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Sosna - Waves
WAVES Unit 6, Part 1 (Ch. 20)
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| wave | a periodic disturbance in a solid, liquid, or gas as energy is transmitted through a medium |
| medium | a physical environment in which phenomena occur |
| transverse waves | a wave in which the particles of the medium move perpendicularly to the direction the wave is traveling |
| longitudinal wave | a wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of wave motion |
| amplitude | the maximum distance that the particles of a wave's medium vibrate from their rest position |
| wavelength | the distance from any point on a wave to an identical point on the next wave |
| frequency | the number of waves produced in a given amount of time |
| wave speed | the speed at which a wave travels through a medium |
| reflection | the bouncing back of a ray of light, sound, or heat when the ray hits a surface tat 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 waves that results in a single wave |