| A | B |
|---|
| wave | a disturbance that transfers energy from place to place (ex: through a body of water). |
| medium | material through which a wave travels. |
| mechanical wave | a wave that requires a medium through which to travel. |
| vibration | a repeated back-forth or up-down motion. |
| transverse wave | a wave that moves the medium in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels. |
| crest | the highest point of a transverse wave. |
| trough | the LOWEST point of a transverse wave. |
| longitudinal wave | a wave that moves the medium parallel to the direction in which the wave travels. |
| compression | the part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together. |
| rarefaction | the part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are far apart. |
| surface wave (1) | a wave that happens at the surface between 2 mediums. |
| surface wave (2) | a type of seismic wave that forms when P waves and S waves reach Earth's surface. |
| wavelength | the distance between the CREST of one wave to the CREST of the next. |
| frequency | the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time. |
| hertz (Hz) | unit of measurement for frequency. |
| amplitude | the MAXIMUM distance the particles of a medium move away from their rest positions as a wave passes through the medium. |
| reflection | the bouncing back of a wave when it hits a surface through which it cannot pass. |
| refraction | the bending of waves as they enter a different medium. |
| diffraction | the bending of waves around the edge of a barrier. |
| interference | the interaction between waves that meet. |
| constructive interference | the interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a larger amplitude. |
| standing wave | the interference that occurs when two waves combine to make a wave with a smaller amplitude. |
| node | a point of zero amplitude on a standing wave. |
| antinode | a point of MAXIMUM amplitude on a standing wave. |
| resonance | the increase in the amplitude of vibration that occurs when external vibrations match the object's natural frequency. |
| seismic wave | a vibration that travels through Earth, carrying the energy released during an earthquake. |
| primary wave | a longitudinal seismic wave |
| secondary wave | a transverse seismic wave. |
| tsunami | surface waves large on the ocean caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor. |
| seismograph | a device (machine) that records ground movements caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth; used to detect and measure earthquakes. |
