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WAVES

WAVES. What are waves? Waves are rhythmic disturbances that carry energy without carrying matter. Examples of waves include waves on water, thunder, and the air that moves when an object is thrown.

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WAVES

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  1. WAVES What are waves? Waves are rhythmic disturbances that carry energy without carrying matter. Examples of waves include waves on water, thunder, and the air that moves when an object is thrown.

  2. It is important to understand that waves transport energy, not matter. When you drop a rock in a pond, you begin a transfer of energy from that point outward. The water molecules bump into each other, and pass the energy in a ripple like motion. Did the wave transport the rock? No, only the energy that was converted from the drop of the rock.

  3. Types of Waves There are two types of waves: Mechanical and Electromagnetic We are going to focus on two types of mechanical waves: transverse waves and compressional waves.

  4. Mechanical Waves A wave that uses matter to transfer energy. A mechanical wave travels as energy that is transferred from particle to particle in a medium. The ripple on the pond is an example of a mechanical wave. There are two types of mechanical waves:

  5. Types of Mechanical Waves Transverse Waves- a wave in which the energy causes the matter in the medium to move up and down or back and forth at right angles to the direction the wave travels. Compressional Waves- a wave in which the matter in the medium moves forward and backward in the same direction that the wave travels. Also called a longitudinal wave. A sound wave is an example of a compression wave.

  6. Electromagnetic Waves A wave that does not need a medium to exist. Examples include your television, microwave or radio. Visible light is also an electromagnetic wave. The brighter the light, the more energy the wave has.

  7. Wave Properties Can you describe a wave? One way might be to tell how high a wave of water rises above, or falls below the normal level. Another way could be to tell the distance from one wave to the next. These descriptions all have names that we will look at now.

  8. Amplitude One half of the distance between a crest and a trough. The amplitude is related to the energy it carries. The greater the amplitude, the greater the energy. Which light wave would have a higher amplitude, a bright light or a dim light?

  9. Wavelength The distance from the top of one crest to the top of the next crest; or the distance from the bottom of one trough to the bottom of the next trough.

  10. Frequency The number of waves that pass a given point in one second. The unit for frequency is Hz (Hertz). Recall that waves are produced by something that vibrates, the faster the vibration, the higher the frequency.

  11. Vocabulary Medium- the matter through which a mechanical wave travels Crest- the highest point of a wave Trough- the lowest point of a wave Reflection- occurs when a wave strikes an object or a surface and bounces off.

  12. Refraction- the bending of a wave as it moves from one medium into another. Diffraction- bending of waves around a barrier. An example is a rainbow. Rarefaction- the area in a compressional wave where the molecules are farthest apart.

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