Waves (3) 3Week 6-7

Amplitude The wave height.

Decibel The most common unit used to measure loudness (symbol dB).

Dissonance  The auditory experience of sound that lacks musical quality; sound that is a disagreeable auditory experience.  

Doppler Effect An observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is moving.

Echo A reflected sound wave.

Echolocation The process of using reflected sound waves to find objects; used by animals such as bats.

Frequency The number of waves that pass by a point each second.

Hertz Pitch is measured in this.

Loudness The extent to which a sound can be heard.

Medium A substance through which a wave can travel.

Noise A sound that consists of a random mix of frequencies.

Pitch A measure of how high or low a sound is perceived to be, depending on the frequency of the sound wave.

Resonance A phenomenon that occurs when two objects naturally vibrate at the same frequency; the sound produced by one object causes the other object to vibrate.

Sonic Boom The explosive sound heard when a shock wave from an object traveling faster than the speed of sound reaches a person's ears.

Sound Wave A longitudinal wave that is caused by vibrations and that travels through a material medium.

Timbre  The distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound).

Ultrasound  Using the reflections of high-frequency sound waves to construct an image of a body organ (a sonogram); commonly used to observe fetal growth.

Vibration A back and forth movement (that causes sound).