Term | Definition |
Wave | A disturbance involving the transfer of energy from place to place. |
Energy | In science, it is defined as the ability to do work. |
Medium | The material through which a wave travels. |
Mechanical waves | Waves that require a medium to travel. |
Transverse wave | A wave that vibrates the medium at right angles, or perpendicular, to the direction in which the wave travels. |
Longitudinal wave | A wave that vibrates the medium in the same direction in which the wave travels. |
Compression | An area where the coils are close together. |
Rarefaction | An area where the coils are spread apart. |
Crest | A high point on a transverse wave. |
Trough | A low point on a transverse wave. |
Surface waves | Waves that are a combination of transverse and longitudinal waves. This type of wave travels along a surface that separates two mediums. |
Amplitude | The maximum distance the medium vibrates from the rest position. |
Wavelength | The distance between two corresponding parts of a wave. |
Frequency | The number of waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time. |
Speed | How far a wave travels in a given amount of time. |
Reflection | An interaction with a surface, in which a wave hits a surface and any part of the wave the cannot pass through the surface bounces back. |
Refraction | The bending of waves due to a change in speed. |
Diffraction | A wave interaction, in which a wave moves around a barrier or through an opening in a barrier, then bends and spreads out. |
Interference | The interaction between waves that meet. |
Constructive interference | Interference in which waves combine to form a wave with a larger amplitude than any individual wave's amplitude. |
Destructive interference | Interference in which two waves combine to form a wave with a smaller amplitude than either original wave had. |
Standing wave | A wave that appears to stand in one place, even though it is two waves interfering as they pass through each other. |
Node | In a standing wave, destructive interference produces points with zero amplitude. |
Antinodes | Points of maximum amplitude on a standing wave are called antinodes. |
Resonance | An increase in the amplitude of a vibration that occurs when external vibrations match an object's natural frequency. |