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VocabCh. 20
vocabulary
Question | Answer |
---|---|
wave | periodic disturbance in a solid, liquid, or gas as energy is transmitted through a medium |
longitudinal wave | wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of wave motion |
transverse wave | wave in which the direction of displacement is perpendicular to the direction of propagation, as a surface wave of water |
medium | a material through which a wave can travel through |
amplitude | the maximum distance that the particles of a wave's medium vibrate from their rest position |
wave speed | the speed at which a wave travels through a medium |
wave length | the distance from any point on a wave to an identical pont on the next wave |
frequency | the number of waves produced in a given amount of time |
reflection | the bouncing back of a ray of light, sound, or heat when the ray hits a surface that it does not go through |
refraction | the bending of a wave as the wave passes between two substances in which the speed of the wave differs |
diffraction | a change in the direction of a wave when the wave finds an obstacle or an edge, such as an opening |
interference | the combination of two or more wave that results in a single wave |