741118
Description
Flashcards by sophie_burke, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by sophie_burke
over 11 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Electromagnetic waves | Vibrating electric and magnetic fields that progress through space without the need for substance |
| Longitudinal waves | Waves in which the direction of the vibration of the particles are parallel to the direction in which the wave travels |
| Transverse waves | Waves in which the direction of vibration is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels |
| Displacement | A vibrating particles distance and direction from its equilibrium position |
| Amplitude | Maximum displacement of a vibrating particle. In transverse waves it is the height of a wave crest or depth of a wave trough from the middle |
| Wavelength | Distance between adjacent crests |
| One complete cycle of a wave | From one wave peak to the next |
| Period | Time for one complete wave to pass a fixed point |
| Frequency | Number of complete waves passing a point per second. Unit: Hertz (Hz) |
| Phase difference | The fraction of a cycle between the vibration of two particles, measured in either degrees or radians |
| Wavefronts | Waves that are observed in a ripple tank |
| Reflection | Straight waves directed at a certain angle to a hard flat surface reflect off at the same angle |
| Refraction | When waves pass across a boundary at which the wave speed changes, the wavelength also changes. If the wave fronts are at a non-zero angle to the boundary, they change direction as well as changing speed |
| Diffraction | Waves spread out after passing through a gap or round an object. The narrower the gap or the longer the wavelength, the more the wave spread out |
| Principle of superposition | When two waves meet, the total displacement at a point is equal to the sum of the individual displacements at that point |
| Supercrest | When a crest meets a crest, the two waves reinforce each other |
| Supertrough | Where a trough meets a trough and they reinforce each other |
| When a trough meets a crest | Resultant displacement is zero; the two waves cancel each other out |
| Stationary waves | Formed on a rope if two people send waves continuously along the rope from either end, the ends are fixed points |
| Progressive waves | The sets of waves sent to form a stationary wave |
| Nodes | Points of no displacement |
| Interference | The effect of waves constantly passing through each other creating cancellation and reinforcement |
| Pitch | Corresponds to frequency. Raising the tension or shortening the length (of a string on a guitar) increases the pitch, lowering the tension or increasing the length lowers the pitch |
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