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Phys Waves/Sound
Physics terms associated with waves and sound.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| rhythmic disturbance that transmits energy | wave |
| material through which a wave is transmitted | medium |
| describes any wave that required a medium (matter) to move through | mechanical |
| describes any wave that does NOT require a medium (matter) to move through... it can move through a vacuum | electromagnetic |
| type of wave for which the particles of the medium vibrate perpendicular to the direction of wave motion | transverse |
| type of wave for which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction of wave motion | longitudinal (compressional) |
| describes the condition of an undisturbed medium | equilibrium (rest) position |
| upward displacement of a transverse wave | crest |
| downward displacement of a transverse wave | trough |
| displacement of the medium from its rest position (i.e. 'rest to crest') | amplitude |
| distance between corresponding points on consecutive waves | wavelength |
| the number of waves passing a fixed point in a period of time (ex: second) | frequency |
| SI unit of frequency | hertz (Hz) |
| area in a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are closer together (corresponds to a 'crest') | compression |
| area in a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are farther apart (corresponds to a 'trough') | rarefaction |
| bouncing of waves off an obstacle | reflection |
| equation for calculating the speed of a wave | speed = frequency x wavelength |
| approximate speed of sound in air at 0 ºC | 330 m/s |
| state of matter through which sound moves fastest | solid |
| approximate audio (audible) range of frequencies for humans | 20 - 20,000 Hz |
| describes frequencies below about 20 Hz (inaudible to humans) | infrasonic |
| describes frequencies above about 20,000 Hz (inaudible to humans) | ultrasonic |
| human perception of frequency | pitch |
| physics measurement of the energy transmitted by sound | intensity |
| human perception of sound intensity | loudness |
| SI unit of loudness | decibel (dB) |
| average human audible range of sound loudness | 0 - 120 decibels |
| phrase that describes the average minimum sound intensity to which humans are sensitive | threshold of hearing |
| phrase that describes the average maximum sound intensity to which humans are sensitive as sound... intensities higher than this 'hurt' | threshold of pain |
| change in frequency of a sound due to relative motion of the source with respect to the receiver | Doppler effect |
| describes sounds in the environment that are too loud, annoying, or harmful to the ear | noise pollution |
| describes a random mixture of sound intensities and frequencies | noise |
| describes sound characterized by specific pitches, patterns, and 'quality' | music |
| pitch of a specific frequency as defined by a particular musical scale | note |
| frequency of the note 'middle C' | 256 Hz |
| describes the interval between two notes, one of which has twice the frequency of the other | octave |
| a combination of frequencies whose ratio is 4:5:6:8 | major chord |
| refers to the combining of displacements of two waves that meet | interference |
| describes interference between waves that increases the overall displacement | constructive |
| describes interference between waves that decreases the overall displacement | destructive |
| product of interference between incident and reflected waves such that particular points remain fixed while others between them vibrate with the maximum amplitude | standing wave |
| frequency of a standing wave that causes the medium (ex: string) to vibrate as a whole | fundamental (1st harmonic) |
| frequency of a standing wave that causes the medium (ex: string) to vibrate in two parts | 1st overtone (2nd harmonic) |
| frequency of a standing wave that causes the medium (ex: string) to vibrate in three parts | 2nd overtone (3rd harmonic) |
| part of a standing wave at which destructive interference occurs | node |
| part of a standing wave at which constructive interference occurs | antinode (lobe) |
| describes the harmonic content (ex: fundamental + overtones) of a note played on an instrument that helps identify its voice | quality |
| a single reflected sound | echo |
| prolonging of sound due to multiple echoes | reverberation |
| the increase & decrease in loudness when two notes of dissimilar frequency are played together (sounds like a 'wah') | beat |
| the 4 'wah's' per second that are heard when tuning forks with frequencies of 256 and 260 are sounded simultaneously | beat frequency |
| process that occurs when a tuning fork of a certain frequency is struck and a nearby tuning fork with the same frequency begins to vibrate | resonance |
| increase in loudness of a tuning fork when its base is touched to something like a desk top, causing the desk to also vibrate at its frequency | forced vibration |
| the study (and control) of sound | acoustics |
| change in direction of a wave when it crosses a boundary (obliquely) between 2 media in which it has different speeds | refraction |
| bending of waves around obstacles or through openings | differaction |
| pattern of constructive and destructive interference that occurs when waves pass through two closely-spaced openings | double slit diffraction pattern |
| areas in a double slit diffraction pattern where constructive interference occurs | lines of reinforcement |
| areas in a double slit diffraction pattern where destructive interference occurs | nodal lines |
Created by:
goakley
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