| Question | Answer |
| wave | an oscillation that travels |
| vibration | a word that means the same as oscillation |
| wave pulse | a short length of wave that travels |
| transverse | a wave where the oscillation is perpindicular to the direction of motion |
| longitudinal | a wave where the oscillation is in the same direction as the direction of motion |
| wavelength | the length of one complete wave |
| natural frequency | a special frequency at which objects vibrate if they are disturbed |
| resonance | a special condition where the frequency you push matches the natural frequency of the system, resulting in large amplitude waves |
| interference | the interaction of two or more waves with each other |
| boundary | a place where a wave changes suddenly |
| reflection | the process of bouncing a wave off a boundary |
| refraction | the process of bending a wave as it crosses a boundary |
| diffraction | what happens when a wave bends around obstacles or through holes |
| absorption | the process where a wave gets smaller and smaller |
| node | a point on a wave where there is no motion |
| antinode | the place on a wave where the amplitude is largest |
| harmonic | a wave whose frequency is a multiple of another wave |
| standing wave | a wave that is trapped between two boundaries |
| harmonic motion | back and forth or repeating motion |
| cycle | a part of motion that repeats over and over |
| system | a group of things we think are important to consider when analyzing something |
| oscillator | a system in harmonic motion |
| hertz | a unit of one cycle per second |
| period | the time it takes to complete one cycle |
| frequency | the number of cycles per second |
| amplitude | the size of a cycle |
| damping | any process that causes cycles to get smaller and smaller in amplitude |
| phase | a way to identify where an oscillator is in its cycle |