| A | B |
|---|
| mechanical wave | a wave that need a medium |
| wave | a disturbance that transfers energy |
| electromagnetic wave | a wave that does not need a medium to travel |
| transverse wave | a wave that causes the medium to vibrate perpendicular to the direction the wave is traveling |
| longitudinal wave | a wave that causes the medium to vibrate parallel to the direction the wave is traveling |
| amplitude | the maximum distance the medium travels from its rest position; a direct measure of the wave's energy |
| wavelength | the distance between two corresponding points on a wave |
| frequency | the number of waves that pass a point in a given time; typically measured in hertz |
| crest | the highest point of a transverse wave |
| trough | the lowest point on a transverse wave |
| compression | the part of a longitudinal wave where the medium is bunched together |
| rarefaction | the part of a longitudinal wave where the medium gets stretched out |
| reflection | when a wave hits a barrier it cannpt travel through and bounces back |
| refraction | bending that occurs when a wave changes speed as it moves into a new medium |
| diffraction | the bending of a wave as it passes through or around a barrier |
| interference | the interaction beteween two waves that meet; can be constructive or desrtuctive |
| standing wave | when reflecting wave interact constructivly with incoming waves a produce a wave that appears to stand still |
| node | point on a standing wave where the amplitude is 0 |
| antinode | the highest and lowest points on a standing wave |
| resonance | interaction that occurs when a wave traveling through an object match the object's natrual frequency |
