Lesson Wave Terminology

Waves Vocabulary

Carrolline West ​

​Waves

​ a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance of one or more quantities.

Energy

Scientists define energy as the ability to do work.

Medium

A medium is the substance through which a wave can propagate

Electromagnetic Waves

Electromagnetic waves are formed when an electric field (which is shown in red arrows) couples with a magnetic field

Mechanical Waves

​A mechanical wave is a wave that is an oscillation of matter and is responsible for the transfer of energy through a medium

Vibration

Vibrations cause a disturbance in the medium that becomes the source of the wave.

Transverse Waves

A wave vibrating.

Longitudinal Waves

Longitudinal waves are waves in which the vibration of the medium is parallel ("along") to the direction the wave travels and displacement of the medium is in the same (or opposite) direction of the wave propagation.

Amplitude

the distance from the centre line (or the still position) to the top of a crest or to the bottom of a trough

Wavelength

the distance between identical points (adjacent crests) in the adjacent cycles of a waveform signal propagated in space or along a wire.

Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time

Speed

In the case of a wave, the speed is the distance traveled by a given point on the wave (such as a crest) in a given interval of time.

Crest

where the displacement of the medium is at a maximum

Trough

where the displacement of the medium is at a minimum

Rest Position

  where the medium shows no disturbance

Compression

where particles are pressed together in a longitudinal wave

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Rarefaction

where particles are spread out in a longitudinal wave