waves

    Cards (116)

    • How does sound energy travel?
      As a longitudinal wave through air
    • What do sound waves require to travel?
      A medium to travel across a distance
    • What happens to particles in a sound wave?
      They vibrate in compressions and rarefactions
    • What is a compression in sound waves?
      Particles are pushed together by the wave
    • What is a rarefaction in sound waves?
      Particles are spread apart by the wave
    • In what direction do particles move in a sound wave?
      In the same direction as the wave travels
    • What moves with the sound wave?
      The energy carried by the wave
    • Can sound waves travel through a vacuum?
      No, they cannot travel through a vacuum
    • What are the four characteristics of sound waves?
      Frequency, wavelength, amplitude, and period
    • What is frequency in sound waves?
      Number of compressions passing a point per second
    • What are the SI units for frequency?
      Hertz (Hz)
    • How is wavelength measured?
      Distance from one compression to the next
    • What is amplitude in sound waves?
      Maximum displacement from undisturbed position
    • What does a louder sound carry more of?
      More energy than a quiet sound
    • What is the period of a wave?
      Reciprocal of the frequency
    • What determines the pitch of a sound?
      The frequency of the sound wave
    • What is infrasound?
      Sound below 10 Hz
    • What is ultrasound?
      Sound above 20,000 Hz
    • How do low-frequency sounds travel compared to high-frequency sounds?
      Low-frequency sounds travel faster
    • What is diffraction in sound waves?
      Waves spreading out from an edge or gap
    • What size gap causes diffraction?
      About the same size as the wavelength
    • What is the hearing range of humans?
      20-20,000 Hz
    • Which animal can hear the lowest frequency?
      Elephant
    • What is the range of frequencies on a piano?
      27.5 to 4186.0 Hz
    • What are the uses of infrasound?
      • Communication among some animals (e.g., elephants)
      • Studying natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes)
      • Monitoring environmental changes
    • What are the uses of ultrasound?
      • Medical imaging (e.g., prenatal scans)
      • Industrial cleaning (e.g., jewelry)
      • Detecting flaws in materials (e.g., pipes)
    • What type of wave are P-waves?
      Longitudinal waves
    • What type of wave are S-waves?
      Transverse waves
    • How do P-waves and S-waves differ in speed?
      1. waves are faster than S-waves
    • What do tectonic plates move due to?
      Convection currents in the mantle
    • Why is it difficult to predict earthquakes?
      Insufficient background data on tectonic plates
    • Why are earthquakes more common at plate boundaries?
      High tectonic activity occurs there
    • What is refraction in waves?
      • Change in direction when passing into a different medium
      • Speed of wave depends on the medium
    • What are the characteristics of longitudinal waves?
      • Particles vibrate parallel to wave direction
      • Compressions and rarefactions are present
    • What is infrared radiation?
      A type of electromagnetic radiation
    • What are the characteristics of transverse waves?
      • Particles vibrate perpendicular to wave direction
      • Peaks and troughs are present
    • What is the Earth's crust divided into?
      Tectonic plates
    • How does the temperature of an object relate to infrared radiation?
      Higher temperature means more infrared radiation emitted
    • What generates earthquakes?
      Tectonic plate movements and collisions
    • What is black body radiation?
      Radiation emitted by a perfect black body
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