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Waves
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Wave | a disturbance that transfers energy from place to place |
| Mechanical Wave | a wave that requires a medium through which to travel |
| Longitudinal Wave | a wave that moves a medium in a direction parallel to the direction in which the wave travels; Ex: sound waves |
| Compression | part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together |
| Rarefaction | part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are far apart |
| Transverse Wave | a wave the moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels; Ex: water waves |
| Crest | the highest part of a transverse wave |
| Trough | the lowest part of a transverse wave |
| Amplitude | the maximum distance the particles of a medium move away from their rest position as a wave passes through the medium |
| Medium | the material through which a wave travels |
| Wavelength | the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave |
| Hertz | the unit of measurement for frequency (Hz) |
| Frequency | the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time |
| Pitch | the perception of the frequency of a a sound |
| Vibration | a repeated back-and-forth or up-and-down motion |