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Cover Sheet-Block 6 Wave Properties
Standards-Physics 4 a b c d
4a. Students know waves carry energy from one place to another.
4. b. Students know how to identify transverse and longitudinal waves in
mechanical media, such as springs and ropes, and on the earth (seismic waves).
4. c. Students know how to solve problems involving wavelength, frequency, and
wave speed.
4. d. Students know sound is a longitudinal wave whose speed depends on the
properties of the medium in which it propagates.
Objective –Waves
What are waves?
Waves carry energy / information from one place to another using oscillation
Wave PropertiesIdentify theses oscillations using terms like wavelength, amplitude, frequency,
propagation direction and speed. Identify transverse and longitudinal waves in
mechanical media, such as springs and ropes, and on the earth (seismic waves).
Wave BehaviorUnderstand wave motion in a material and in a vacuum. Describe constructive and
destructive interference of more than 1 wave and /or a material. Sound is a
longitudinal wave whose speed depends on the properties of the medium in which
it propagates.
1. Coversheet
2. WCW
3. Vocab- pg 183 -196 (19 words)
4. HW pg. 190-193 Physics to go # 2-6
5. Notes-Wave Properties
6. Problems on wave properties (back of 5 okay)
7. Notes Sound
8. Handout Wave Equation
9. Wave Quiz HO
10. Copy Shaded box’s on pg. 330-331
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Page #2 WCW
Warm-up: 1
Sketch and Describe
Breaking the speed of sound
Longitudinal Wave
Parallel
Surfing Wave
Transverse Wav
Perpendicular
Wrap-up 1
Explain the relationship between Wavelength, speed and frequency.
(the eq. you wrote down)
Warm-up 2
Sketch and Answer
How is a roller coaster an example of wave motion?
Vibrations and or Oscillations occur
Critical thinking 2
Explain the phrase,
“Two waves constructively interfere.”
Wrap-up 2
Draw Longitudinal or Compression Wave
Warm-up 3
How does a flute make different
sounds or wavelengths?
As you cover the different holes you create different lengths
Of waves.
Diff wavelength different frequencies, different Sounds
Critical thinking 3
Describe the relationship between Frequency
and Wavelength.
Wrap-up 3 Only Answer, Just write Agree or disagree
1 Sound waves transfer energy only in matter.
2 The loudness of a sound wave increases as the frequency of a wave increases.
3 Sound travels faster in warm air than in cold air.
4 Sound usually travels faster in gases than in solids.
5 The pitch of a sound you hear depends on whether the source of the sound is
moving relative to you.
6 Sound waves do not spread out when they pass through an opening.
7 A vibrating string whose length is fixed can produce sound waves of more than one
frequency.
8 The body of a guitar helps make the sound of the vibrating strings louder.
9 Changing the length of a vibrating air column changes the pitch of the sound
produced.
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Page #3 Vocabulary 19 total
Pg. 183-190
11 words
1) Transverse pulse or wave: motion of medium perpendicular
to motion
2) Amplitude: the height of a wave crest, it’s the energy amount
3) Periodic wave: a repetitive pulses, ocean wave’s
4) Standing wave: wave moves between two points, “jump-rope”
5) Crest: the highest point of a wave
6) Wavelength: the distance between consecutive points of a wave “Crest to crest”
7) Frequency: the number of waves produced per unit of time, reciprocal of the
Period
8) Compression pulse or wave: longitudinal, caused by compression and expansion.
“Sound”
9) Longitudinal pulse or wave: the motion of the medium is parallel to the wave
motion. “Traffic”
10) Trough: the lowest point of a wave
11) Node: a spot on a standing wave where the medium is motionless
Pg. 196 1 word
12) Pitch: the quality of a sound dependent primarily on the frequency of the sound
waves produced by the source
Some other Vocabulary from Standards
13) Vacuum – no air
14) Light waves – electromagnetic spectrum
15) Sound waves – Need medium (material) to travel
16) Wave propagating – movement of wave through material
17) Expansion (rarefaction) – spreading of material during wave
18) Acoustic waves – sound wave from vibration in a “hole”
19) Wave speed – equal to frequency times wavelength
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Page 4 Hw pg. 190-193 Physics to go # 2-6
Name
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Page 5 Notes-Wave Properties Each Line Answers a Test Question
1) A wave is a repeating disturbance that transfers energy through matter or
open space.
2) Waves that use matter to transfer energy are called mechanical waves.
3) Light waves travel in both a vacuum and a medium
4) The matter through which a mechanical wave travels is called a medium
5) In transverse waves, matter in the medium moves back and forth at right
angles to the direction the wave travels.
