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Waves
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| waves | oscillations that carry energy |
| oscillation | an up-and-down or back-and-forth motion |
| vacuum | space that has no matter in it |
| mechanical waves | waves that move through matter |
| types of mechanical waves | - water waves - sound waves |
| electromagnetic waves | waves that move through vacuums |
| types of electromagnetic waves | - light waves - x-rays - radio waves |
| wave properties (definition) | the four main characteristics of a wave |
| amplitude | one-half the distance between a wave's high point and low point; measures how much a wave is displaced from its resting point |
| crest | a wave's high point |
| trough | a wave's low point |
| resting point | the position the medium would take if there were no wave |
| wavelength & symbol | measured from a point on one wave to the same point on another wave; the Greek letter lambda |
| wavelength units | meters (m) |
| 3 ways to measure wavelength are: | 1) crest-to-crest 2) trough-to-trough 3) resting point-to-resting point |
| frequency | number of waves that pass a fixed point in a given unit of time |
| units for frequency | hertz (H2) (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 | frequency * wavelength (v=f*lambda) |
| medium | A substance that makes possible the transfer of energy from one location to another |
| reflection (and example) | when a wave bounces off a surface; when you look into a mirror, you see yourself because the light waves have been reflected off the surface |
| law of reflection | explains that waves get reflected in a particular way - a wave gets reflected at the same angle as it moved toward the barrier |
| reflected ray | the wave bouncing off something |
| incident ray | the wave moving toward something |
| refraction (and example) | the bending of waves as they travel through different mediums; why your legs look really short when standing in a pool |
| diffraction (and example) | the bending of waves around a barrier or the spreading of waves past small openings; when ocean waves come through a jetty or pier |
| interference | the result of waves colliding with each other |
| constructive interference | when waves collide, they combine to form a larger wave |
| destructive interference | when waves collide, they interfere with each other and cancel each other out |
| absorption | the transfer of energy from a wave to matter as the wave passes through it |
| absorbed colors | the light waves going into an object [colors that absorb more light rays (dark colors), heat up when in light] |
| reflected colors | the light waves being reflected to show different colors |
| electromagnetic spectrum (know order and describe) | the wavelengths and frequency range of electromagnetic waves - radio waves - microwaves - infrared waves - visible light - ultraviolet waves (UV rays) - x-rays - gamma rays |
| visible light spectrum | colors in the visible spectrum from longest to shortest wavelength: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet |
| longitudinal wave | a wave that oscillates in the direction as it moves (sound waves) |
| expansion | the wavelength of longitudinal waves spreading apart |
| compression | the wavelength of longitudinal waves getting closer together |
| intensity (of sound) | how much energy the sound wave carries past a certain area; the amplitude determines the intensity; the closer you are to a sound the higher the intensity and vice versa |
| units of sound | decibels (dB) |
| pitch | our perception of sound wave frequency |
| analog signal | signals that carry info but vary continuously in both amplitude and frequency (much more susceptible to interference) |
| digital signal | signals that send info as wave pulses and communicate only through 1s and 0s, so the form that the info takes is much simpler |
Created by:
2022josk
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