Question | Answer |
Vibration | An oscillation, or repeating back and forth motion, about equilibrium position. |
Wave | A "wiggle" in space and time, a disturbance that repeats regularly in space and time and that is transmitted progressively from one place to the next with no actual transport of matter. |
Period | The time required for a pendulum to make one to-and-fro swing. In general, the time to complete a single cycle. |
Simple harmonic motion | Periodic motion in which acceleration is proportional to the distance from an equilibrium position and is directed toward that equlibriium position. |
Sine curve | A curve whose shape represents the crest and troughs of a wave, as traced out by a swinging pendulum that drops a trail of sand over a moving conveyor belt. |
Crest | One of the places in a wave where the wave is highest or the disturbance is greatest. |
Trough | One of the places on a wave where the wave is lowest or the disturbance is greatest, in the opposite direction from the crest. |
Amplitude | The distance from the midpoint to the maximum of a wave or, equivalently from the midpoint to the minimum. |
Wavelength | the distance from the top of the crest of one wave to the top of the following crest, or equivalents, the distance between two successive parts of a wave. |
Frequency | the number of events per time; measured in hertz |
Hertz | the SI unit of frequency, one of these is one vibration per second |
Transverse wave | a wave with vibration at right angles jto the direction the wave is traveling |
Longditudinal | A wave in which the vibration is in the same direction as that in which the wave is traveling rather than at right angles to it. |
Interference Pattern | A pattern formed by the overlapping of two or more waves that arrive in a region at the same time. |
Constructive interference | addition of two or more waves when wave crests overlap to produce a resulting wave of increased amplitude. |
Deconstuctive interference | combination of waves where crusts of one wave overlap troughs of another, resulting in a wave of decreased amplitude |
Out of phase | term applied to two waves for which the crest of one wave arrives at the point at the same time that a trough of the second wave arrives. Their effects cancel each other. |
In phase | term applied to two or more waves whose crests (and troughs) arrive at a place the same time so that their effects reinforce each other |
Standing wave | wave in which parts of the wave remain stationary and the wave appear not to be traveling. The result of the interference between an incident (orginal) wave and a reflected wave. |
Node | any part of a standing waves that remains stationary |
Antinodes | the positions on a standing wave whre the largest amplitude occur |
Doppler effect | the change in frequency of a wave due to the motion of the source of the receiver |
Blue shift | an increase in the measured frequency of light from an approaching source; it is called this because the apparent increase i twoard the high frequency end of the color spectrum; also occurs when an observer approaches a source |
Red shift | an increase in the measured frequency of light from an approaching source |
Bow wave | the V-shaped wave produced by an object moving on a liquid surface than the wave's speed |
Shock wave | a cone shaped wave produced by an object moving at supersonic speed through a fluid |
Sonic Boom | the sharp crack heard when the shock wave that sweeps behind a supersonic aircraft reaches the listener |