Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves amplitude – the maximum distance that the particles of a wave’s medium vibrate from their rest position -in a transverse wave the amplitude is the distance from the rest position to a crest or trough -larger the amplitude the more energy the wave carries

Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves wavelength – distance from any point on a wave to an identical point on the next wave -wavelength is represented by lambda, λ -wavelength is measured in meters -the shorter the wavelength the more energy the wave carries

Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves period – the time it takes one full wavelength to pass a point -represented by T -measured in seconds frequency – the number of wavelengths that pass a point in a given time interval -represented by f -measured in hertz (Hz)

Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves

-the speed of a wave depends on the medium -the denser the material, the easier the vibrations are transferred -sound travels faster in water than air -sound travels faster in solids than in water -in a given medium the speed of a wave is constant -light travels through a vacuum at a speed of 3.00 x 10 8 m/s x 10 8 m/s is known as the speed of light -represented by c

Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves pitch – how high or low a sound is -determined by frequency -high frequency – high pitch -low frequency - low pitch Doppler effect – observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is moving

Chapter 15.2 – Characteristics of Waves -when the source of a sound moves toward you, the wave is compressed and the distance between wave fronts is shortened -the wave speed stays the same, it does not change, v = λ∙f -as the wavelength gets smaller, the frequency increases and you hear a higher pitch -when the source moves away the wave fronts are further apart and the frequency and pitch get lower