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ch 14 vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
wave | a periodic disturbance in a solid, liquid,or gas as energy is transmitted through a medium |
medium | a physical enviroment in which phenomena occur |
mechanical wave | a wave that requires a medium in wich to travel |
electromagnetic wave | a wave that consists of oscillating electric and magnetic fields which radiate outward at the speed of light |
transverse wave | a wave in which the particles particles of the medium move perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling |
longitudinal wave | a wave in whivh the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of wqave motion |
crest | the highest point |
trough | the lowest pint of a wave |
ampitude | the maximum distance that the particles of a waves medium vibrated from their rest position |
wave lenght | the distance from any point on a wave to an identical point on the next wave |
period | the time that it takes a complete cycle of a wave oscilltion to occur |
frequency | the number of cycles or vibrations per unit of time |
doppler effect | an observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source of observer is moving |
reflection | the bouncing back of a ray of light sound or heat when the ray hits |
diffraction | a change in the direction of a wave when the wave finds |
refraction | the bending of a wavefront as the wavefront |
interference | the combination og two or more waves |
consructive interferference | wave amplitude is the sum of two individual waves |
destructive interfernece | smaller amplitude than the larger of the two waves |
standing waves | can form when a wave is reflected at the boundary of a medium |