Properties of WavesAQA GCSE Physics: Flashcards

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What is a transverse wave?

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What is a transverse wave?: A wave in which oscillations are perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer, e.g. water ripples, light.
What is a longitudinal wave?: A wave in which oscillations are parallel to the direction of energy transfer, e.g. sound waves.
What are compressions and rarefactions?: In a longitudinal wave, compressions are regions where particles are pushed together, and rarefactions are regions where particles are spread apart.
Do the particles of water or air travel with a wave?: No — the wave transfers energy, but the particles only oscillate around a fixed position.
What is amplitude?: The maximum displacement of a point on a wave from its undisturbed position.
What is wavelength?: The distance from a point on one wave to the equivalent point on the next wave.
What is frequency, and what is it measured in?: The number of complete waves passing a point per second, measured in hertz (Hz).
What is the period of a wave?: The time taken for one complete wave to pass a given point.
What is the equation linking period and frequency?: T = 1/f.
What is the wave equation linking speed, frequency and wavelength?: v = f × λ.
A wave has frequency 20 Hz and wavelength 5 m. What is its speed?: 100 m/s (v = 20 × 5).
A wave has a frequency of 4 Hz. What is its period?: 0.25 s (T = 1/4).
Give an example of a transverse wave.: Light (or any electromagnetic wave, or water ripples).
Give an example of a longitudinal wave.: Sound waves.
How could you measure the speed of ripples on a water surface?: Time how long a ripple takes to travel a measured distance across the water, then calculate speed = distance ÷ time.