Name:_________________________________
Waves,
The review
1. Give 3 examples of mechanical waves, and identify the medium through
which they travel. Sound – Air, Ocean waves – water, Seismic waves earth
2. What type of wave does not require a medium? Give an example of that type
of wave. Electromagnetic waves – visible light
3. Describe the motion of the particles in the medium for each type of wave.
How does this motion compare to the direction the wave travels?
a. Transverse wave: Moves up and down at 90º angles to the
direction the wave moves.
b. Longitudinal wave: Moves back and forth, along the same path the
wave moves.
4. What happens to the motion of a particle as a wave passes through a media?
It’s position changes, but once the wave has passed, it moves back to its
original rest position.
5. Describe the behavior of the waves in the following situations, and give an
example of each type of behavior.
a. Waves strike a surface or boundary: Reflection - echo
b. Waves pass an edge or an opening: Diffraction – light seeping out
under a closed door.
c. Waves pass from one medium to another: Refraction – light
bending as it passes through different media. Prism creating
rainbows.
d. Waves pass through another wave: Interference: Trumpets
playing the same note, in tune, will create a single wave of
greater amplitude.
6. Draw two transverse waves that will interfere constructively and two waves
that will interfere destructively, and draw the resulting wave produced in
each case. Label each case as constructive or destructive interference.
7. Place the appropriate term next to the definition.
a. _amplitude___ indicates a wave’s energy.
b. __trough___ is the lowest point of a transverse wave.
c. ___period_____ measures how long it takes for a complete wave
oscillation to occur.
d. __crest____ is the highest point on a transverse wave.
e. __period____ how long a wave takes to pass a given point.
8. Define Doppler effect. What would cause a listener to hear a high pitch than
what the sound actually was? Apparent change in frequency due to
motion. The sound coming towards the listener or the listener moving
towards the sound.
9. A middle C on a piano key board, has a frequency of 256 Hz. What does this
mean? That in 1 second, 256 complete waves pass a given point in 1
second.
10. An echo is an example of a sound wave being __reflected__.
11. What do all electromagnetic waves have in common? They all travel at the
speed of light.
12. The unit appropriate for measuring wavelength would be the _meter___.
13. How are pitch and frequency related? Higher frequency relates to a
higher pitch, lower frequency causes a lower pitch. They are directly
related.
14. How would you describe the amplitude of a wave using the words crest and
trough? Amplitude is the displacement from a particle’s rest position to
it’s maximum height, crest, or maximum depth, trough.
15. How is a standing wave generated? When a wave reflects upon itself, so it
creates a fixed wave pattern.
16. Contrast node and antinode. Where would you see these two occurrences?
Node has no particle displacement and antinode is maximum
displacement, think crest or trough. This will be seen in a standing
wave.
17. How is the electromagnetic spectrum arranged? What will you find on the
low end? What exists on the high end? It is arranged by the frequency of
the different waves. Infrared, sub mm, and radio waves are on the low
end, while ultraviolet, x rays, and gamma rays are on the high end.
18. Draw and label components of both transverse and longitudinal waves.