What is a transverse wave?

A wave whose vibrations are at right angles to the direction of travel, e.g. water ripples or light.

What is a longitudinal wave?

A wave whose vibrations are parallel to the direction of travel, e.g. sound.

The maximum displacement of a wave from its rest position.

The distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next wave.

What is frequency, and what is its unit?

The number of complete waves passing a point each second, measured in hertz (Hz).

What is the period of a wave?

The time taken for one complete wave.

State the wave equation.

v = f λ (wave speed = frequency × wavelength).

What are compressions and rarefactions?

Regions in a longitudinal wave where particles are squashed together or spread apart.

Why measure across several wavelengths in a ripple tank?

To reduce the percentage error in the wavelength.

Properties of wavesIB MYP Physics: Flashcards

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What do waves transfer?

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What do waves transfer?: Energy, without transferring matter.
What is a transverse wave?: A wave whose vibrations are at right angles to the direction of travel, e.g. water ripples or light.
What is a longitudinal wave?: A wave whose vibrations are parallel to the direction of travel, e.g. sound.
What is amplitude?: The maximum displacement of a wave from its rest position.
What is wavelength?: The distance between a point on one wave and the same point on the next wave.
What is frequency, and what is its unit?: The number of complete waves passing a point each second, measured in hertz (Hz).
What is the period of a wave?: The time taken for one complete wave.
State the equation linking period and frequency.: T = 1 ÷ f.
State the wave equation.: v = f λ (wave speed = frequency × wavelength).
Rearrange the wave equation to find wavelength.: λ = v ÷ f.
A wave has f = 5.0 Hz. What is its period?: T = 1 ÷ 5.0 = 0.20 s.
What are compressions and rarefactions?: Regions in a longitudinal wave where particles are squashed together or spread apart.
Why measure across several wavelengths in a ripple tank?: To reduce the percentage error in the wavelength.

Exam questions on Properties of waves

A cork floats on the surface of a pond in Kerala. A stone is dropped into the pond and ripples spread outwards. As the ripples pass, the cork bobs up and down but stays in about the same place.
State how the direction of the vibrations differs between transverse and longitudinal waves, and give one example of each type.2 marks
A wave machine in a swimming pool in Singapore produces regular water waves with a frequency of 0.50 Hz and a wavelength of 3.0 m.
The wave speed in the pool stays at 1.5 m/s. The frequency of the wave machine is increased to 1.0 Hz. Calculate the new wavelength.2 marks
A student uses a ripple tank to measure the speed of water waves. A motor makes a straight bar dip into the water 8.0 times each second, which produces a train of waves. The student holds a ruler beside the pattern and measures a distance of 12.5 cm across 5 complete wavelengths.
Calculate the wavelength and the speed of the water waves.3 marks

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Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).