WAVES

WAVES

1. Waves are Rhythmic disturbances that carry energy without carrying matter. Waves involve the transport of energy without the transport of matter.

   • A wave can be described as a disturbance that travels through a medium, transporting energy from one location (its source) to another location without transporting matter.
     • ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
       • They don´t need matter (or medium) to transfer energy They do not need a medium, but they can go through matter (medium), such as air, water, and glass
   • MECHANICAL WAVES
     • They are the ones that need matter (or medium) to transfer energy. A medium is the substance through which a wave can travel. Ex. Air; water; particles; strings; solids; liquids; gases
       • Examples: Sound waves, ocean waves, ripples in water, earthquakes, wave of people at a sporting event
       • TRANSVERSE WAVES
         • Energy causes the matter in the medium to move up and down or back and forth at right angles to the direction the wave travels.
           • Example: waves in water, radiation, TV & radio waves, X-rays, microwaves, lasers, energy from the sun, visible light
           • PARTS OF A TRANSVERSE WAVE
             • The crest is the highest point on a wave.
             • The trough is the valley between two waves, is the lowest point.
             • The wavelength is the horizontal distance, either between the crests or troughs of two consecutive waves.
             • The amplitude of a wave refers to the maximum amount of displacement of a particle on the medium from its rest position
       • LONGITUDINAL WAVES
         • A mechanical wave in which matter in the medium moves forward and backward along the same direction that the wave travels.
           • Ex. Sound waves
           • PARTS OF A COMPRESSIONAL WAVE (LONGITUDINAL)
             • The compression is the part of the compressional wave where the particles are crowded together.
             • The rarefaction is the part of the compressional wave where the particles are spread apart.
             • The wavelength is the distance from compression to compression or rarefaction to rarefaction in a compressional wave.

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