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Waves
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Wave | A disturbance caused by the mechanical motion of some particle of matter |
| Medium | Any form of matter whose particles transport the wave's energy |
| Mechanical waves | Waves that travel by the physical motion of particles - require a medium |
| Sound wave | A type of mechanical wave |
| Electromagnetic waves | Waves that can travel through a vacuum |
| Vacuum | Empty space |
| Transverse wave | A wave that travels in a direction that is perpendicular (at a right angle to) the wave |
| Longitudinal wave | A wave that travels parallel to (in the same direction as) the direction that the wave is moving |
| Wavelength | The distance between two identical points on a wave |
| Amplitude | Height of the wave - maximum displacement of a wave particle from the midpoint between the crest and the trough |
| Period | The amount of time required for a wave particle to complete one full cycle of its motion - from crest to crest. Measured in seconds |
| Frequency | The number of wave crests that occur in a unit of time |
| Hertz (Hz) | A unit of measurement for frequency |
| Reflection | The bouncing of waves off a surface |
| Absorbed | Cannot travel all the way through the material |
| Transmitted | Travels through the material at the same angle it hit with |
| Refraction | Travels through the material, but at an altered angle. Caused by change in density |
| Diffraction | Travels through the material until it encounters an obstacle, which it then bends around |
| Interference | When waves coming from two different sources meet, they affect each other |
| The Law Of Reflection | A law that states that the angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection |
| Incident ray | The light ray that strikes the surface |
| Reflection ray | The light ray that reflects off the surface |
| Visible light | The light humans can see with the naked eye |
| Index of refraction | Measure of the bending of light when passing from one medium to another |
| Angle of refraction | The angle between a refracted ray and the normal drawn at the point of incidence to which the refraction occurs |
| Snell's law | The ratio of the sine of the angles of incidence and transmission is equal to the ratio of the refractive index of the materials at the surface |
| Scattering | Waves are caused to depart from a straight path due to imperfections in the medium |
| Light diffraction | A special case of light scattering that occurs when a light wave encounters an obstacle with regularly repeating pattern resulting in a diffraction pattern |
| Interference | When waves from two different sources meet |
| Destructive interference | The interaction of out of phase waves. The two waves meet and destroy each other |
| Distortion | If waves interfere somewhere between in phase and out of phase. Results in an irregular pattern. |
| Constructive interference | Two in phase waves come together to construct a new wave with larger amplitude |
| Compression waves | Another name for sound waves. Results from the compression and expansion of the molecules surrounding the vibrating object. |
| Pitch | How high or low a sound is |
| Decibels | A measure of the intensity or volume of a sound |
| Doppler effect | When a sound gets closer, the pitch appears to get higher. In reality the sound waves get squished together. |
| Electromagnetic spectrum | A line which is made of invisible and visible waves, ranging from low frequency to high frequency, which travel at the speed of light in a vacuum |
| Radio Waves | Electromagnetic waves that have the longest wavelengths on the EM spectrum. Used mainly in communication |
| Microwaves | Waves used in cell phones, radars, and to heat food |
| Infrared waves | Waves that are invisible to the human eye, but we can still feel the heat from it. Used in heaters, grills, and remotes |
| Visible light waves | The light we see. ROY G. BIV |
| Ultraviolet rays | Found naturally in sunlight; can cause sunburn and other harm to the skin |
| X-rays | Can pass through skin and soft material, but not bone or metal. Used in doctor's offices |
| Gamma rays | The most energetic waves with the shortest wavelengths. |
| ____ lenses refract into a focal point (help to see closer) | Convex |
| ____ lenses refract & bend outward (help to see farther) | Concave |
| ____ mirrors make light rays spread out (images appear smaller) | Convex |
| ____ mirrors make light rays reflect & come into a point (images can appear smaller or larger depending) | Concave |
Created by:
carla03
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