Waves ( 2 )

Question 1

What is the displacement?

Answer 1

Distance and direction from its equilibrium position

Question 2

What is the amplitude of a wave?

Answer 2

• Maximum displacement of a vibrating particle.

* Transverse wave this is the height of a wave rest or the depth of wave trough from its equilibrium position

Question 3

What is the wavelength of a wave?

Answer 3

• Length of one whole wave cycle

* Least distance between two adjacent vibrating particles with the same displacement and velocity at the same time

Question 4

What is one cycle of a wave?

Answer 4

• One complete cycle of a wave is from maximum displacement to the next maximum displacement

Question 5

What is the period of a wave?

Answer 5

Time for one complete wave to pass a fixed point/time taken for a whole cycle to complete

Question 6

What is frequency?

Answer 6

• The number of cycles per second passing a given point
• Number of complete waves passing a point per second, unit Hz
• Frequency is the inverse of the period, frequency = 1 / period

Question 7

What is the phase?

Answer 7

• A measurement of the position of a certain point along the wave cycle
• Fraction of a cycle it has completed since the start of the cycle

Question 8

How does frequency affect wavelength?

Answer 8

• Higher the frequency of a wave the shorter its wavelength.

* The higher the frequency, the closer the wave peaks are

Question 9

What is the formula for the speed of a wave?

Answer 9

Distance travelled in one cycle / time taken for one cycle

speed = frequency x wavelength

Question 10

What is the phase difference?

Answer 10

• Phase difference between two particles vibrating at the same frequency is the fraction of a cycle between the vibrations of the two particles
• Measured in degrees of radians
1 cycle = 360 degrees = 2 x pi radians

Question 11

What is the formula for phase difference in radians?

Answer 11

2 x pi x d / wavelength

d = distance

Question 12

What occurs in reflection?

Answer 12

Wave is bounced back when it hits a boundary

Question 13

What occurs in refraction?

Answer 13

• Wave changes direction as it enters a different medium

* Change in direction is a result of the wave slowing down or speeding up

Question 14

What are longitudinal waves?

Answer 14

Waves in which the direction of vibration of the particles is parallel to the direction in which the wave travels

Question 15

What are transverse wave?

Answer 15

Waves in which the direction of vibration is perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels