Sound and Light Units 1, 2,3 Study Guide
- What is the difference between radio waves and sound waves?
- Radio waves do not require a medium to travel.
- What is a mechanical wave?
- Waves that require a medium to travel through.
- How does a transverse wave move?
- The particles move perpendicularly to the direction the wave travels.
- How does a longitudinal wave move?
- The particles move parallel to the direction the wave travels.
- What is the difference between mechanical and electromagnetic waves?
- Mechanical waves need a medium to travel through, and electromagnetic waves do not.
- How fast do electromagnetic waves travel in a vacuum? (in miles per second and meters per second)
- ~180,000,000 miles per second / ~300,000,000 meters per second
- What types of mediums can mechanical waves pass through?
- Solids, liquids and gases.
- What type of medium do sound waves go the fastest through?
- Solids
- What type of medium do sound waves go the slowest through?
- Gases
- What is frequency?
- How many cycles occur in a certain amount of time, usually 1 s.
- How do you calculate the speed of a mechanical wave?
- Wavelength ÷ Period
- How do you calculate the speed of a mechanical wave when you only have the wavelength and frequency?
- Wavelength x Frequency
- What is wavelength?
- The distance from any point on a wave to an identical point on the next wave.
- What is an echo, when is it the strongest?
- An echo is a reflected sound wave. It is strongest when reflected off of smooth hard surfaces.
- What is reflection?
- The bouncing back of a wave when it hits a barrier.
- How does temperature affect the speed of sound waves?
- Sound waves travel faster at higher temperatures than at lower ones.
- What is resonance?
- when a sound wave matches the natural frequency of an object and causes the object to vibrate.
- What materials absorb sound waves the best?
- Softer materials like curtains, rugs, etc.
- How are ultrasonic waves used in a person’s body?
- They can pass through a person’s body and reflect off of internal organs.
- What is sonar, how is it used?
- Sonar is electronic echolocation, and is used to locate objects underwater.
- What is echolocation, how do animals use it?
- The use of reflected sound to find objects.
- What is scattering?
- When light strikes matter and changes direction.
- How do different densities affect light waves?
- Light waves go slower through denser objects.
- Why are objects seen as certain colors?
- All the colors but one are absorbed by the object, and the color we see is reflected.
- What is light absorption?
- the transfer of light energy to matter.
- What makes an object translucent?
- It transmits light but scatters it in all directions.
- What makes an object opaque?
- It does not let any light pass through it because it reflects light, absorbs light, or both.
- What makes an object transparent?
- When it transmits light.
- What is refraction?
- The bending of a wave as it passes from one medium to another.