Waves

WHAT
ARE
WAVES?
Wave- phenomenon in which energy is
transferred through vibrations
- any disturbance from equilibrium position
which travels or propagates itself over
time from one place to another
WHAT CAUSES WAVES?
• Waves are created

when a source of
energy causes a
medium to vibrate.
• A vibration is a
repeated back and forth
or up and down
motion.
WAVE
• What carries waves?

A medium, a medium is the material
through which a wave travels.
• A medium can be a gas, liquid, or
solid.
NOT ALL WAVES
REQUIRE A MEDIUM
TO TRAVEL.
******LIGHT FROM THE SUN

TRAVELS THROUGH EMPTY SPACE.
Wave Motion
• Mechanical Wave-the energy is transmitted through
a material medium, without a mass movement of the
medium itself
• Electromagnetic Wave-wave motion that requires no
material medium for transmission
TYPES OF WAVES: WAVES ARE
CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO HOW
THEY MOVE.
TRANSVERSE WAVE
• Waves that move the medium at right angles

to the direction in which the waves are
traveling is called a transverse wave.
• Transverse means across. The highest parts

are called crests the lowest parts are called
troughs.
1.Transverse
waves-waves which travel in a direction
perpendicular to the direction of the vibrations
-medium is displaced in the direction of travel
-examples : electromagnetic, water and light waves

LONGITUDINAL WAVE
10
• The wave we see here is a longitudinal wave.

• The medium particles vibrate parallel to the motion
of the pulse.
• This is the same type of wave that we use to
transfer sound.
EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT
WAVES
Longitudinal waves:
Transverse waves:
• Sound
• All electromagnetic
radiation, e.g. light • Shock waves
• Ripples on water • A slinky when plucked
• Waves on strings
• A slinky that is waved up
and down
COMPRESSIONAL WAVE
• Matter vibrates in the

same direction as the
wave travels.
• Example: Slinky
COMPRESSIONAL WAVE
• The part where the

coils are close together
are called
compressions, the parts
where the coils are
spread out are called
rarefactions.
COMBINATION OF WAVES
• Surface waves are a

combination of
transverse and
longitudinal waves.The
waves occur at the
surface between water
and air.
PROPERTIES OF WAVES
BASIC PROPERTIES OF WAVES
• Amplitude
• Wavelength
• Frequency
• Speed
Wave Terms
1. Wavefront- the line that join the peak of a wave
2. Peaks or crests- high point of wave
3. Troughs- lowest points of the wave
4. Amplitude- height of crest or depth of a trough
5. Wavelength() distance between two successive
crests or troughs.
6. Frequency (f) number or crests that pass a point
per second. It is measured in hertz (Hz)
7. Period, T , time taken to generate one complete
wave. Reciprocal of frequency of wave. T= 1/f
8. Speed,( v ), distance moved by the wave in one
second, v =f  v= /T
9. Compression- the part where the particles of
matter are closest together.
10. Rarefaction-the part where the particles are
spread apart
DRAW A COMPRESSIONAL WAVE:
LABEL COMPRESSION& RAREFACTION
AMPLITUDE
• Amplitude is the maximum distance the particles of the

medium carrying the wave move away from their rest
positions.
• The farther the medium moves as it vibrates the larger the

amplitude of the resulting waves. The greater the amplitude
the greater the amount of energy
AMPLITUDE OF TRANSVERSE
WAVES
• The amplitude of a transverse wave is the

maximum distance the medium moves up or
down from its rest position. You can find the
amplitude of a transverse wave by measuring
the distance from rest to crest or rest to trough.
AMPLITUDE OF A
LONGITUDINAL WAVE.
• The amplitude of a longitudinal wave is a

measure of how compressed or rarefied the
medium becomes.
WAVELENGTH
• A wave travels a certain distance before it

starts to repeat. The distance between two
corresponding parts of a wave is its
wavelength.
• Transverse measure from crest to crest or
trough to trough.
• Longitudinal measure from one
compression to the next.
WAVELENGTH
Longitudinal wave
FREQUENCY
• The number of complete waves that pass a
given point in a certain amount of time.
• AKA number of vibrations per second.
• Frequency measured in hertz (Hz).
SPEED
• Waves in different
mediums travel at different
speeds. However, in any
given medium and under
the same conditions the
speed of the wave is
constant.
INTERACTION
OF WAVES
WAYS WAVES INTERACT
• Reflection
• Refraction
• Diffraction
• Interference
• Constructive
• Destructive
Standing Waves
EXAMPLES OF REFLECTION
• Mirror
• Echo
• Ball against a wall
ECHO
The Behavior of Waves
What is reflection?
When a wave bounces off an object and changes
direction – this is reflection.
REFRACTION WHEN A WAVE MOVES FROM ONE
MEDIUM INTO ANOTHER MEDIUM AT AN ANGLE,
IT CHANGES SPEED AS IT ENTERS THE SECOND
MEDIUM CAUSING IT TO BEND. THIS BENDING OF
WAVES DUE TO A CHANGE IN SPEED IS CALLED
REFRACTION.
REFRACTION-THE CHANGE IN DIRECTION THAT

