Introduction
A wave is a disturbance that carries energy from place to place. A wave does NOT carry matter with it! It just moves the matter as it goes through it.
The material through which waves can travel is called a medium. A medium can be a gas, a liquid, or a solid. Waves that need a medium to travel are called mechanical waves and waves that do not require a medium to travel are called electromagnetic waves aka EM Waves. Examples
An earthquake is another example of waves transferring energy. As the ground shakes side to side and up and down, waves travel away from the source of the earthquake. The ground does not travel miles from the source; only the energy travels outward in a wave. |
Classifying the Properties of Waves
Wave properties depend on what (type of energy) is making the waves.
To understand how waves behave, picture having a person hold one end of a slinky and another hold the other end of the slinky. If you flick the slinky up, vertically, you have caused a disturbance. This starts a wave that moves along the slinky away from the disturbance. The highest point of a wave is called the crest and the lowest point is called a trough.
The number of waves produced in a given amount of times is the frequency. Frequency is measured by counting the numbers of crests or troughs that pass by a given point in one second.
For example, think about swinging a rope back forth to create a wave. The speed which you swing the rope affects the frequency of the wave. The wave on the quickly swinged rope would have a higher frequency and the wave on the slower swinged roped would have a lower frequency.
To understand how waves behave, picture having a person hold one end of a slinky and another hold the other end of the slinky. If you flick the slinky up, vertically, you have caused a disturbance. This starts a wave that moves along the slinky away from the disturbance. The highest point of a wave is called the crest and the lowest point is called a trough.
The number of waves produced in a given amount of times is the frequency. Frequency is measured by counting the numbers of crests or troughs that pass by a given point in one second.
For example, think about swinging a rope back forth to create a wave. The speed which you swing the rope affects the frequency of the wave. The wave on the quickly swinged rope would have a higher frequency and the wave on the slower swinged roped would have a lower frequency.