6) In Longitudinal or compressional waves, matter in the medium moves
forward and backward in the same direction the wave travels.
7) Sound waves are compressional waves.
8) Sound waves cannot travel in outer space because they are mechanical
waves they travel through a medium
9) What is the region of a compressional wave where particles are far
apart called? rarefaction
10) What type of wave does not require matter to carry energy? Transverse
11) Amplitude is a measure of the energy in a wave.
12) A transverse wave has amplitude
13) The Wavelength is the distance from the top of one crest of a transverse
wave to the top of the next crest in that wave.
14) The frequency of a wave is how many wavelengths pass a fixed point
each second
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Page 6 Problems Wave Properties
1. Which wave above is a
transverse wavelongitudinal wave2. Draw
Transverse wave, label crest and trough
Longitudinal wave, label compression and rarefaction
3. What is this wave’s frequency? ( just divide cycles/second)
6 cycles in 1 seconds
4. What is the period of the wave in #3? (Flip three’s answer)
5. What is this wave’s Frequency? ( just divide cycles/second)
6 cycles in 2 seconds,
6. What is the period of a wave in #5?
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Page 7 Notes Sound
1. Sounds are produced by vibrations
2. What type of waves are sound waves? compressional
3. The two types of regions that make up compressional waves are
compressions and rarefactions
4. Sound travels faster in air than in water or oil because of the mediums
index of refraction or density
5. How does temperature of a medium affect the speed of sound waves?
As the temperature of a substance increases, sound waves in it move
faster
6. The human perception of sound intensity is loudness
7. The intensity of sound is measured in units called decibels
8. Sound waves with frequency of 10,000 Hz is a high pitch sound
9. Music follows a specified pattern of sounds
10. The pitch is the frequency at which a material tends to vibrate when it
is disturbed.
11. Resonance is the ability of a medium to vibrate by absorbing energy at
its natural frequency.
12. A(n) natural frequency is a vibration whose frequency is a multiple of
the fundamental frequency.
13. The echoing effect produced by many reflections of sound is called
reverberation
14. In the human ear, sound waves are gathered in the outer ear
15. Musical Instruments Groups: String, Wind, Percussion
16. How does a musician change the note played on a woodwind
instrument? by changing the length of resonating column of air
17. In the human ear, the membrane that stretches across the ear canal like
a drumhead is called the eardrum
18. The human ear can detect frequencies ranging from about 20 Hz to
about 20,000 Hz.
19. Time equals distance divided by speed: t = d ÷ s = 75 m ÷ 343 m/s =
0.22 s.
20. Distance equals the product of time and speed: d = t × s = 0.011 s ×
5,940 m/s = 65 m.
21. The total distance is 74 m. Time equals distance divided by speed: t = d
÷ s = 74 m ÷ 1,483 m/s = 0.050 s.
22. When two notes close in frequency are played together, the sound
waves interfere to form a beat, a new sound whose loudness increases
and decreases several times a second.
Item # 8
Wave Speed, Frequency, & Wavelength Practice Problems
v=fλ
c = 300,000,000m/s
c = fλ
(c = 3x108m/s)
Use the above formulas and information to help you solve the following problems. Show all work, and use
the factor-label method to perform all necessary conversions.
1. Sound waves in air travel at approximately 330m/s. Calculate the frequency of a 2.5m-long sound wave.
f = 132Hz
2. A wave on a certain guitar string travels at a speed of 200m/s. Calculate the wavelength of an “A” note
sounding at 440Hz.
λ= 0.45m
3. A low-frequency radio wave has a frequency of 250,000Hz. What is the wavelength of this radio wave?
(Hint: Don’t forget that this is an electromagnetic wave, and therefore you should automatically know its
speed.)
λ = 1200m
4. A certain microwave has a wavelength of 0.032 meters. Calculate the frequency of this microwave.
f = 9.375x109Hz
5. A certain radio wave has a wavelength of 7 inches.
a. Convert the wavelength of this radio wave into meters. (1 meter = 39.37 inches)
0.178m
b. Find the frequency of this radio wave.
f = 1.69x109Hz
6. A certain wave on the border between microwaves and infrared waves has a frequency of 2x1012 Hz.
a. Calculate the wavelength of this wave in meters.
λ = 1.5x10-4m
b. Convert the wavelength from part A into millimeters. (1 meter = 1000 millimeters)
0.15mm
7. The wavelengths of visible light range from approximately 400 nanometers to 750 nanometers.
a. Convert the 750nm wavelength of the red light into meters. ( 1 nanometer = 1x10-9 meters)
750x10-9m (or 7.5x10-7m)
b. Convert the 400nm wavelength of the violet light into meters.
