Waves

  1. Characteristics of Waves
  2. Wave -a disturbance involving the transfer of energy from place to place
  3. Mechanical waves must travel through a material called a medium
  4. Gases like air
  5. Liquids like water
  6. Solids like rock
  7. Waves and Energy
  8. Mechanical waves form when a source of energy causes a medium to vibrate
  9. Vibration- repeated back and forth or up and down motion of a medium
  10. Types of Mechanical Waves
  11. Transverse waves- vibration occurs perpendicular to (at right angles to) the direction that the wave travels.
  12. Forms high and low points along a rope
  13. Crest-the top of the wave (high point)
  14. Trough-the bottom of the wave (low point)

  1. Longitudinal - vibrates the medium in the same direction that the wave travels.
  2. Stretching a slinky out and watching the movement go back and forth.
  3. Compression- the area of coils that move closer together as energy travels along the slinky
  4. Rarefaction- the area of coils that are spread out before or after energy travels along the slinky.
  1. Surface Waves- a combination of transverse and longitudinal waves.
  2. The energy travels at right angles causing an up and down motion and a back and forth at the same time.
  3. Causes particles to travel in a circular motion.
  1. Properties of Waves
  2. Amplitude
  3. The maximum distance a medium vibrates from its resting position. The more energy a wave has, the higher its amplitude. The height of a wave’s crest depends on its amplitude
  4. Transverse waves-amplitude is the maximum distance the medium moves up or down from its resting position
  1. Longitudinal wave- amplitude is a measure of how compressed or rarefied the medium becomes
  2. Very compressed=high amplitude
  1. Surface waves- amplitude depends on how far the water particles move above or below the surface when the water is calm
  2. The more energy a wave has, the higher its amplitude
  3. The height of a wave’s crest depends on its amplitude
  1. Wavelength-
  2. Transverse wave- wavelength =the distance from crest to crest or trough to trough
  3. Longitudinal wave-wavelength= the distance between compressions
  4. Frequency
  5. The number of waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time
  6. Measured in hertz
  7. 1 wave per second 1/s = 1Hz
  8. 2 waves per second 2/s = 2Hz
  9. Speed
  10. How far the wave travels in a given amount of time
  11. ex 300 meters per second 300 m/s
  12. Different types of wave travel at different rates of speed
  13. Light is much faster than sound.
  1. How are they all related?
  2. Speed = Wavelength x Frequency
  3. Rule applies as long as the temperature and pressure of the medium do not change.
  4. Frequency = Speed/Wavelength
  5. Wavelength = Speed/Frequency
  1. Interactions of Waves
  2. What changes the direction of waves
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  1. Wave interference
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