Waves Vocabulary

How loud or soft a sound that is determined by amplitude. 

• Volume

• Pitch

The lowest point on a transverse wave.

• Trough

• Crest

• Rarefaction

• Compression

The highest point on a transverse wave.

• Trough

• Crest

• Rarefaction

• Compression

The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are spread far apart.

• Trough

• Crest

• Rarefaction

• Compression

The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are pressed together.

• Trough

• Crest

• Rarefaction

• Compression

The distance from the rest position to the high or low point of a wave. More energy results in a higher _________.

_______ is the number of waves that pass a given point in one second.

A _____ is anything with matter or particles through which mechanical waves travel.

The bending and spreading out of a wave as it passes around obstacle, passes through a barrier, or spreads out from a single source.

• Refraction

• Diffraction

• Reflection

The bending of a wave as it passes from one medium to the next. A change in direction of the wave is the result of changing speed due to the density of different media.

• Refraction

• Diffraction

• Reflection