10/26/08
Post date: Oct 26, 2008 5:40:16 PM
Bell Activity: What is a wave?
Activities:
Pass back finals, view final grades
Wave - a disturbance that carries energy through matter or space
Examples
Water waves
Spring movements
"The Wave"
Sound waves
Light waves
Most travel through a medium
Medium - a physical environment in which phenomena occur. The "stuff" that a wave moves through. For example, sound waves travel through air, water waves through water, etc.
Mechanical waves - waves that require a medium
Electromagnetic waves do not require a medium
These are light waves, both visible and invisible light.
Includes radio waves, x-rays
Mechanical waves
Activity - motion of a particle involved in a wave. To be turned in! Download the assignment in the "handouts" section.
Transverse waves - particle move perpendicular to wave
Longitudinal waves - particles move parallel to wave
Parts of a wave
Crest
Trough
Wavelength
Amplitude
Compression
Rarefaction