waves

    Cards (62)

    • What do all waves transfer without transferring matter?
      Energy
    • What are oscillations or vibrations in waves?
      They are passed along instead of particles
    • What are longitudinal waves?
      Waves where oscillations are parallel to energy transfer
    • What does the 'P' in seismic P waves stand for?
      Primary
    • How do particles behave in longitudinal waves?
      They bunch up in compressions and spread out in rarefactions
    • What are transverse waves?
      Waves where oscillations are perpendicular to energy transfer
    • What are seismic S waves?
      Secondary waves that are slower than P waves
    • What is the amplitude of a wave?
      Maximum displacement from equilibrium
    • What symbol represents wavelength?
      Lambda
    • How is frequency defined?
      Number of waves passing a point every second
    • What is the relationship between frequency and time period?
      They are reciprocals of each other
    • How do you find frequency from a waveform?
      Measure time period, then do 1 divided by that
    • What is the wave equation?
      V = F Lambda
    • How can you measure the speed of a wave in a ripple tank?
      Measure distance between 10 peaks, divide by 10
    • How can you measure the speed of sound waves?
      Use a microphone and oscilloscope to measure time
    • What frequency can the human ear hear?
      20 Hz to 20 kHz
    • What happens when sound reaches a boundary between two different mediums?
      Some is transmitted, some is reflected
    • What is sonar used for?
      To build a picture of what's under water
    • Why can't transverse S waves travel through liquids?
      They cannot propagate in liquid mediums
    • What is specular reflection?
      Reflection off a smooth surface
    • What is diffuse reflection?
      Reflection off a rough surface
    • What are electromagnetic waves special for?
      They don't need a medium to travel through
    • What are the sections of the electromagnetic spectrum?
      Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays
    • How are EM waves produced?
      When electrons lose energy
    • What happens to the energy of a wave as frequency increases?
      More energy is carried, shorter wavelength
    • Why are gamma rays dangerous?
      They can ionize atoms and cause mutations
    • What is a black body in physics?
      An object that perfectly absorbs and emits radiation
    • What happens if an object absorbs radiation faster than it emits?
      Its temperature will increase
    • What occurs when light waves move from air to glass?
      The wave slows down and wavelength decreases
    • What is refraction?
      Change in direction when light enters a different medium
    • How are angles measured in reflection and refraction?
      From the normal, perpendicular to the surface
    • What do convex lenses do to light rays?
      They converge light rays
    • What is the principal focus of a convex lens?
      Point where converging rays meet
    • What happens when an object is close to a convex lens?
      Image is magnified and virtual
    • What is magnification in lenses?
      Ratio of image height to object height
    • Why do leaves appear green?
      They absorb red wavelengths and reflect green
    • What is the effect of temperature on radiation emission?
      Higher temperature increases emission rate
    • What is the significance of a black body in thermodynamics?
      It helps understand absorption and emission of radiation
    • What happens to an object's temperature when it emits radiation?
      It decreases if it emits faster than absorbs
    • What is the role of the retina in vision?
      It detects light and enables vision
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