| A | B |
|---|
| Wave | A repeating disturbance or movement that transfers energy through matter or space |
| Medium | The matter that waves travel through |
| Mechanical Waves | Waves that can only travel through matter |
| Transverse Wave | A wave where matter in the medium moves back and forth at right angles to the direction that the wave travels |
| Compressional Wave | A wave where matter in the medium moves back and forth along the same direction that the waves travel |
| Crest | The high point in a transverse wave |
| Trough | The low point in a transverse wave |
| Compression | Where the medium becomes crowded together in an compressional wave |
| Rarefaction | The less dense regions in a compressional wave |
| Wavelength | The distance between one point on a wave and the nearest point just like it |
| Frequency | The number of wavelengths that pass a fixed point each second (Hz) |
| Period | The amount of time it takes one wavelength to pass a point (s) |
| Wave Equation | Speed (m/s) = frequency (Hz) x wavelength (m) |
| Amplitude | The energy transferred by a wave |
| Reflection | Occurs when a wave strikes an object and bounces off of it |
| Echo | Happens when sound waves bounce off of another object |
| The Law of Reflection | The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection |
| Refraction | The bending of a wave caused by a change in its speed as it moves from one medium to another |
| Diffraction | When an object causes a wave to change direction and bend around it |
| Interference | When two or more waves overlap and combind to form a new wave |
| Constructive Interference | When the amplitude of the new wave that forms is equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the original waves |
| Destructive Interference | When the amplitude of the new wave is the differnce between the amplitudes of the waves that overlapped |
| Standing Wave | A type of wave that forms when waves equal in wavelength and amplitude, but traveling in opposite directions continuously interfere with each other |
| Resonance | The process by which an object is made to vibrate by absorbing energy at its natural frequencies |
