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Topic 4- waves
waves and wave movement
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Wave
A means of
transferring
energy from one place to another via a
travelling
disturbance
or
oscillation
Transverse wave
Direction of
vibration
is
perpendicular
to the
direction
in which the wave
travels
Longitudinal wave
Direction of
vibration
is
parallel
to the
direction
in which the wave
travels
examples of longitudinal waves are:
Sound
waves
in
solid
,
liquid
or
gas
Compression
waves
on a
spring
Wavelength
The
distance
from one point on the wave to the
corresponding
point on the next
cycle
Frequency
A
measure
of the number of
oscillations
of the
wave
per second
Periodic time
The
time
it takes to complete
one
full
cycle
Amplitude
The
maximum
displacement from the mean
position
, measured in metres
Characteristics of a wave
Reflection
Refraction
Diffraction
Interference
Reflection
The
bouncing
of waves off an
obstacle
in their
path
Refraction
The changing of
direction
(by the changing of
speed
) of a wave as it travels from one
medium
to another, with
frequency
remaining constant
Diffraction
The
spreading
of waves around a
slit
or an
obstacle
, significant when
slit
width
is approximately the
same
size
as the
wavelength
Interference
The meeting of waves from
two
sources
to produce a wave of different
amplitude
Coherent waves
Waves with the same
frequency
and are in
phase
(or have a
constant
phase
difference
)
Constructive interference
Waves from
two
coherent
sources meeting to produce a wave of
greater
amplitude
Total constructive interference
Crests
of one wave over
crests
of another
Destructive interference
Waves from
two
coherent
sources meeting to produce a wave of
lower
amplitude
Total destructive interference
Crests
of one wave over
troughs
of another, when waves are
half
a
wavelength
out of phase
Polarised waves
Waves
vibrating
in
one
plane
only
Stationary/standing waves
Formed when
two
periodic
waves of the
same
frequency
and
amplitude
travelling in
opposite
directions meet
Fundamental frequency/first harmonic
The
simplest
pattern
of a
stationary
wave
Nodes
Locations where the amplitude is
minimum
Antinodes
Locations where the
amplitude
is
maximum
Doppler effect
The
apparent
change
in the
frequency
of a
wave
due to the
relative
motion
between
the
source
and the
observer
Applications of Doppler effect
Police
speed
traps
Monitoring
blood
movement
or
heartbeat
of a
foetus
Weather
forecasting
to find frequency when given time
f= 1/T
relationship between periodic time and frequency
T= 1/F
distance between 2 consecutive nodes or anti nodes
lamda/2
distance between node and anti-node
lamda/4