What is a wave in physics terms?

A wave is a disturbance in a medium that carries energy without a net movement of particles. It may take the form of elastic deformation, a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature.

What are the 7 parts of a wave?

Vocabulary

• crest. Noun. the top of a wave.
• wave. Noun. moving swell on the surface of water.
• wave height. Noun. the distance between a wave’s trough and crest.
• wavelength. Noun. the distance between the crests of two waves.
• wave trough. Noun. the lowest part of a wave.

What are the 4 waves physics?

Wavelength, frequency, period and wave speed.

What are 5 characteristics of waves?

The five main characteristics of sound waves include wavelength, amplitude, frequency, time period and velocity. Wavelength: The most important characteristic of sound waves may be the wavelength.

What are types of waves?

Waves come in two kinds, longitudinal and transverse. Transverse waves are like those on water, with the surface going up and down, and longitudinal waves are like of those of sound, consisting of alternating compressions and rarefactions in a medium.

What are waves formed by?

Waves are most commonly caused by wind. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest.

What are the parts of a wave?

Wave Crest: The highest part of a wave. Wave Trough: The lowest part of a wave. Wave Height: The vertical distance between the wave trough and the wave crest. Wave Length: The distance between two consecutive wave crests or between two consecutive wave troughs.

How wave is formed?

Waves form as a result of the water’s motion, gravitational forces, and winds. The most common waves we see are created by wind. However other waves include those created by gravitational forces (e.g. tidal waves) and those created by underwater disturbances, such as earthquakes (e.g. tsunamis).

What are the terms of wave physics?

Wave Physics Glossary and Terms. Sound wave – Sound waves are mechanical waves that are caused by a vibration. Sound waves can be heard by our ears. Speed – The speed of a wave is a measure of how fast the disturbance of the wave is moving. The speed can be dependent on the type of medium that a wave is moving through.

What is a glossary of Physics?

This glossary of physics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to physics, its sub-disciplines, and related fields, including mechanics, materials science, nuclear physics, particle physics, and thermodynamics.

What are the basic characteristics of a wave?

There are some basic descriptors of a wave. Wavelength is the distance between an identical part of the wave. Amplitude is the maximum displacement from the neutral position. This represents the energy of the wave.

What is a mechanical wave called?

Mechanical Waves- A mechanical wave is a wave that must travel through some sort of matter called a medium. Mechanical waves cannot travel through a vacuum like outer space. Medium- The medium is the matter that a wave travels through. Period- The period of a wave is the time between wave crests.