Wave and Sound Concepts Unit 7 Vocab

Front

amplitude

Back

In a wave, the maximum displacement of a wave from its rest position—that is, distance from rest to crest or rest to trough.

Front

frequency

Back

The number of waves that pass through a point during a specific amount of time.

Front

medium

Back

Substance that is the means of transmission of a force or effect; in the case of waves, air, water, other gases, and solid earth are all mediums through which different types of waves can travel.

Front

period

Back

The time for a wave, or one cycle of a repeating wave, to pass a location.

Front

speed

Back

The rate at which an object changes position.

Front

velocity

Back

The rate at which an object changes position when traveling in a certain direction, expressed as a rate: the distance an object traveled from one position to the next divided by the time it took to travel the distance.

Front

wavelength

Back

Distance from one point on a wave to the next same point on a wave (for example, distance from crest to crest or trough to trough); distance of one wave cycle.

Front

constructive interference

Back

Effect that occurs when two waves with synchronized crests and troughs meet.

Front

destructive interference

Back

Effect that occurs when two waves with crests and troughs that are out of phase meet, effectively canceling each other out to zero amplitude at a point.

Front

standing wave

Back

A pattern formed when two waves of the same amplitude and frequency move simultaneously through a medium in opposite directions (the wave appears to oscillate but not propagate); also stationary wave.