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waves and stuff
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| waves | traveling disturbance that carries energy from place to place |
| vibration | movement that follows the same path over and over again |
| medium | material through which a mechanical wave travels |
| mechanical waves | wave that disturbes medium |
| electromagnetic wave | wave that consists of electric and magnetic field and does not require a medium to exist |
| crest | high point of wave |
| trough | low point of wave |
| amplitude | greatest distance from resting position of a wave |
| wavelength | distance between two consecutive similar points on a wave |
| frequency | number of waves that pass a central point in a given amount of time |
| transverse wave | wave in which the motion of the medium in a right angles to the direction of the wave |
| longitudinal wave | wave in which the motion of the medium is parallel to the direction of the wave |
| surface wave | wave that consists of a combination of transverse and longitudinal waves and occurs at the surface between two different mediums |
| compression | squeezing together |
| reflection | bouncing back of waves upon reaching another surface |
| refraction | bending of waves due a change in speed |
| diffraction | bending of waves due to the edge of an obsticle |
| interference | interaction of waves that occur at the same place same time |
| standing wave | wave that does not appear to be moving; occurs at the natural frequency of the material |
| resonant frequency | frequency at which a standing wave occurs. |