7. A wave that causes the particles of the medium to vibrate parallel to the direction the wave travels is called a(n) ___.
  8. The highest point of a transverse wave is called the ____.
  9. The lowest point of a transverse wave is called the ____.
  10. The ____ is the greatest distance that particles in a medium move from their normal position when a wave passes.
  11. The ___ is the time required for one full wavelength to pass a certain point.
  12. The ____ is the number of vibrations that occur in a 1-second time interval
  13. The frequency of a sound wave determines ____
  14. How loud a sound is depends on ___
  15. The difference between visible light and X rays is that ____
  16. The color of light is determined by ____ of the light waves.
  17. The bouncing back of a wave as it meets a surface or boundary is called ____.
  18. The bending of a wave as it passes an edge or an opening is called ____.
  19. The bending of waves as they pass from one medium to another is called _____.
  20. ___ occurs when two or more waves exist in the same place at the same time.
  21. In _____, waves combine so that the resulting wave is smaller than the largest of the original waves.
  22. In ___, waves combine so that the resulting wave is bigger than the largest of the original waves.
  23. A(n) ____is a wave form caused by interference that appears not to move along the medium and that shows nodes and antinodes.
  24. Explain the difference between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves.
  25. Explain the relationship between vibrations and waves.
  26. Why does sound travel faster in solids than in liquids, and faster in liquids than in gases?
  27. Suppose ocean waves are hitting a shore at a frequency of 20 waves per minute. Two swimmers are in the water. One swimmer says the frequency is 25 waves per minute and the other says the frequency is 15 waves per minute. How can the Doppler effect explain this apparent difference?
  28. Compare and contrast refraction and reflection.
  29. What happens when two waves are in the same place at the same time?
  30. What determines whether the interference between two waves is constructive or destructive?
  31. Explain how two sound waves of slightly different frequencies produce beats