| A | B |
|---|
| Wave | Traveling disturbance that carries energy from one place to another |
| Vibrations | Back and forth motion that starts a wave |
| Mechanical | Waves that require a medium |
| Electromagnetic | Waves that disturb electric and magnetic fields; do NOT require a medium |
| Medium | Matter or substance through which a wave travels |
| Crest | Highest point on a wave |
| Trough | Lowest point on a wave |
| Amplitude | Distance from rest to a crest or rest to a trough |
| Amplitude | Measures the amount of energy carried by the wave |
| Wavelength | The distance between two consecutive troughs or crests |
| Frequency | Number of complete waves per unit of time |
| Hertz | Unit of measurement for frequency |
| Transverse | Waves in which the motion of the particles in the medium are at right angles (perpendicular) to the motion of the wave |
| Longitudinal | Waves in which the motion of the particles in the medium are parallel to the motion of the wave |
| Transverse Wave Example | Flicking a rope, all electromagnetic waves |
| Longitudinal Wave Example | Sound Waves |
| Surface | Waves which move particles in the medium in a circular motion |
| Surface Wave Example | Ocean waves |
| Speed of a Wave | Frequency X Wavelength |
| Diffraction | Bending of waves around a barrier or through an opening |
| Examples of Refraction | Straw in a glass of water or a prism used to create a rainbow |
| Interference | When two or more waves overlap |
| Constructive Interference | When the crests of one wave overlap the crests of another wave creating a new wave with greater amplitude |
| Destructive Interference | When the crests of one wave overlap the troughs of another wave creating a new wave with lower amplitude |
| Increasing the frequency | decreases the wavelength |
| Speed of a wave | remains constant for a given medium |
| Reflection | Bouncing back of a wave which strikes a barrier, which does not absorb all the wave's energy |
| Refraction | Bending of waves due to a change in speed when passing through different mediums |
| Law of Reflection | Angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection |
| Compression | Place in longitudinal wave where there are a greater number of molecules, which are squeezed together |
| Rarefaction | Place in longitudinal wave where there are a fewer number of molecules, which are pushed apart |
| Resonance | When one vibrating object causes another nearby object, with the same natural frequency, to vibrate |
| Standing Wave | Kind of wave that looks like it is standing still, but the waves are actually moving in both directions. |
