• Waves transfer energy.
• The medium is the material through which a wave passes.
• Mechanical waves require a material medium to move
through.
• A pulse wave is a single traveling wave.
• Waves generated at a regular rate are periodic waves.
• In a transverse wave, the particles of the medium vibrate
perpendicularly to the wave motion. |
 |
• The highest point above equilibrium is the crest.
• The lowest point below equilibrium is the trough.
• The distance a wave travels in one cycle is a wavelength.
• The time is takes for one wavelength is the period.
• In a longitudinal wave, the particles of the medium
vibrate parallel to the direction of the wave motion.
| • The speed of a wave equals its frequency times its
wavelength.
v = (frequency)(wavelength)
• The frequency of a wave is the reciprocal of its period.
|
 |
• When waves interact, it is called interference.
- When the resultant wave is larger than
the waves that are merging, it is constructive interference.
- When the resultant wave is smaller than
the waves that are merging, it is destructive interference.
 |
• Reflection occurs when waves strike a boundry and are
bounced away.
- The incoming (incident) wave is equal to
the reflected wave.
|
• A standing wave is a wave pattern that doesn't change
its pattern; two waves with the same frequency, amplitude, and wavelength
are traveling in opposite directions through a medium and interfere.
| • Node - point on a standing wave where there is no motion
• Antinode - point on a wave that has the largest amplitude |
 |
|
