Anatomy of a wave

A region where the coils are pressed

together in a small amount of space is

known as a compression. A compression is

a point on a medium through which a

longitudinal wave is traveling that has the

maximum density.

A region where the coils are spread apart, thus maximizing the distance between coils, is known as a

rarefaction. A rarefaction is a point on a medium through which a longitudinal wave is traveling that

has the minimum density.

a wavelength measurement is made by measuring the

distance from a compression to the next compression or from a rarefaction to the

next rarefaction.

Longitudinal Wave

Dotted line= equilibrium

The crest of a wave is the point on the

medium that exhibits the maximum

amount of positive or upward

displacement from the rest position.

The trough of a wave is the point on the medium that exhibits the maximum amount of negative or downward

displacement from the rest position.

The amplitude of a wave

refers to the maximum

amount of displacement of

a particle on the medium

from its

rest positi

on. In a

sense, the amplitu

de is the

distance fro

m rest to crest.

The wavelength of a wave is simply the length of one

complete wave cycle. (from crest to crest)

Transverse Wave

Amplitude

The amount of energy carried by a wave(wave height)

The energy of a mechanical wave depends on the material

Heavy rope:You need more initial force in order to get the same amplitude

Light rope:You need less initial force in order to get the same amplitude

The frequency of a wave refers to how often the particles of the medium vibrate when a wave passes through the medium. •The number of complete vibrational cycles of a medium per a given amount of time. •units of cycles/second, waves/second, vibrations/second, or something/second

• Or Hertz (abbreviated Hz) where 1 Hz is equivalent to 1 cycle/second.

frequency

Low freque

ncy

High frequency

High pitch sounds will have a high frequency and low pitch sounds will have a low frequency

Wavelength

The length of one complete wave cycle

Wavelength (λ) = speed (v) / frequency (f)

Long

wavelength

Short wavelength

Lower amplitude Higher amplitude

Longer wavelength,

lower frequency

Shorter wavelength,

higher frequency

Volume or amplitude will be measured in Decibels.

For a wave, the speed is the distance traveled by a given point on the wave (such as a crest) in a given period of time.

Speed= wavelength * frequencySo while wave frequency refers to the number of cycles occurring per second, wave speed refers to the meters traveled per second.

speed

Example:You can take long steps very slowly, or you can take long steps quickly.Length of step=wavelengthNumber of steps per second= frequencyTo find your speed, you need to consider your length of step as well as how often/quickly you are taking them.

Speed can be affected by the type of medium the wave is moving through

Waves move faster through

solids

Waves move slower through gases

The more dense the medium , the easier it is for the energy to pass through.

Example: think about sound waves. Whale songs can be heard for upwards of 10,000 miles underwater, whereas sound traveling through the air don’t travel even a fraction of that distance at the same frequency.

Simulations

sources• http://abernathyscience.com/online%20labs/trans• http://opwx.db.erau.edu/faculty/mullerb/Wx365/Sat_HTML_notes_files/

wavelength.gif• http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Sciences/Physics/Acoustics/Gener

al/Wavelength2/freq-wavelength.jpg

• http://www.mapfre.com/fundacion/html/revistas/seguridad/n124/img/art_1_03En.jpg

• http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BAgHbfLAd6w/UT-_dTXnNkI/AAAAAAAAASI/dGmJoiUG1uA/s1600/Longitudinal+Wave.png

• http://getfitwithles.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/battling-ropes.jpg• http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scdiroff/lds/OscillationsWaves/

StandingWaveonSpring/StandingWaveonSpring002.gif