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LSH Pscience 10
Waves
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Wave | A repeating disturbance transferring energy |
| Medium | Any material a wave travels through |
| Transverse Wave | A wave that displaces material at right angles to the wave's direction |
| Compressional Wave | A wave that that displaces material in line with the wave's direction |
| Mechanical Wave | A wave that requires matter to travel |
| Crest | The high point of a transverse wave |
| Trough | The low point of a transverse wave |
| Rarefaction | The less dense region of a compressional wave |
| Compression | The high density region of a compressional wave |
| Wavelength | The distance between two identical points in adjacent waves |
| Frequency | The number of waves that pass a point in a second (waves/time) |
| Period | The time it takes for one wavelength to pass a point (time/wave) |
| Amplitude | A way of measuring the energy carried by a wave |
| Reflection | The bouncing of a wave off a surface |
| Refraction | The bending of a wave as its speed changes moving from one medium to another |
| Diffraction | The change in direction of a wave as it bends around an object |
| Interference | Two or more waves overlap and form a new wave |
| Absorption | The energy of a wave is transferred into a material |