Waves I

The Basics of Waves

The Two Main Types of Waves
Mechanical Waves
are waves created by
moving matter.
Electromagnetic
Waves are waves
created by electric
and magnetic fields.
An Example of Mechanical Waves
Water waves are an
example of a
mechanical wave.
Other examples:
Sound waves.
Earthquake waves.
In a mechanical
wave, matter
particles are moving
in a waving
(oscillating) motion.
An Example of Mechanical Waves
In a water wave its
the water molecules
that do the waving.
Actually, the wave is
caused by each water
molecule moving in a
circle.
An Example of Mechanical Waves
Heres an animated example. When I start the
animation, youll be able to see the wave itself move
from left to right.
An Example of Mechanical Waves
Now Ive highlighted one of the water molecules by
coloring it green. Watch again, and youll see the
molecule simply moves in a circle.
An Example of Mechanical Waves
So although the wave itself moves
forward the individual particles making
up the wave dont have an overall
forward motion.
Transverse versus Longitudinal
Do the particles need to move in a circle? No
they dont! Here they just move up and down.
This one is called a transverse wave.
Transverse versus Longitudinal
And here they move left to right. This is
called a longitudinal wave.
Transverse versus Longitudinal
So in transverse wave the particles
move perpendicular to the direction the
wave is moving.
Sometimes called an S wave, or a sinusoidal
wave.
In a longitudinal wave the particles
move parallel to the direction the wave is
moving.
Sometimes called a compression wave.
Describing Waves
There are several terms in science that we use
to describe a wave.
To help you visualize these terms, Im going to
refer to peaks and valleys in a wave. Really,
though, this is only accurate for longitudinal
waves.
Speed (v) The distance through which each
wave moves every second.
Specifically the distance a peak or a valley in the
wave can cover every second.


Describing Waves
Amplitude (A) Maximum displacement of
any particle in the wave from its normal
position.
Describing Waves
Wavelength () The distance between
two adjacent crests (peaks) or troughs
(valleys) of a waves.
Describing Waves
Frequency () The number of peaks (or
valleys) in a wave that pass by each
second.
Describing Waves
Period (T) The time needed for one
complete wave (peak to valley back to
peak again) to pass by a given point.
Describing Waves
Most of these values are actually related
to each other.
The Wave Equation:
Wave speed = (frequency)(wavelength)
v =

Describing Waves
This leads to a relationship between
wavelength and frequency:
Wavelength = (wave speed)/(frequency)
= v /
And this relationship can be reversed:
Frequency = (wave speed)/(wavelength)
= v /
Describing Waves
Finally, there is also a relationship
between period and frequency:
Period = 1 / (frequency)
T = 1 /
Well theres also a relationship between
wavelength and frequency, but the best
way to deal with that is to convert the
wavelength to frequency and then put it
into the above equation.