| A | B |
|---|
| Mechanical Wave | a disturbance in matter that carries energy from one place to another. |
| Medium | the material through which a wave travels |
| Crest | the highest point of a transverse wave. |
| Trough | the lowest point of a transverse wave. |
| Transverse Wave | a wave that causes a medium to vibrate at right angles to the direction in which the wave travels |
| Compression | an area of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are closer together. |
| Rarefaction | an area of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are spread out |
| Longitudinal Wave | a wave in which the vibration of the medium is parallel to the direction the wave travels |
| Surface Wave | a wave that travels along a surface separating two media. |
| Period | the time required for one complete cycle of a periodic motion. |
| Frequency | the number of complete cycles per unit time for a periodic motion. |
| hertz | the unit of measure for frequency, equal to one cycle per second |
| Wavelength | the distance between a point on a wave and the same point on the next cycle of the wave |
| Amplitude | the maximum displacement of a medium from rest position |
| Reflection | the interaction that occurs when a wave bounces off a surface that it cannot pass through. |
| Refraction | the bending of a wave as it enters a new medium at an angle. |
| Interference | the interaction of two or more waves that combine in a region of overlap |
| Constructive Interference | the interaction between two or more waves in which displacements combine to produce a wave with a larger displacement. |
| Drestructive Interference | the interaction between 2 or more waves in which displacements combine to produce a wave with a smaller displacement. |
| Standing Wave | a wave that appears to stay in one place and does not seem to move through a medium |
| Node | a point on a standing wave that has no displacement from the resting position. |
| Antinode | a point of maximum displacement midway between two nodes in a standing wave |
| Sound Waves | a longitudinal wave consisting of compressions and refractions, which travels through a medium. |
| Intensity | the rate of at which a wave’s energy flows through a given unit of area |
| Decibel | a unit that compares the intensities of different sounds. |
| Loudness | a physical response to the intensity of sound, modified by physical factors |
| Pitch | the frequency of a sound as a listener perceives it |
| Sonar | a technique for determining the distance to an object under water. |
| Doppler Effect | a change in sound frequency caused by motion of the sound source, motion of the listener or both. |
| Resonance | the response of a standing wave to another wave of the same frequency, with dramatic increase in amplitude of the standing wave. |