OCCURS WHEN A WAVE OF ENERGY SUCH AS
LIGHT PASSES FROM ONE MEDIUM TO ANOTHER
OF A DIFFERENT DENSITY. IT IS THE BENDING OF
WAVES RESULTING FROM A CHANGE OF SPEED.
FOR EXAMPLE FROM AIR TO WATER
REFRACTION
• Though all waves

change speed when
they enter a new
medium. Bending
occurs when one side
of the wave enters the
new medium before the
other side
DIFFRACTION
• When a wave passes a barrier or moves through a hole
in a barrier it bends and spreads out.
• The bending or spreading out of waves because of
obstacles, for example in sound or light, as they pass
round the edge of an obstacle.
Christian Huygen -advocated the principle of
Diffraction. He said that every point of wavefront may
be considered as a source of secondary wavelengths
What is diffraction?
Diffraction occurs when an object causes a wave to
change direction and bend around it.
Diffraction also occurs when passing through a small
opening. They diffract and spread out as they pass
through the hole.
INTERFERENCE
It is the phenomenon by which wave can interact or

counteract with each other.
a. Destructive interference-if pulses are identical but
travel on opposite sides of the string, then the sum of
the amplitudes is zero and the string is appear flat.
b. Constructive interference- when 2 identical pulses
travel on the same side of string, the sum of the
amplitude of a single pulse are together
Formulas: ( Relationship between velocity,
wavelength and frequency )
v= f  f= v/ = v/ f
where: v – velocity of wave, m/s
f – frequency, Hz or vibrations/second
 - wavelength, m
**Ave. velocity of sound is 331 m/s

**Ave. velocity of light is 3 x 108 m/s
2.A vibration of frequency of 3. A wavelength 1.5 m travels
5Hz sends a wave of down a rope at a speed of 6 m/s.
wavelength 0.8 m down a What is the frequency of the
rope. What is the speed of the wave?
wave?
GIVEN :
Given :
= 1.5m
f = 5Hz
V = 6m/s
=0.8m
Find : f
Find: v
Solution :
Solution:
v= f  = (5Hz)(0.8m) f= v/ = 6m/s / 1.5m
V = 4m/s f = 4Hz
Units
System Tension  Modulo V
MKS N Kg/m N/m2 m/s
CGS dyn g/cm Dyn/cm2 Cm/s
English lb Slugs/ft lb/ft2 Ft/s

EXAMPLES
1. A wave which has a frequency of 200 vib/sec sends a wavelength of 2.2
m down a rope. What is the speed of the wave?
2. What is the wavelength of a sound whose frequency is
200 Hz?
3. Find the velocity of a transverse wave in a string which is 5.2 ft long with a
total mass of 25 kg when under a tension of 150N.
4 . A copper wire has a density of 9.0 kg/m3 and Young’s Modulus of 1 . 2 x
1011 N/m2. What is the speed of the wave in this medium?
5. Assume that Youngs’s Modulus for silver is 7.75 x 10 10 N/m2. If it has a
density of 10.5 g/cm3, how fast does the sound travel through silver?

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WHAT

• Waves are created

• What carries waves?

******LIGHT FROM THE SUN

• Waves that move the medium at right angles

• Transverse means across. The highest parts

-medium is displaced in the direction of travel

-examples : electromagnetic, water and light waves

• The wave we see here is a longitudinal wave.

• Ripples on water • A slinky when plucked

• Matter vibrates in the

• The part where the

• Surface waves are a

• Amplitude is the maximum distance the particles of the

• The farther the medium moves as it vibrates the larger the

• The amplitude of a transverse wave is the

• The amplitude of a longitudinal wave is a

• A wave travels a certain distance before it

REFRACTION-THE CHANGE IN DIRECTION THAT

• Though all waves

It is the phenomenon by which wave can interact or

**Ave. velocity of sound is 331 m/s

MKS N Kg/m N/m2 m/s

CGS dyn g/cm Dyn/cm2 Cm/s

English lb Slugs/ft lb/ft2 Ft/s

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