400x10-9m (or 4.0x10-7m)
c. Now find the frequency of the higher-frequency colored light of parts A and B. (Hint: Before calculating,
give some thought to the relationship between frequency and wavelength. Then you only need to calculate for
the one color that corresponds to the higher frequency.)
f = 7.5x1014Hz
VOCABULARY Review
The following terms are from Waves: Energy in Motion. Fill in the number of each term next to its
closest definition.
1. acoustics
9. light
2. amplitude
10. reflection
3. crest
11. refraction
4. decibel
12. reverberation
5. diffraction
13. spectrum
6. frequency
14. trough
7. Hertz
15. wave
8. interference
A. ___ to cast back light, heat, sound, etc. from a surface
B. ___ number of vibrations of cycles per unit of time
C. ___ mutual action of two waves of the same frequency reinforcing or neutralizing each other
D. ___ low point of a wave
E. ___ study of how sounds are created, transmitted and received
F. ___ electromagnetic waves that can travel through the vacuum of space
G. ___ high point of a wave
H. ___ bending of a ray or wave of light, heat or sound as it passes from one medium to another
medium of different density
I. ___ unit for measuring the volume of sound
J. ___ multiple reflection of sound waves
K. ___ transforming of a straight wave front into a curved wave front
L. ___ series of colored bands diffracted and arranged in order of wavelengths
M. ___ a disturbance that carries energy but not matter from one place to another
N. ___ difference in height between the crest and the trough of a wave
O. ___ international unit of measurement for a frequency, equal to one cycle per second
Waves & Electromagnetic Spectrum Worksheet
Directions: Use the word bank to answer the following questions. Each word will
be used only once.
Crest
Frequency
Mechanical
Infrared
Trough
Transverse
Radio
Gamma
Wavelength
Longitudinal
Ultraviolet
X-Rays
Visible
Light
Amplitude
Electromagnetic
1. ____________________ waves are used to penetrate solids and are used in doctor’s offices and as airports.
2. ____________________ is the distance between one point of a wave to the same point in the next wave.
3. ____________________ is the number of waves per unit of time.
4. ____________________ waves occur when the motion of the medium is parallel to the direction of the wave.
5. ____________________ waves have a color spectrum known as ROYGBIV.
6. ____________________ waves disturb matter.
7. The ________________ is the top of a wave.
8. The ________________ is the bottom of a wave.
9. ____________________ is the maximum distance that matter is displaced from the resting position.
10. ___________________ waves are produced by stars and galaxies.
11. ___________________ waves occur when the motion of the medium is at right angles (perpendicular) to
the direction of the wave.
12. ___________________ waves are often used in heat lamps.
13. ___________________ waves are utilized by insects to locate nectar.
14. ___________________ waves are transverse waves that disturb electromagnetic fields.
15. ___________________ waves have the shortest wavelength and the highest frequency.
Item # 9 Wave Properties Quiz
Name
per
Ics1 Semester 1 Block 6
Wave Properties Quiz
Waves may _____________energy through a vacuum or through matter. Light waves, transport energy in
_____________ ways. Sound waves and most other waves occur only in _____________. Even waves
_____________ through matter transport energy without any net movement of the matter, thus differing
from other means of energy transport, such as _____________, a waterfall, or even a thrown object.
Fill in blank: Propagating, Convection, Transport , Matter, Both
Waves that propagate with mechanics are either longitudinal or transverse waves. The disturbance in
longitudinal waves is _____________ to the direction of propagation and causes compression and
expansion (rarefaction) in the medium carrying the wave. The disturbance in transverse waves
is_________________ to the direction of propagation of the wave. Examples of ____________ waves are
sound ___________ and ____________earthquake waves. In transverse waves a conducting medium, or a
test particle inserted in the wave, moves perpendicular to the direction in which the wave propagates.
Examples of ______________ are ____________ earthquake waves and electromagnetic (or light) waves.
Fill in blank: Perpendicular, Waves, p-type, Parallel, Longitudinal, Transverse waves, s-type
Sound waves, sometimes called ______________, are typically produced when a vibrating object is in
contact with an elastic medium, which may be a solid, a liquid, or a gas. A sound wave is longitudinal,
consisting of regions of high and low pressure (and therefore of _______________ and ______________)
that propagate away from the source.
Fill in blank: Acoustic waves, Compression , Rarefaction
Item 10
Copy shaded box from pg 330 and 331