Skills Worksheet
14.3 - Directed Reading A – Waves
Section: Waves
ANATOMY OF A WAVE
Match the correct description with the correct term. Write the letter in the space
provided.
_____ 1. the highest part of a wave
a. wave height
_____ 2. the lowest part of a wave
b. crest
_____ 3. the distance between two adjacent wave
crests of water troughs
c. trough
d. wavelength
_____ 4. the vertical distance between the crest and
trough of a wave
WAVE FORMATION AND MOVEMENT
5. How do most waves form?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
6. What happens to water when a wave of energy passes through it?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
SPECIFICS OF WAVE MOVEMENT
7. The time between the passage of two wave crests (or troughs) at a fixed point
is called the ______________________.
8. Dividing the wavelength by the wave period gives you the
______________________.
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Science and Technology
6
The Movement of Ocean Water
Directed Reading A continued
TYPES OF WAVES
Match the correct description with the correct term. Write the letter in the space
provided.
_____ 9. waves that move in water deeper than
one-half their wavelength
_____ 10. waves that reach water shallower than
one-half their wavelength
_____ 11. waves that crest and then crash into the
ocean floor
_____ 12. area where waves first begin to tumble
downward, or break
a. breakers
b. deep-water waves
c. longshore current
d. shallow-water
waves
e. storm surge
f. surf
_____ 13. the area between the breaker zone and
the shore
g. swells
_____ 14. a subsurface current that is near the
shore and that pulls objects out to sea
i. undertow
_____ 15. a water current that travels near and
parallel to the shoreline
k. breaker zone
h. tsunami
j. whitecap
_____ 16. the bubbles in the crest of a breaking
wave
_____ 17. long rolling waves that move steadily
and at long distances across the ocean
_____ 18. a giant ocean wave that forms after a
volcanic eruption, submarine
earthquake, or landslide
_____ 19. a local rise in sea level near the shore,
caused by strong winds from a hurricane
or other storm
Original content Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Additions and changes to the original content are the responsibility of the instructor.
Holt Science and Technology
7
The Movement of Ocean Water