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Waves
Wave vocabulary
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| wave | a disturbance that moves energy from one place to another |
| longitudinal wave | waves in which the displacement of the medium is parallel to the direction of travel of the energy wave |
| transverse wave | wave that consists of oscillations occurring perpendicular (or right angled) to the direction of energy transfer |
| amplitude | refers to the maximum amount of displacement of a particle on the medium from its rest position. |
| wavelength | the distance between identical points, such as successive crests, on a wave |
| frequency | refers to how often the particles of the medium vibrate when a wave passes through the medium; measured in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz) |
| Hertz | the unit used to measure a wave's frequency |
| mechanical wave | waves that require a medium in order to transport their energy from one location to another |
| electromagnetic wave | waves which can travel through the vacuum of outer space in the form of different frequencies of light. |
| trough | lowest point in a wave |
| crest | highest point in a wave |
| rest position | the position in which the wave would sit if there was no disturbance moving through it, also called the midpoint |
| reflection | the bouncing back of a wave when it hits a new medium or barrier |
| refraction | the bending of a wave due to speed change as it passes from one medium to another |
| diffraction | the spreading and bending of a wave as it goes through an opening or around a barrier |
| Decibel | The unit of measure for the intensity or volume of sound. (dB) |
| Doppler Effect | The change in perceived pitch that occurs when the source of sound or the observer of the sound is moving. |
| Intensity | The amount of energy in a wave |
| Pitch | The quality of highness or lowness of sound due to frequency and wavelength. |
| Resonance | When one object vibrating at the same natural frequency of a second object forces that second object into vibrational motion. |
| Vacuum | A space containing little or no particles of matter |
| loudness | the physical strength of the sound pressure level, measured in decibels. |
Created by:
coachsteele
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