WorksheetsPhysical Science - Waves Unit Vocabulary Quiz
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 1hrs 15mins
A disturbance produced when energy travels through a medium causing the medium to vibrate. Must have a medium to transmit waves, cannot travel through a vacuum.
Electromagnetic waves
Mechanical waves
Ocean waves
Seismic waves
What is the highest point of a transverse wave called?
Trough
Compression
Crest
Amplitude
What is the lowest point of a transverse wave called?
Trough
Compression
Crest
Amplitude
Which description correctly matches the term Transverse Wave?
Particles of a medium vibrate parallel to the direction the wave travels
Particles of a medium move in a direction perpendicular (up & down) to the direction the wave travels
A wave that travels along a surface separating two media
A longitudinal wave consisting of compression and rarefactions, which must travel through a medium
What description correctly describes the term Longitudinal Wave?
A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate parallel to the direction the wave travels
A wave that travels along a surface separating two media
A wave in which the particles of the medium vibrate in a direction perpendicular (up & down) to the direction the wave travels
A transverse wave consisting of changing electric and changing magnetic fields
What is a wave that travels along a surface separating 2 media?
Electromagnetic waves
Mechanical waves
Transverse wave
Surface wave
What is the number of complete cycles per unit of time (period) for a periodic motion called?
Pitch
Decibel
Frequency
Intensity
What is the unit of measure for frequency, equal to one cycle per second?
Decibel
Hertz
Wavelength
Amplitude
The distance of one complete wave cycle between a point on the wave and the same point on the next cycle.
Amplitude
Rarefaction
Wavelength
Compression
Which description matches the term amplitude?
The maximum displacement of wave from the rest position
The distance of one complete wave cycle from crest to crest or trough to trough
The part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of a medium are squeezed together
The number of complete cycles per unit of time (period) for a periodic motion
A type of wave behavior when an interaction between two different media occurs and the wave bounces off the surface of a medium it cannot pass through.
Refraction
Diffraction
Absorption
Reflection
The bending of a wave as it passes from one medium to another which is accompanied by a change in the speed and wavelengths of the wave.
Refraction
Reflection
Diffraction
Absorption
Which description correctly describes the wave behavior diffraction?
When a wave comes in contact with a medium and it causes the medium's molecules to vibrate and heat up, causing the wave's energy to be taken away and less reflected
The bending of waves as they pass through an opening or around an obstacle
A change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another accompanied by a change in the wave's speed and wavelength
A process by which waves are redirected as they pass through a medium
The rate at which a wave's energy flows through a given unit of area and is represented by the wave's amplitude. For example, how loud a sound is OR how bright a light is.
Decibel
Hertz
Frequency
Intensity
A unit of measure that compares the intensities of different sounds.
Hertz
Decibel
Frequency
Pitch
What is the human perception of the frequency of a sound wave?
Intensity
Hertz
Pitch
Echo
What is a change in sound frequency caused by a moving source of sound waves in which there is an apparent upward shift in frequency as the sound approaches an observer and an apparent downward shift in frequency as the sound moves away from the observer?
Echolocation
Resonance
Doppler effect
Interference
What type of medium scatters some light but allows some to pass through it so that objects cannot be seen clearly beyond the medium?
Transparent
Translucent
Opaque
Absorption
What type of medium absorbs or reflects all of the light that strikes it so that nothing can been seen through it?
Transparent
Translucent
Opaque
Diffraction
What type of wave is a transverse wave consisting of a vibration of electrical and magnetic charged particles that can travel through a medium or a vacuum?
Electromagnetic waves
Mechanical waves
Surface waves
Seismic waves
Which description correctly matches the term resonance?
When a wave comes in contact with a medium causing the medium's particles to vibrate and takes away some of the wave's energy
A response of an object vibrating at the same natural frequency of a second object which forces that second object to vibrate
An effect produced by a moving sound source where there is an apparent upward shift in frequency for the observer in which the sound is approaching and an apparent downward shift in frequency for the observer in which the sound is moving away from
Human perception of the sound of frequency
What is the time required for one complete cycle of a periodic motion? Could be seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
Period
Hertz
Decibel
Cycle
What is the interaction of two or more waves traveling through the same medium that overlap causing a new wave to form?
Diffraction
Interference
Refraction
Absorption
A medium that allows almost all of the wave to be transmitted through it allowing object to be seen clearly on the other side?
Translucent
Opaque
Transparent
Diffuse reflection
What are the 3 specific colors that can be combined in varying intensities to create millions of other colors?
Secondary colors
Primary colors
Rainbow
White light
