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Waves Vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Types of Electromagnetic Waves | light waves, x-rays, radio waves |
| Electromagnetic Waves | waves that move through vacuums |
| Types of Mechanical Waves | waves through water, sound waves |
| Mechanical Waves | waves that move through matter |
| Vacuum | space that has no matter in it |
| Oscillation | an up-and-down or back-and-forth motion |
| Waves | oscillations that carry energy |
| Wave Properties (definition) | the four main characteristics of a wave |
| Amplitude | one-half the distance between a wave's crest and trough |
| Crest | high point of a wave |
| Trough | low point of a wave |
| Resting Point | the position the medium would take if there was no wave |
| Wavelength and symbol | a measure from a point on one wave to the same point on the next wave, written as lambda- λ |
| Wavelength Units | meters (M) |
| 3 Ways to measure wavelength are: | crest to crest, trough to trough, point on one wave to same point on next wave |
| Frequency | the number of waves that pass a fixed point in a given unit of time |
| Units for Frequency | hertz (Hz), number of waves per second |
| Wave Speed | the time it takes for a wave to move from one point to another |
| Wave Speed Units | meters per second (m/s) |
| Wave Speed Equation | wave speed=frequency x wavelength , abbreviated v=f x λ |
| Medium | any substance that carries the wave, or through which the wave travels |
| Reflection | when a wave bounces off a surface ex.-mirror |
| Law of Reflection | waves get reflected in a particular way, a wave reflects at the same angle as the angle that it moved toward the barrier |
| Reflected Ray | the part of the wave that bounces off the barrier |
| Incident Ray | the part of the ray moving/hitting the barrier |
| Refraction | the bending of waves as they move through different mediums ex.- pencil in cup of water |
| Diffraction | the bending of waves around a barrier or the spreading of waves past small openings ex.- waves going through a pier |
| Interference | the result of waves colliding with each other |
| Constructive Interference | when waves collide and combine to form a larger wave |
| Destructive Interference | when waves interfere and cancel each other out |
| Absorption | the transfer of energy from a wave to matter as the wave passes through it |
| Absorbed Colors | the colors absorbed by an object when light hits it |
| Reflected Colors | the colors reflected by an object when light hits it, the color we see |
| Electromagnetic Spectrum | the entire range of light that exists |
| Visible Light Spectrum | light that humans can see |
| Longitudinal Wave | a sound wave, oscillates in the same direction it moves |
| Expansion | the action of becoming larger or more extensive |
| Compression | the action of being squeezed together and becoming smaller |
| Intensity (of sound) | how much energy the sound wave carries past a certain area |
| Units of Sound | decibel (dB) |
| Pitch | our perception of sound wave frequency |
| Analog Signal | carry information but vary continuously in both amplitude and frequency |
| Digital Signal | send information as wave pulses, and communicate only through 1's and 0's so the form the information takes is much simpler |
Created by:
aiden_naseman
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