8 - Mechanical Waves Vocab 1

Front

What is a surface wave?

Back

A wave in which the matter moves in a circular pattern that is sometimes parallel and sometimes perpendicular to the direction that the wave travels.

Front

What is a mechanical wave?

Back

A wave in which particles of matter move back and forth.

Front

What is a transverse wave?

Back

A wave in which the matter moves in a pattern perpendicular to the direction that the wave travels.

Front

What is a wave cycle?

Back

One complete motion of the repeating pattern of a wave.

Front

What is a medium in the context of waves?

Back

The matter that a mechanical wave travels through.

Front

What is a longitudinal wave?

Back

A wave in which the particles of the medium move parallel to the direction of the wave's travel.

Front

What is wavelength?

Back

The distance between two consecutive points that are in phase on a wave, such as crest to crest or trough to trough.

Front

What is wave speed?

Back

The speed at which a wave travels through a medium.

Front

What is amplitude?

Back

The maximum distance that the particles of a medium move from their rest position when a wave passes through.

Front

What is frequency?

Back

The number of complete wave cycles that pass a given point in one second.