General Wave Properties

General Wave Properties

1. Rope waves

2. Water waves

3. Terms used to describe waves

   • The line that joins all the peaks of a wave or all identical points on a wave is called the wavefront.
   • The highest points are called crests or peaks while lowest points are called troughs
   • The amplitude, a, is the maximum displacement from the rest position or equilibrium position. It is the height of a crest or depth of a trough measured from the normal undisturbed position. SI unit : Metre,m
   • The wavelength, , is the horizontal distance between two successive crests or two successive troughs.It is equal to the distance between two successive points which are vibrating in exactly the same way.
   • The frequency, f, is the number of crests or troughs that pass through a point per second.This is equivalent to the number of vibrations or complete waves generated per second. SI unit is hertz, Hz
   • The period, T, is the time taken to generate one complete wave. It is also the time taken for the crests, or any given point on the wave, to move a distance of one wavelength. The relationship between period and frequency is
   • The speed, v, of the wave is the distance moved by the wave in one second. SInce the wave crest travels a distance of one wave length in one period, the wave wave speed is determined by

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