Waves

Mechanical & Electromagnetic

Disturbance in matter (medium) that carries energy from one place to the next.

Wavelength for

a) Transverse wave?

b) Longitudinal wave?

Amplitude?

Period?

Frequency?

Speed of Wave?

Reflection

Refraction

• Wave changes speed as it enters/leaves one medium into another. Causes it to change direction (bend).

Refraction cont…

Dispersion

Diffraction

Bending or spreading of a wave as it passes an obstacle or passes through a gap.

Waves spread more when the wavelength is longer.

Interference

Standing Waves

• Created when a wave is reflected back onto itself.

• Multiple of half wavelengths fit into length of string.

• Only occur at specific frequencies known as resonant frequencies.

Standing Waves cont….

Sound

Pitch & Loudness

Doppler Effect

Electromagnetic Waves

• Consist of a changing magnetic and electric field positioned at 90º to one another.

• Created by a moving charge.• Can travel through a medium

and a vacuum.• Travel at 3.00 x 108 meters

per second in a vacuum.

Electromagnetic Waves cont….

• Behave as a wave (form an interference pattern when they pass through slits)

• Behave as a particle (photon) according to the photoelectric effect.

• Range of waves which are all electromagnetic in nature.• They only differ by their frequency and wavelength.• The higher their frequency the more energy they have

and the more dangerous they are.

Polarization