Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.

com
INTRODUCTION TO
WAVES
TOPIC 13 : GENERAL WAVE PROPERTIES

Monday, February 21, 2011 1

 WHAT IS A WAVE ?

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Water Waves Hand Wave Wavy Hair

Monday, February 21, 2011 2

 WAVE MOTION

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Wave
A disturbance that carries energy
from one place to another.

Original Source Any form of

of A Wave vibrations

Monday, February 21, 2011 3

 EXAMPLES OF WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Water Waves Hand Wave Wavy Hair
These examples are of visible form of waves!

Monday, February 21, 2011 4

Monday, February 21, 2011
Light
Sound
EXAMPLES OF WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

 WAVE MOTION

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Wave
A disturbance that carries energy
from one place to another.

Original Source Any form of

of A Wave vibrations

Monday, February 21, 2011 6

 TYPES OF WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Transverse Longitudinal
Waves Waves

Monday, February 21, 2011 7

 TRANSVERSE WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Formed by up & down OR side-to-side movements
Vibrations
Vibrations

Direction of Travel

Vibrations are at right-angles to the

direction of travel
Monday, February 21, 2011 8
 TRANSVERSE WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Main parts of a transverse wave is its peak and
bottom.
Peak
(Maximum point)

Bottom
(Minimum point)
Monday, February 21, 2011 9
 TRANSVERSE WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Light Infra-Red X-Ray

Examples of transverse waves!

Monday, February 21, 2011 10

 LONGITUDINAL WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Formed by backwards & forwards movements

Vibrations Vibrations

Direction of Travel

Vibrations are parallel to the direction of travel

Monday, February 21, 2011 11

 LONGITUDINAL WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Main parts of a longitudinal wave is its
compressions and rarefactions.
Areas where
waves are close
together

Areas where waves

are far apart
Monday, February 21, 2011 12
 LONGITUDINAL WAVES

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Ultrasound Sound Supersonic
Examples of longitudinal waves!

Monday, February 21, 2011 13

Monday, February 21, 2011
WAVE

COMPARISON
TRANSVERSE - LONGITUDINAL

14

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude Wavefront
Frequency
Wavelength Phase
Speed

Characteristics used to describe a wave and its

motion
Monday, February 21, 2011 15
 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude

“Maximum distance a point moves from its rest

position.”

Monday, February 21, 2011 16

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Wavelength

Crest to crest Rarefaction to Rarefaction

Trough to trough Compression to Compression

“The distance between any point on a wave and the

next equivalent point on the wave.”

Monday, February 21, 2011 17

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude & Wavelength
Amplitude

Wavelength

Can be obtained from wave drawings.

Monday, February 21, 2011 18

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude & Wavelength

Amplitude Wavelength

Can be obtained from displacement-distance graphs.

Monday, February 21, 2011 19

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Frequency
“The number of complete waves passing any point in 1
second”

No. of complete wave

Frequency = Time Taken

Monday, February 21, 2011 20

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Period
“The time take for one point on the wave to complete
one oscillation”

1
Period = Frequency

“The time taken to produce one complete wave”

Monday, February 21, 2011 21
 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Frequency & Period

Period
2nd complete wave

1st complete wave

Can be obtained from displacement-time graphs.

Monday, February 21, 2011 22

 LET’S TRY THIS!

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Determine the
amplitude,
period and
frequency of
wave produced
by
Loudspeaker A
&
Loudspeaker B

Monday, February 21, 2011 23

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Speed
“The distance moved, in any direction of wave travel, by
any point on a wave in one second.”

Monday, February 21, 2011 24

 WAVE EQUATION

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

“The relationship between the speed, frequency and
wavelength of a wave.”

Speed = Frequency X Wavelength

Monday, February 21, 2011 25

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude Wavefront
Frequency
Wavelength Phase
Speed

Characteristics used to describe a wave and its

motion
Monday, February 21, 2011 26
 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Phase
“A particular point in the time of a cycle.”

In phase Out of phase

Monday, February 21, 2011 27
 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Wavefront
“An imaginary line on a wave that joins all points that
are in the same phase.”

Monday, February 21, 2011 28

 WAVE TERMINOLOGY

Prepared by Cg Edna Maria Hj Osman. E-mail: edna.maria.osman@gmail.com

Amplitude Wavefront
Frequency
Wavelength Phase
Speed

Characteristics used to describe a wave and its

motion
Monday, February 21, 2011 29